By John Ikani
The European Union has lifted sanctions placed on Burundi after meetings between the EU ambassador to the country and the President of the Central African country.
The announcement was made by Burundi’s presidency and comes one year after President Evariste Ndayishimiye’s rose to the seat of power.
Background
Since 2016, the EU suspended its aid to Burundi after a political crisis triggered by former president Pierre Nkurunziza’s bid for a third term.
It also imposed sanctions which include the blacklisting of several members of the regime as citizens protested former president Pierre Nkurunziza’s candidacy to a third mandate.
The publication of these sanctions stirred in turn a wave of protests against the EU.
Resumption of aid and removal of sanctions
The lifting of financial sanctions by the European Union has been welcomed with relief in Burundi
With the suspension being lifted, Burundi will no longer be subject to article 96, which suspended financial cooperation between the European Union and the country.
For Jean Dieu Mutabazi, president of the National Observatory for the Prevention and Eradication of Genocide, War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity, the sanctions lift is a great development.
“We welcomed this news with great satisfaction because we have seen that the process of resuming cooperation between the EU and Burundi is progressing very well. We hope that this process will lead to an effective resumption of cooperation. Since the 2020 elections, we can see that Burundi has entered a new era of openness, warming relations and resuming cooperation” Mutabazu said.
