NEWS RELEASES
August 26 (9:15 a.m. EDT)
No. 154
MINISTER PETTIGREW HAILS INAUGURATION
OF NEW BURUNDIAN GOVERNMENT
Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew today hailed the inauguration of a new
government in Burundi. The inauguration marks the end of the transition period and the
return to democracy following a decade of civil war.
“We congratulate the Burundian people for having successfully completed the transition
and national reconciliation process,” said Minister Pettigrew. “The determination with
which the Burundian people voted throughout the series of elections launched in June
showed their desire for peace and democracy.
“The termination of the Burundian transition is a historic moment that brings hope for
stability and recovery throughout the African Great Lakes region,” the Minister added.
“We encourage Burundians to continue working together to rebuild their country.”
Burundi, a central African nation, had been ravaged by a civil war that broke out in
1993. A peace process began in 2000 with the ratification of accords signed in Arusha,
Tanzania, and with the implementation of a transitional government. In 2003, the
signing of a comprehensive peace accord ensuring that power would be shared among
various groups in Burundian society, in the spirit of the Arusha Accords, put the country
on the path to truly emerging from the crisis.
As co-chair of the Group of Friends of the Great Lakes Region of Africa, and under the
framework of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, Canada is
continuing to promote peace, stability and good governance throughout this region of
central Africa. Canada has all along supported the various regional initiatives for peace
in Burundi that led to the Arusha Accords.
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For further information, media representatives may contact:
Sébastien Théberge
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs
(613) 995-1851
Media Relations Office
Foreign Affairs Canada
(613) 995-1874
http://www.international.gc.ca
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