The European Union has learnt with concern and regret of the attacks that took place at the homes of several parliamentarians in Bujumbura on the evening of 8 March 2008.
It strongly condemns these attacks as it does any violation of the security of Burundi's parliamentarians and elected representatives.
It calls on the Burundian government authorities to establish the truth about the attacks without delay and to bring the perpetrators and backers to justice.
The EU is concerned at the malfunctioning of the representative institutions, in particular the National Assembly, which is too often paralysed by political conflicts far removed from the economic and social issues that the country has to face as a matter of priority.
It therefore calls on all Burundian political players to exercise restraint and engage in dialogue and consultation. The need to give precedence to Burundi's general interest and to its development and recovery, within the framework of the peace agreements and of the democratic constitution which the country has adopted, is especially prompted by the persistence of bloody clashes between the security forces and elements of the National Liberation Forces (FNL) which are continuing to cause loss of life.
The Candidate Countries Turkey, Croatia* and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, and the EFTA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia align themselves with this declaration.
* Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.
