Obama Axes Burundi AGOA Status Following Months of Violence
President Barack Obama terminated the beneficiary status of Burundi in the African Growth and Opportunity Act, the White House said in an Oct. 30 notification to Congress. That termination will take effect on Jan. 1, 2016. “Burundi has not established…
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or is not making continual progress toward establishing the rule of law and political pluralism, as required by the AGOA eligibility,” said Obama in the notice. “In particular, the continuing crackdown on opposition members, which has included assassinations, extra-judicial killings, arbitrary arrests, and torture, have worsened significantly during the election campaign that returned President Nkurunziza to power earlier this year.” Violence has rocked Burundi over recent months, sparked by President Pierre Nkurunziza’s announcement in April that he would run for a third term in office. The government has cracked down on political opposition and armed militia groups, Obama said. The unrest has caused 200,000 Burundians to flee the country, the notice said.