DAR ES SALAAM, June 21 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian authorities on Tuesday ruled out the possibility of granting citizenship to Burundian refugees staying in refugee camps in western Tanzania.
Sudi Mwakibasi, the director of the Refugee Services Department in the Ministry of Home Affairs, said the government was instead mobilizing the Burundian refugees to volunteer to return to their country.
Mwakibasi made the remarks in a statement to mark World Refugee Day at Nyarugusu refugee camp in the Kasulu district of Kigoma region.
"I urge you to return to Burundi because the country is now peaceful," said Mwakibasi when he responded to appeals by some of the Burundian refugees to be granted citizenship on the ground that they have stayed in Tanzania for very long.
He said the criterion used by the Burundian refugees to be granted citizenship because they have stayed in the country for very long was not provided for in Tanzania's laws.
Mahoua Parums, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) representative in Tanzania, urged the international community to continue supporting the UN Refugee Agency. "The UN refugee agency is facing various challenges that make it difficult to provide for the welfare of refugees staying in Tanzania," said Parums. - Xinhua
