The International Organisation of la Francophonie (OIF) has suspended multilateral cooperation with Burundi.

A statement by OIF on its website on Friday cited the “lack of progress” in the central African nation’s drive to hold inclusive political dialogue to end a yearlong crisis.

OIF was created in 1970 to encourage solidarity between the French-speaking nations.

Its statement said it had suspended all programmes with Burundi, except those “directly benefiting the civilian population and those which may contribute to the restoration of democracy”.

Sectarian violence

The OIF statement said the Permanent Council of the of the Paris-based organisation, chaired by Canadian Michaelle Jean, in a session on Thursday, announced the reinstatement of the Central African Republic (CAR), saluting “the responsibility shown in its government transition process”.

After three years of sectarian violence, CAR organised successful presidential elections which Faustin-Archange Touadéra won.

Regarding Burundi, members of the Permanent Council “deplored the deterioration of the security situation and absence of progress in the establishment of a truly inclusive political dialogue despite significant continued efforts by the international community.

Burundi has been rocked by unrest that has claimed more than 470 lives since April 2015, when President Pierre Nkurunziza announced plans to stand for a third term.

The move was resisted by his opponents as unconstitutional.

Official languages

Burundi had not officially reacted, but the presidential adviser on media and communication, Mr Willy Nyamitwe criticised the OIF move in a Twitter post decrying a “comedy” of “bad taste.”

“It’s as if la Francophonie was a god and Burundi should bow down to this denial of its sovereignty,” he said.

“By the way, why do we tweet in French, in #Burundi? Most of our tweets should be in English, Kirundi & Swahili,” Mr Nyamitwe wrote in another tweet.

French is one of Burundi’s official languages.