Burundi has asked the United Nations to recall its special envoy, accusing him of "undiplomatic" conduct, amid growing international concern over an alleged coup plot that may harm the country's path to peace, according to Reuters. Government spokesman Karenga Ramadhani accused U.N. special representative to Burundi, Nureldin Satti, on Wednesday of antagonising President Pierre Nkurunziza's administration. In New York, U.N. spokesman Yves Sorokobi said the United Nations had received the request and was now in discussions with the Burundian government "to understand their motivations". Tensions have risen in Burundi since the government, citing tapes and written plans, said it had uncovered a plot to kill Nkurunziza and overthrow the government. Ramadhani said Satti had behaved "undiplomatically", citing as an example the envoy's decision last week to convene a meeting of foreign diplomats to discuss the suspected coup plot. "Relations between the government and the United Nations are good. But on the individual level, his behaviour was not good," Ramadhani told Reuters, referring to the meeting. "He wanted to antagonise the government and the diplomatic body." Despite its disapproval of Satti, the government said in a statement issued late on Tuesday that it had not declared the envoy persona non grata, nor did it have the power to expel him. "However, (the government) has suggested the ambassador be recalled," the statement said. Satti was not immediately available for comment. U.N. peacekeepers have helped to maintain security in Burundi and started pulling out in December. Sorokobi said the U.N. hoped the outcome of the negotiations with the government would be "satisfactory to both sides". U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan remained deeply concerned about the recent reports of a possible coup attempt and the subsequent arrest of several prominent politicians, he added. In a statement issued on Aug. 23, Annan urged the government to "pursue due process and respect the rights of the detained individuals in addressing this delicate issue". Nkurunziza's swearing-in as president of the tiny central African country a year ago was the crowning moment of a U.N.-backed peace plan to end 12 years of ethnic conflict pitting rebels from the Hutu majority against a Tutsi elite. The fighting killed some 300,000 people. The initial euphoria has been dampened by a string of alleged human rights abuses including the beating of journalists, detention of activists and the arrests of seven people, including ex-president Domitien Ndayizeye, over the suspected coup plot. The detainees, some of whom say they were tortured into making confessions, remain in prison and await trial. Critics say the coup plot was invented by Nkurunziza's ruling Forces for the Defence of Democracy (FDD) party to quash dissent. The government and prosecutors have denied this. South Africa, chief mediator in Burundi's peace process, said it had also started to scale down troop deployments. "We hope that the withdrawal of these troops will not leave a vacuum in terms of security," South African Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad told reporters on Tuesday.
