An African State on the Verge of Violence

By Henry Srebrnik, [Summerside, PEI] Journal Pioneer

Many of us still remember the horrific genocide that occurred in Rwanda twenty-five years ago, in which upwards of a million people were slaughtered in just a three-month period.

Bu that little country in eastern Africa has a “mirror image” as its southern neighbor, one with similar ethnic turmoil. It leads to the same ever-present threat of massive violence.

In Burundi, like Rwanda, 85 per cent of the population are of Hutu ethnic origin, while 15 per cent are Tutsi. But unlike Rwanda, the country is run by an oppressive Hutu regime.

Since independence in 1962, there have been two events defined as genocides in Burundi: The 1972 mass slaughter of Hutus by the Tutsi-dominated army, and the 1993 mass killings of Tutsis by the majority-Hutu populace.

President Pierre Nkurunziza has ruled the country since 2005, winning election at the end of the 12-year civil war that killed more than 300,000 people.

Burundi is due to hold an election on May 20 next year, five years after President Pierre Nkurunziza’s bid for a third term in office in 2015 sparked a wave of unrest.

Nkurunziza was controversially nominated by the ruling National Council for the Defence of Democracy-Forces for the Defence of Democracy (CNDD-FDD). More than two months of anti-Nkurunziza protests, which were often violently repressed, left at least 100 dead.

A coup attempt occurred while Nkurunziza was out of the country. Facing resistance from Nkurunziza loyalists, it collapsed. Independent media was shut down and many opponents fled.

Since that time, at least 1,200 people have been killed and more than 400,000 others displaced, especially in Tanzania, according to the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has opened an investigation.

Relations between Nkurunziza and the Catholic Church, to which the majority of Burundians belong, have been tense ever since the church opposed his bid for the third term in 2015, claiming it was a breach of the constitution.

None of this seems to have had much effect. In March 2018, the CNDD-FDD named Nkurunziza the country’s “eternal supreme guide.”

A referendum two months later saw Burundians overwhelmingly vote for constitutional reforms that could allow him to stay in office until 2034, although he has said he wouldn’t seek re-election next year.

The Burundi government has also been highly critical of reports issued by international organizations. Last December, it shut down the UN Human Rights office in the capital, Bujumbura, after 23 years, branding their investigations into crimes against humanity as lies.

The ruling party’s youth league, the Imbonerakure, has been accused of carrying out killings, kidnappings, arbitrary arrests and acts of torture and rape. 

Since the Ministry of Home Affairs approved a new political party, the National Congress for Liberty, in February, its offices across the country have repeatedly been vandalized.

Nkurunziza has announced he will not stand for election in 2020, but whatever his decision, it is unlikely to resolve the problems plaguing Burundi.

There are mounting worries for Burundi’s economy, which is slowly suffocating under the impact of economic sanctions.

This may force the president and his hard-line supporters into reaching out to opponents in a bid to ease the deepening crisis.