4 ways in which the Burundi crisis is far from over
Posted on February 21, 2017 by Burundi network
The government is calling on its 380,000 refugees to return home,
claiming the country is safe. Why does no-one believe them?
Protests against President Nkurunziza’s third term in April 2015.
Credit: Igor Rugwiza.
Since the start of 2017, the Burundian government has amplified its
calls for refugees to return home. After nearly two years of crisis in
which over 1,400 peopled are estimated to have been killed, the
government insists the nation is now safe.
However, Bujumbura’s appeals have convinced few of the 380,000 people
who have fled to neighbouring countries. On 15 February, when Interior
Minister Pascal Barandagiye visited Nakivale camp in Uganda, for
instance, many protested against his presence and message, insisting
that they cannot return as long as President Pierre Nkurunziza is
still in power and the violence continues.
“Many soldiers are dying now. They’re cutting their necks. They are
torturing them. They are just killing. How can we trust there is peace
when we see the deaths?” asked one young man, speaking to a Ugandan
channel.
Shortly after the minister’s visit, news emerged that Uganda was
readying to send refugees back to Burundi. But this position was later
clarified, with the office of the Prime Minister reassuring that no
Burundian was to be expelled or forcefully repatriated.
For the 34,000 Burundians in Uganda, this came as a relief. But why
are Burundi’s hundreds of thousands of refugees so reluctant to return
home?
1) The violence is still going on
As Burundi’s refugees have said on several occasions, the insecurity
that led them to flee in the first place persists. News and images of
civilians and soldiers being harassed, intimidated, tortured and even
murdered continues to spread amongst exiles, largely through social
networks.
Refugees fear that, if they return, they could also become victims of
the repression that has targeted real or imagined opponents of the
government, including officers who defected from the Forces Armées du
Burundi, dubbed the ex-FAB.
Although the government has shut down independent radio stations and
clamped down on the media, new forms of reporting and networks of
sharing information have emerged. And through these, ongoing reports
of abuse make clear that the violence continues.
On 9 February, for instance, police and ruling party youth – known as
the Imbonerakure – arrested, in some cases violently, at least 30
people in the city of Makamba on the grounds that they did not have
IDs. A day later, a local leader of the Frodebu-Nyakuri party in
Kirundo province was detained and beaten by a group of Imbonerakure.
Such reports are virtually a daily occurrence.
Moreover, the human rights situation has particularly deteriorated in
the past month following an attack on the Mukoni military camp by
unidentified armed men on 24 January. Since then, there has been an
intensification of executions, torture and detention, mainly against
ex-FAB. During reprisal operations following the assault, at least one
former soldier was killed by the security forces and 15-25 arrested.
And according to Ligue Iteka, a recently-banned local human rights
organisation, twenty people were sentenced to up to 30 years
imprisonment in an expeditious trial held on 26 January.
2) Little progress has been made in talks
The visit of Burundi’s Minister of Interior to Uganda last week
coincided with a new session of dialogue mediated by former Tanzanian
president Benjamin Mkapa.
This round of the Inter-Burundi talks was initially hopeful as it
promised the participation of the main protagonists in the ongoing
crisis and was meant to address, for the first time, “substantive
issues”. But the talks were boycotted by the Burundian government,
which argued that it cannot sit down with individuals under
prosecution.
To show its hostility, organisations backing Nkurunziza called for
demonstrations against the Arusha talks on Saturday. Protests took
place in the capital and in some provinces, claiming the dialogue is
illegitimate because of the participation of “enemies of democracy”.
In 2000, the signing of the Arusha Accords and ensuing ceasefire
between the government and rebels created an environment in which more
than 500,000 refugees felt safe to return. Until a similar political
compromise is found today, few will consider taking that same journey
home.
3) Nkurunziza is still at it
Burundi’s crisis began in April 2015 when President Nkurunziza
declared his intention to run for a third term in office. Many
believed this contravened the constitutional two-term limit but,
amidst alleged heavy intimidation, the constitutional court deemed his
bid legal based on the fact that Nkurunziza wasn’t elected by a
popular vote for his first term.
Now, however, the government has reportedly begun work on a reform
process that could lead to the abolition of presidential term limits
altogether. According to the first Burundian vice-president, Gaston
Sindimwo, the Council of Ministers on 15 February set up a commission
to propose a draft amendment to the Constitution. If the reform is
adopted, it would open the way for an unlimited reign for Nkurunziza
and the ruling CNDD-FDD.
This would not only violate the spirit and letter of the 2000 Arusha
Accords, but it would likely keep the hundreds of thousands of
Burundians that have fled during the crisis to stay in exile. This
possibility has raised concerns amongst regional facilitators who have
vocally insisted that the current moment and context are not
favourable for a constitutional amendment.
4) A humanitarian crisis back home
According to the UN Population Fund, three million Burundians – over a
quarter of the population – are currently in need of urgent
humanitarian assistance, including access to safe drinking water, food
and health services.
This crisis is partly due to prolonged drought and torrential rains,
which have destroyed crop yields, but it has been exacerbated by the
deterioration of the social and economic conditions as well as
sanctions imposed by donors and a reduction of the state budget.
For refugees in neighbouring countries, the prospect of returning and
inflating the size of a population already struggling to survive is
not an appealing one. Additionally, news of ongoing displacements due
to hunger as well as instability reinforces their conviction that
Burundi is not yet a safe country to which to return – despite what
the government may insist publicly.
This article was jointly authored by a local network of peacebuilders
operating in Burundi. They have asked to remain anonymous due to fears
for their safety.
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4 thoughts on “4 ways in which the Burundi crisis is far from over”
ndayiringiye s says:
February 22, 2017 at 7:52 am
This is sad but true. Burundi and Burundians are in big problems
Emmanuel says:
February 22, 2017 at 9:18 am
False reporting by the hidden politicians under Human Rights
organizations. Burundi is peaceful now. Refugees should go home
Emmanuel says:
February 22, 2017 at 1:09 pm
After reading the article again, here are some of my comments.
Liars, liars, pants are on fire! Used to sing kids in my
neighborhood. No one has ever reported 1,400 deaths except those liars
under cover of unanimous peace builders in Burundi. This is the double
of the number which used to be cited by other war mongers to make the
case. Even the 700 deaths already reported before by the other
reporters against Burundi were not right. Burundians do not count the
dead, because even one dead unnecessarily is too much.
When Interior Minister Pascal Barandagiye visited Nakivale camp in
Uganda, there was no protest nor demonstration against his presence.
The message saying that they will return soon was voiced by some who
are fed up with continuous disinformation in the refugee camps. Two
main opposition leaders Alice Nzomukunda and Mathias Basabose have
just joined former Presidents Sylvestre Ntibantunganya and Domitien
Ndayizeye who currently live in Burundi after more than a year in
exile. This is a sign and proof that peace and security are now a
reality in Burundi. So, there is no more violence in Burundi. You can
walk at anytime and anywhere in Burundi without fear.
You said little progress has been made in talks? Yes, because the
government is not willing to talk with the 13th of May 2015 coup
plotters and makers that have to be prosecuted before any talk. But
the government is ready to talk with anyone who was not implicated in
that coup or not wanted by Burundian justice.
Again, President Nkurunziza Pierre was constitutionally elected
for 5 years term ending in August 2020. What do you mean by the
subtitle “Nkurunziza is still at it”? And if the Constitution is
amended by the people and ask him to run again, well, what do you call
democracy? Isn’t the government of the people by the people and for
the people? Unless you limit the meaning of democracy by two terms
with or without the will of the people, you should be all right with
my way of thinking of democracy.
Finally, the humanitarian crisis you wish for Burundi is not yet
declared by the responsible body unless you want to use it as a cash
cow. Hunger noticed in some areas is not general and is still under
evaluation, before it is declared humanitarian crisis so that the
government would call for humanitarian assistance.
Well, dear unanimous peace builders, do not use such natural
phenomenon to make a point of your dirty wishes or wants. I understand
that if the refugees go home, the covert politicians who pushed them
to exile will have lost the case of transitional government they
wanted to happen in Burundi and which is the real root cause of all
these deaths evoked before and the regime change that the
international community funded and defended.
Burundi with God’s help prevailed and won against the Sindumuja
and other Frondeurs now coveted in peace builders unanimous. My
congratulations to Burundian leaders and people. Burundi should be an
example to all African nations and all countries of the world which
are still preyed by ghost monsters of neocolonialists.
I invite refugee who wants to go home to come to evaluate the
peace and security situation instead of listening to those politicians
who induced them into exile with a pretext of genocide in preparation.
Maybe there are those opposition politicians who were preparing for
genocide. There will be no genocide in Burundi. No matter what
situation would happen in Burundi. God bless Burundi and its people
Verstehen says:
February 23, 2017 at 8:27 am
Burundi has become in these last two years a kind of punching ball
for many authors, espacially junior researchers in social or political
sciences seeking to submit their first paper, free lance journo
interested in selling articles and global NGOs , the prefered tools to
lobby and put pressure on Bdi Gov used by his really opposition: the
European Union.
Going back on this article, there some daily security or justice
businesses that are now being considered as atrocity for Burundi
whereas they are undertaken as routine in whole countries of the world
-Do you realize that you consider IDs check as a crime ?
-What does mean intensification of executions when you just tell
us that one person was killed, he has been executed several times?
-You put forward that prosecution targeted ex FAB military, just
to quote for you Mr vice president”you will be held responsible of
your evil doing first,before one notice you are ex Fab or whatever”.
Do you need Arusha balance in robbery,burglary?
-You assume no progress have been done in peace talks,you should
recall that CNARED reported it self in Arusha, alongside CNDD and
other parties. You wanted an agreement to be signed at this stage?
-Humanitarian crisis. Every one except you know that december and
january are called lean period regarding agricultural calendar,nothing
is ripening in the fields at those dates, adding climate hazards ,food
security was challenging for many households. Now that you want to
push that cyclic fact in humanitarian crisis, just tell since december
when we got the infrormation, your 3 millions in emergency need, did
they get food or they are strong enough to resist 3 months of
starvation?
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