Arusha Accords (2000)
119-409: [REDACTED] Burundi Supported by: RPF ( Rwanda ) Ethnic Hutu rebels: Hutu militias and youth gangs: Gov. forces: The Burundian Civil War was a civil war in Burundi lasting from 1993 to 2005. The civil war was the result of longstanding ethnic divisions between the Hutu and the Tutsi ethnic groups. The conflict began following the first multi-party elections in
238-400: A 1966 coup replaced the monarchy with a one-party republic. Over the next 27 years, Burundi was ruled by a series of Tutsi dictators and notably experienced a genocide of Hutus in 1972 . In July 1993, Melchior Ndadaye became Burundi's first Hutu president following the country's first multi-party presidential election . His assassination three months later during a coup attempt provoked
357-517: A colonial federation with Rwanda. The independent country initially preserved its monarchy. The country's first multi-party national elections were held in June 1993. These elections were immediately preceded by 25 years of Tutsi military regimes, beginning with Michel Micombero , who had led a successful coup in 1966 and replaced the monarchy with a presidential republic. Under the Micombero regime,
476-661: A constitutional monarchy with Mwami Mwambutsa IV, Prince Rwagasore's father, serving as the country's king. On 18 September 1962 Burundi joined the United Nations . In 1963, King Mwambutsa appointed a Hutu prime minister, Pierre Ngendandumwe , but he was assassinated on 15 January 1965 by a Rwandan Tutsi employed by the US Embassy. The assassination occurred in the broader context of the Congo Crisis during which Western anti-communist countries were confronting
595-573: A democratic transition began in Burundi in the early 1990s, the historical core leadership of PALIPEHUTU decided to cooperate with the Hutu-dominated Front for Democracy in Burundi ( Front pour la démocratie au Burundi , FRODEBU) party and to peacefully participate in politics. Radical members of PALIPEHUTU-FNL disagreed with this decision. In contrast, FROLINA was firmly unified under the command of Joseph Karumba , but always remained
714-464: A reintegration program organized by UNICEF had led to the release of 3,000 children from the military and armed groups. According to Child Soldiers International: The majority of those [children] who took part in the program returned to farm and fish in their local communities, but nearly 600 returned to school. Some 1,800 former child soldiers received occupational training. Health care was provided for those with special needs and psychosocial support
833-721: A complex power-sharing architecture that has been described as "associational" in its logic, as it aims to provide guarantees of representation for the Tutsi minority without entrenching the ethnic cleavage at the centre of Burundian politics. This institutional design provides an original contribution from Burundian negotiators and constitution makers to institutional options to manage ethnic conflict. Reconstruction efforts in Burundi started to practically take effect after 2006. The UN shut down its peacekeeping mission and re-focused on helping with reconstruction. Toward achieving economic reconstruction , Rwanda, D.R.Congo and Burundi relaunched
952-495: A major offensive between October and December 2000, attempting to clear the Tenga forest near Bujumbura of insurgents. Though killing many rebel fighters, the operation was a failure, and the Tenga forest remained an insurgent stronghold. After bitter negotiations, an agreement was finally reached which established a transitional government, where the presidency and vice-presidency would be rotated every 18 months, sharing power between
1071-434: A matter of months and replaced him with Laurent-Désiré Kabila , CNDD-FDD rebels still managed to significantly expand their operations in 1997. Infiltrating Bururi Province and Makamba Province in Burundi's south, they even attacked Rutovu , Buyoya's home town and center of Burundi's Tutsi elite at the time. In fact, at least elements of the new Congolese government under Laurent-Désiré's son Joseph Kabila came to support
1190-507: A means of obtaining or forcing an outcome, frequently along the lines of "bargaining" or "win-lose". The main objective was to transform the Burundian government and military structurally in order to bridge the ethnic gap between the Tutsi and Hutu. It was to take place in two major steps. First, a transitional power-sharing government would be established, with the presidents holding office for three-year terms. The second objective involved
1309-468: A new constitution in 1981, which maintained Burundi's status as a one-party state . In August 1984, Bagaza was elected head of state. During his tenure, Bagaza suppressed political opponents and religious freedoms. Major Pierre Buyoya , a Tutsi, overthrew Bagaza in 1987 , suspended the constitution and dissolved political parties. He reinstated military rule by a Military Committee for National Salvation (CSMN). Anti-Tutsi ethnic propaganda disseminated by
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#17327766007321428-470: A new militia in Cibitoke Province , which was initially simply known as "the young men" ( les jeunes or abajeunes ). In contrast to previous self-defense groups which were either unarmed or dominated by Tutsi, the abajeunes were both armed as well as mostly Hutu. They consisted of ex-rebels and former civilian patrolmen who had proven themselves to be trustworthy. Trained, armed and supplied by
1547-399: A princely aristocracy ( ganwa ) which owned most of the land and required a tribute, or tax, from local farmers (mainly Hutu) and herders (mainly Tutsi). The Kingdom of Burundi was characterised by a hierarchical political authority and tributary economic exchange. In the mid-18th century, the Tutsi royalty consolidated authority over land, production, and distribution with the development of
1666-452: A rather weak and marginal group. After decades of military dictatorships, the parliamentary and presidential elections of June and July 1993 were the first ones in Burundi to be free and fair. FRODEBU decisively defeated the largely Tutsi Union for National Progress ( Union pour le progrès national , UPRONA) of President Buyoya. Thus, FRODEBU leader Melchior Ndadaye became Burundi's first democratically elected Hutu president. His tenure
1785-470: A restructuring of the armed forces, where the two groups would be represented equally. As the protracted nature of the peace talks demonstrated, the mediators and negotiating parties confronted several obstacles. First, the Burundian officials perceived the goals as "unrealistic" and viewed the treaty as ambiguous, contradictory and confusing. Second, and perhaps most importantly, the Burundians believed
1904-642: A result of the Rwandan Revolution, many Rwandan Tutsi refugees arrived in Burundi from 1959 to 1961. Burundi's first elections took place on 8 September 1961 and UPRONA, a multi-ethnic unity party led by Prince Louis Rwagasore won just over 80% of the electorate's votes. In the wake of the elections, on 13 October, the 29-year-old Prince Rwagasore was assassinated , robbing Burundi of its most popular and well-known nationalist. The country claimed independence on 1 July 1962, and legally changed its name from Ruanda-Urundi to Burundi. Burundi became
2023-399: A rural society, with just 13.4% of the population living in urban areas in 2019. Burundi is densely populated, and many young people emigrate in search of opportunities elsewhere. Roughly 85% of the population are of Hutu ethnic origin, 15% are Tutsi , and fewer than 1% are Twa . The official languages of Burundi are Kirundi , French , and English—Kirundi being officially recognised as
2142-602: A staunch regime of law and order and sharply repressed Hutu militarism. In late April 1972, two events led to the outbreak of the First Burundian Genocide . On 27 April 1972, a rebellion led by Hutu members of the gendarmerie broke out in the lakeside towns of Rumonge and Nyanza-Lac and the rebels declared the short-lived Martyazo Republic . The rebels attacked both Tutsi and any Hutu who refused to join their rebellion. During this initial Hutu outbreak, anywhere from 800 to 1200 people were killed. At
2261-439: A transitional constitution, and Buyoya was sworn in as president. Formal peace talks with the rebels began at Arusha on 15 June 1998. The talks proved to be extremely difficult. Tanzanian ex-President Julius Nyerere acted as chief negotiator, and attempted to use caution and patience to achieve a solution. Upon Nyerere's natural death in 1999, Nelson Mandela assumed responsibility for the peace talks. He and other heads of states in
2380-582: A transitional government for Burundi was planned as a part of the Arusha Peace and Reconciliation Agreement. The transitional government was placed on a trial basis for five years. After several aborted cease-fires, a 2001 peace plan and power-sharing agreement has been relatively successful. A cease-fire was signed in 2003 between the Tutsi-controlled Burundian government and the largest Hutu rebel group, CNDD-FDD (National Council for
2499-525: A war-wary population, the abilities of the FNL to wage an insurgency gradually whittled down. By late 2004, it had just about 1,000 fighters left, and its area of operations had been reduced to just Bujumbura Rural Province . In August 2004, the FNL claimed responsibility for killing 160 Congolese Tutsi refugees in a United Nations camp at Gatumba near the Congo border in Burundi. The attack was strongly condemned by
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#17327766007322618-507: Is bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and southeast, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west; Lake Tanganyika lies along its southwestern border. The capital city is Gitega and the largest city is Bujumbura . The Twa , Hutu and Tutsi peoples have lived in Burundi for at least 500 years. For more than 200 of those years, Burundi was an independent kingdom . In 1885, it became part of
2737-508: Is ethnically integrated. The focus of the UN's mission had been to enshrine the power-sharing arrangements in a popularly voted constitution, so that elections may be held and a new government installed. Disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration were done in tandem with elections preparations. In February 2005, the constitution was approved with over 90% of the popular vote. In May, June and August 2005, three separate elections were also held at
2856-510: Is one of the few countries in Africa, along with its neighbour Rwanda among others (such as Botswana , Lesotho , and Eswatini ), to be a direct territorial continuation of a pre-colonial era African state. The early history of Burundi, and especially the role and nature of the country's three dominant ethnic groups, the Twa, Hutu and Tutsi, is highly debated amongst academics. The first evidence of
2975-450: Is required. Civilians are victims of repeated acts of violence done by the FLN. The latter also recruits child soldiers. The rate of violence against women is high. Perpetrators regularly escape prosecution and punishment by the state. There is an urgent need for reform of the judicial system. Genocide , war crimes and crimes against humanity continued to go unpunished. In late March 2008,
3094-525: Is the poorest country in the world by nominal GDP per capita , and is one of the least developed countries . It faces widespread poverty , corruption , instability , authoritarianism , and illiteracy . The 2018 World Happiness Report ranked the country as the world's least happy with a rank of 156. Burundi is a member of the African Union , Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa , United Nations , East African Community (EAC), OIF and
3213-915: The African Union Mission to Burundi , deployed to help oversee the installation of a transitional government. In June 2004, the UN stepped in and took over peacekeeping responsibilities as a signal of growing international support for the already markedly advanced peace process in Burundi. The mission's mandate, under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter , has been to monitor cease-fire, carry out disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of former military personnel, support humanitarian assistance and refugee and IDP return, assist with elections, protect international staff and Burundian civilians, monitor Burundi's troublesome borders, including halting illicit arms flows, and assist in carrying out institutional reforms including those of
3332-640: The Non-Aligned Movement . Modern Burundi is named after the King of Urundi , who ruled the region starting in the 16th century. It derives its name from a word "Urundi" in Kirundi the local language, which means "Another one". Later the Belgian mandate to Ruanda-Urundi region came to rename it and their former capital "Usumbura" of both kingdoms by adding the letter "B" in front of it. Burundi
3451-759: The Party for National Recovery 's ( Parti pour le redressement national , PARENA) Imbogaraburundi ("those-who-will-bring-Burundi-back"), the People's Reconciliation Party 's ( Parti de la réconciliation des personnes , PRP) Sans Echecs ("the unfailing ones"), and urban youth gangs like Sans Défaite ("the undefeated"), Sans Pitié ("the pitiless ones"), Sans Capote ("those-who-do-not-wear-condoms") which acted as forces for hire for various extremist Tutsi parties. Hutu parties like FRODEBU and FDD also raised supportive militias, Inziraguhemuka ("those-who-did-not-betray") and Intagoheka ("those-who-never-sleep") respectively, while
3570-626: The Treaty of Versailles , Germany was forced to cede "control" of the Western section of the former German East Africa to Belgium. On 20 October 1924, Ruanda-Urundi , which consisted of modern-day Rwanda and Burundi, became a Belgian League of Nations mandate territory , with Usumbura as its capital. In practical terms it was considered part of the Belgian colonial empire . Burundi, as part of Ruanda-Urundi, continued its kingship dynasty despite
3689-556: The U.N. Security Council , which issued a statement of outrage at the fact that "most of the victims were women, children and babies who were shot dead and burned in their shelters. The FNL attempted to deflect criticism by claiming that the victims had been Banyamulenge militants, but the Gatumba massacre proved to be a propaganda disaster. The group was consequently labelled as "terrorist" both internationally and in Burundi, weakening it politically. Confronted with its declining fortunes,
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3808-537: The allied powers launched a coordinated attack on the German colony. The German army stationed in Burundi was forced to retreat by the numerical superiority of the Belgian army and by 17 June 1916, Burundi and Rwanda were occupied. The Force Publique and the British Lake Force then started a thrust to capture Tabora , an administrative centre of central German East Africa. After the war, as outlined in
3927-670: The parliamentary elections , postponed from November 2004, in which "the Government of Burundi and the Independent National Electoral Commission conducted a technically-sound election, carried out in an atmosphere of peace and security." The Forces for the Defense of Democracy (FDD) ended up winning the parliamentary elections. Several months later, Pierre Nkurunziza from the Hutu FDD group
4046-420: The "Puissance Auto-défense-Amasekanya" (PA-Amasekanya) ethnic militia in mid-2000 to resist the peace agreement, but the leaders of this faction were promptly jailed. On 23 July 2001, it was agreed that the transitional government would be led by Buyoya for 18 months, followed by Domitien Ndayizeye , a Hutu and FRODEBU leader. Furthermore, a reform of the Burundian military would be implemented as soon as possible;
4165-577: The 12-year Burundian Civil War . In 2000, the Arusha Agreement was adopted, which was largely integrated in a new constitution in 2005. Since the 2005 post-war elections, the country's dominant party has been the National Council for the Defense of Democracy – Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD–FDD), widely accused of authoritarian governance and perpetuating the country's poor human rights record . Burundi remains primarily
4284-726: The Burundian government was talking with the Hutu-led Palipehutu-National Liberation Forces (NLF) to bring peace to the country. African leaders began a series of peace talks between the warring factions following a request by the United Nations Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali for them to intervene in the humanitarian crisis. Talks were initiated under the aegis of former Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere in 1995; following his death, South African President Nelson Mandela took
4403-471: The Burundian insurgents by the early 2000s just as Mobutu had done it previously. In response to the deteriorating security situation, the government opted to organize a new paramilitary initiative. The military forced civilians to organize unarmed patrols to guard their communities against rebels. Though the state authorities claimed that these self-defense groups consisted of volunteers, civilians were generally coerced with threats of violence or fines. Most of
4522-463: The Burundian state dates back to the late 16th century where it emerged on the eastern foothills. Over the following centuries it expanded, annexing smaller neighbours. The Kingdom of Burundi, or Urundi, in the Great Lakes region was a polity ruled by a traditional monarch with several princes beneath him; succession struggles were common. The king, known as the mwami (translated as ruler) headed
4641-473: The Constitution, judiciary, armed forces and police. The mission has been allotted 5,650 military personnel, 120 civilian police and about 1,000 international and local civilian personnel. The mission has been functioning well. It has greatly benefited from the transitional government, which has functioned and is in the process of transitioning to one that will be popularly elected. The main difficulty in
4760-410: The Defense of Democracy-Forces for the Defense of Democracy). In 2003, FRODEBU leader Domitien Ndayizeye (Hutu) was elected president. In early 2005, ethnic quotas were formed for determining positions in Burundi's government. Throughout the year, elections for parliament and president occurred. Pierre Nkurunziza (Hutu), once a leader of a rebel group, was elected president in 2005. As of 2008 ,
4879-452: The FLN sought for the parliament to adopt a law guaranteeing them 'provisional immunity' from arrest. This would cover ordinary crimes, but not grave violations of international humanitarian law like war crimes or crimes against humanity . Even though the government has granted this in the past to people, the FLN has been unable to obtain the provisional immunity. On 17 April 2008, the FLN bombarded Bujumbura. The Burundian army fought back and
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4998-399: The FLN suffered heavy losses. A new ceasefire was signed on 26 May 2008. In August 2008, President Nkurunziza met with the FLN leader Agathon Rwasa , with the mediation of Charles Nqakula , South Africa's Minister for Safety and Security. This was the first direct meeting since June 2007. Both agreed to meet twice a week to establish a commission to resolve any disputes that might arise during
5117-592: The FNL signalled that it was willing to negotiate an end of its insurgency. In 2005, many developments were made in the peace process. The president signed a law in January 2005 to initiate a new national army, consisting of Tutsi military forces and all but one of the Hutu rebel groups. The Constitution was approved by voters in a referendum—marking the first time Burundians had voted since 1994. They voted again in July during
5236-549: The FNL, signed a ceasefire deal in Tanzania , "solidifying the end of a 12-year civil war." As part of the agreement, members of the FNL were to be assembled, demobilized, and integrated into the national army. Dissident parts of the FNL, most notably the National Liberation Forces – Icanzo (FNL–Icanzo), continued their insurgency, however, and only surrendered later on. In mid-April 2008, FNL rebels shelled
5355-791: The German East Africa Company, the British Empire and the Sultanate of Zanzibar , the German Empire was called upon to put down the Abushiri revolts and protect the empire's interests in the region. The German East Africa Company transferred its rights to the German Empire in 1891, in this way establishing the German colony of German East Africa , which included Burundi (Urundi), Rwanda (Ruanda), and
5474-584: The German colony of German East Africa . After the First World War and Germany's defeat , the League of Nations mandated the territories of Burundi and neighboring Rwanda to Belgium in a combined territory called Rwanda-Urundi . After the Second World War , this transformed into a United Nations Trust Territory . Burundi gained independence in 1962 and initially retained the monarchy ;
5593-475: The Hutu in the administration. They were arrested and jailed. A few weeks later, Buyoya appointed a new government, with an equal number of Hutu and Tutsi ministers. He appointed Adrien Sibomana (Hutu) as Prime Minister. Buyoya also created a commission to address issues of national unity. In 1992, the government created a new constitution that provided for a multi-party system, but a civil war broke out. An estimated total of 250,000 people died in Burundi from
5712-427: The Hutu president in a coup , ostensibly to restore order. As the government had already been under de facto military control by this point, the coup mostly cemented the status quo. Upon assuming power, Buyoya took action to solve the war peacefully. He brought the radical Tutsi mostly under control, forcing their militias to integrate into the military or to be disbanded. Buyoya also attempted to open negotiations with
5831-439: The Hutu street gang "Chicago Bulls" from Bujumbura managed to expand into a small army. These militias undermined attempts by the government to restore peace. The Tutsi militias were often trained and armed by extremist factions in the Burundian military. With aid by the army, they defeated a number of Hutu militias, but also terrorized as well as displaced many Hutu civilians at Bujumbura and other cities in 1995/96. Furthermore,
5950-616: The Hutu-dominated Front for Democracy in Burundi (FRODEBU), won the first democratic election. He became the first Hutu head of state, leading a pro-Hutu government. Though he attempted to smooth the country's bitter ethnic divide, his reforms antagonised soldiers in the Tutsi-dominated army, and he was assassinated amidst a failed military coup in October 1993, after only three months in office. The ensuing Burundian Civil War (1993–2005) saw persistent violence between Hutu rebels and
6069-592: The Hutu-dominated police was carried out but failed. The Tutsi dominated army, then led by Tutsi officer Captain Michel Micombero purged Hutu from their ranks and carried out reprisal attacks which ultimately claimed the lives of up to 5,000 people in a precursor to the 1972 Burundian Genocide . King Mwambutsa, who had fled the country during the October coup of 1965, was deposed by a coup in July 1966 and his teenage son, Prince Ntare V , claimed
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#17327766007326188-759: The Hutus and Tutsis. While the Burundian government and three Tutsi groups signed the Arusha Accords ceasefire accord in August 2000, two leading Hutu rebel groups refused to participate, and the fighting continued. The Arusha talks closed on November 30, 2000. Twenty Tutsis and one British woman were killed on 28 December 2000, in the Titanic Express massacre . As the Arusha Accords were gradually implemented, severe challenges remained. Several times,
6307-542: The Liberation of the Hutu People ;– National Forces of Liberation ( Parti pour la libération du peuple Hutu – Forces nationales de libération , PALIPEHUTU-FNL) and National Liberation Front ( Front de libération nationale , FROLINA) which had been active from the 1980s. Of the two, PALIPEHUTU-FNL much more powerful than FROLINA, but also suffered from more internal divisions. When
6426-609: The Ruanda-Urundi union. In the following months, Burundian political parties began to advocate for the end of Belgian colonial rule and the separation of Rwanda and Burundi. The first and largest of these political parties was the Union for National Progress (UPRONA). Burundi's push for independence was influenced by the Rwandan Revolution and the accompanying instability and ethnic conflict that occurred there. As
6545-566: The Rwandan Hutu factions which consequently aided them in attacking the Burundian military. And despite the CNDD-FDD’s denial of these links, Filip Reyntjens assessed how northern Burundi’s situation made Rwandan and Burundian Hutu rebel groups “objective allies” for geopolitical convenience, given an interest “in effectively controlling this area which could become a major base for an invasion of Rwanda by Rwandan exiles.” This situation, and
6664-577: The Rwandan government, and influenced its decision to launch the First Congo War in late 1996 to overthrow President Mobutu of Zaire. By doing so, Rwanda hoped to eliminate Zaire as haven for various Hutu rebel groups; the CNDD-FDD had for example set up major bases at Uvira and Bukavu in eastern Zaire from where it launched raids into Burundi. Although Rwanda successfully overthrew Mobutu in
6783-660: The Tutsi Rwandan Patriotic Front ( Front Patriotique Rwandais , RPF) defeated the Hutu regime of Rwanda in July 1994, ending the Rwandan Civil War and genocide. The military and paramilitary forces of old Rwandan Hutu regime (Ex- FAR / ALiR and Interahamwe) subsequently fled across the border into Zaire. There, they rebuilt their strength and launched an insurgency against the RPF. The Burundian CNDD-FDD and PALIPEHUTU-FNL soon allied themselves with
6902-532: The Tutsi civil society regarded FRODEBU as génocidaires , believing that the party had initiated the anti-Tutsi mass killings following the 1993 coup. They thus organized demonstrations and strikes to bring down what they considered a criminal regime. A succession of bi-ethnic governments attempted to stabilize the country from early 1994 to July 1996, but all failed. Tutsi extremists in the army continued to undermine any attempt of FRODEBU to consolidate power, and parts of FRODEBU decided in early 1994 that compromise
7021-518: The Tutsi majority army. It is estimated that some 300,000 people, mostly civilians, were killed in the years following the assassination. In early 1994, the parliament elected Cyprien Ntaryamira (Hutu) to the office of president. He and Juvénal Habyarimana , the president of Rwanda, both Hutus, died together when their airplane was shot down in April 1994. More refugees started fleeing to Rwanda. Speaker of Parliament, Sylvestre Ntibantunganya (Hutu),
7140-464: The beginning of the Rwandan genocide , while in Burundi, the death of Ntaryamira exacerbated the violence and unrest, although there was no general massacre. Sylvestre Ntibantunganya was installed to a four-year presidency on April 8, but the security situation further declined. The influx of hundreds of thousands of Rwandan refugees and the activities of armed Hutu and Tutsi groups further destabilized
7259-405: The border, and attack Hutu refugee camps which harbored rebel forces in coordination with the Burundian military and local Tutsi militias. This development, according to Reyntjens, gave rise to the “conviction that transnational Hutu and Tutsi alliances fight each other.” The power-sharing political system of Hutu presidency and Tutsi military operated until 1996, when Tutsi Pierre Buyoya replaced
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#17327766007327378-552: The child soldiers themselves were often beaten during training. Thousands of child soldiers fought for the government in the civil war, though the exact number is not known. Hundreds were killed in combat. The Hutu rebels were also known to deploy large numbers of child soldiers; hundreds of child soldiers were in the FNL by 2004. As the Guardians of the Peace recruited ex-rebels into their ranks, some rebel child soldiers also fought for
7497-441: The civilian militiamen were also poor Hutu, while Tutsi and wealthy or well connected Hutu were generally exempted of the patrol duties. As a result of demands by Tutsi extremist politicians, the military also set up a special, armed training program for Tutsi militiamen; Hutu were not allowed to join this training. As these initiatives failed to halt the growth of the rebel movements, the Burundian military eventually decided to set up
7616-455: The communist People's Republic of China as it attempted to make Burundi a logistics base for communist insurgents battling in Congo. Parliamentary elections in May 1965 brought a majority of Hutu into the parliament, but when King Mwambutsa appointed a Tutsi prime minister, some Hutu felt this was unjust and ethnic tensions were further increased. In October 1965, an attempted coup d'état led by
7735-551: The constitution and was sworn in as president in 1998. This was the start of his second term as president, after his first term from 1987 to 1993. In response to rebel attacks, the government forced much of the population to move to refugee camps . Under Buyoya's rule, long peace talks started, mediated by South Africa . Both parties signed agreements in Arusha , Tanzania and Pretoria , South Africa, to share power in Burundi. The agreements took four years to plan. On 28 August 2000,
7854-400: The country for Tanzania and Rwanda. The last of the coups was in 1987 and installed Tutsi officer Pierre Buyoya . Buyoya attempted to institute a number of reforms to ease state control over media and attempted to facilitate a national dialogue. Instead of helping the problem, these reforms instead served to inflame ethnic tensions as hope grew among the Hutu population that the Tutsi monopoly
7973-495: The country since its independence from Belgium in 1962, and is seen as formally ending with the swearing-in of President Pierre Nkurunziza in August 2005. Children were widely used by both sides in the war. The estimated death toll stands at 300,000. Before becoming subject to European colonial rule, Burundi was governed by an ethnic Tutsi monarchy, similar to that of its neighbor Rwanda . German, and subsequently Belgian, colonial rulers found it convenient to govern through
8092-489: The country. The Tutsi extremists in the military were still present, and though they had given up outright power for the time being, they continued to undermine the civilian government in hopes of regaining full power in the future. The Hutu rebels believed that the coup had proven the impossibility of negotiations, and regarded the new Hutu-dominated civilian government as mere "stooges" of the old regime. They consequently fully resumed their insurgency. Furthermore, radicals among
8211-476: The decline of state authority in Burundi, greatly alarmed the RPF-led government of Rwanda. The RPF feared that the collapse of the Burundian government would lead not only to the influx of possibly 500,000 Tutsi refugees into Rwanda, but also provide a new haven to the Rwandan Hutu insurgents. The Rwandan government thus began providing aid to the Burundian government from 1995. Rwandan troops would repeatedly cross
8330-606: The distinction between Hutu and Tutsi was also a socio-cultural concept, instead of a purely ethnic one. There were also many reports of marriages between Hutu and Tutsi people. In general, regional ties and power struggles played a far more determining role in Burundi's politics than ethnicity. From 1884, the German East Africa Company was active in the African Great Lakes region. As a result of heightened tensions and border disputes between
8449-472: The early stages was continued resistance to the peace process by the last Hutu nationalist rebel group. This organisation continued its violent conflict on the outskirts of the capital despite the UN's presence. By June 2005, the group had stopped fighting and its representatives were brought back into the political process. All political parties have accepted a formula for inter-ethnic power-sharing: no political party can gain access to government offices unless it
8568-510: The existing power structure , perpetuating the dominance of the Tutsi minority over the ethnic Hutu majority. The Belgians generally identified the ethnic distinctions in Burundi and Rwanda with the following observations: the Twa who were short, the Hutu who were of medium height and the Tutsi who were tallest among them. Those individuals who owned more than ten cows were normally described as Tutsi. Burundi became independent in 1962, breaking from
8687-479: The force headquarters of the African Union Mission in Burundi was established in Bujumbura under South African Maj. Gen. Sipho Binda. As previously agreed, Buyoya stepped down, and Ndayizeye became President on 30 April 2003. In the following months, the CNDD-FDD faction of Pierre Nkurunziza was gradually integrated into the transitional government. A power-sharing deal was signed on 8 October 2003, and Nkurunziza
8806-424: The government after their surrender or capture. The recruitment of child soldiers by the military had been reduced by 2000. After the peace agreements brought the conflict to an end in 2005, the new constitution committed to not using children in direct combat. The parties to the conflict no longer recruited children in large numbers, but many remained active in the FNL, which had denounced the peace accord. By 2006,
8925-697: The government. A coalition government, formed by the peaceful FRODEBU faction and UPRONA in September 1994, proved to be too weak and fractured to actually govern the country. With the civil authorities factually defunct, the military effectively held control of "what little state power remained". At the same time, the power of non-state actors increased. Though many self-defense groups had been disbanded after 1993, others transformed into larger ethnic militias. These groups included unofficial paramilitary wings of Hutu and Tutsi parties, independent extremist militias, and militant youth gangs. Notable Tutsi factions included
9044-699: The government. However, smaller militant Hutu groups – such as the Forces for National Liberation – remained active. Between 1993 and 2003, many rounds of peace talks, overseen by regional leaders in Tanzania, South Africa and Uganda , gradually established power-sharing agreements to satisfy the majority of the contending groups. Initially the South African Protection Support Detachment was deployed to protect Burundian leaders returning from exile. These forces became part of
9163-420: The helm. As the talks progressed, South African President Thabo Mbeki and United States President Bill Clinton also lent their respective weight. The peace talks took the form of Track I mediations . This method of negotiation can be defined as a form of diplomacy involving governmental or intergovernmental representatives, who may use their positive reputations, mediation, or the "carrot and stick" method as
9282-414: The insurgents. Despite this, the coup also strengthened the Hutu rebel groups, as Buyoya's regime was regarded as illegitimate, and neighboring countries imposed an embargo on Burundi to protest against the coup. The civil war consequently escalated in intensity. Hutu rebels grew in power and killed about 300 Tutsi in a major attack on 20 July 1996. The increasing activity of the Hutu rebels in Burundi worried
9401-418: The integration of CNDD-FDD fighters went well. In contrast to earlier attempts to ensure peace which had been sabotaged by army extremists, most of the military had become wary of the constant civil war by the early 2000s. Its Tutsi and Hutu troops proved to be willing to stay loyal to the new government. The United Nations Operation in Burundi also helped to stabilize the country. In spite of these successes,
9520-518: The international community which sought to resolve the Great Lakes refugee crisis . In contrast, leading Tanzanian statesman Julius Nyerere wanted the region to be stabilized and pacified, and believed that the existence of Burundi and Rwanda as independent states posed a security problem by itself. Ultimately, he desired for these states to be annexed into Tanzania, therefore unifying all territory that had formerly comprised German East Africa . In
9639-399: The killings. Analysts have called this period the beginning of the "culture of impunity." Other analysts put the origins of the "culture of impunity" earlier, in 1965 and 1972, when a small number of identifiable Hutus unleashed massive killings of Tutsis. In the aftermath of the killings, a group of Hutu intellectuals wrote an open letter to Pierre Buyoya , asking for more representation of
9758-626: The latter was especially contentious among the Tutsi. The transitional government was implemented in October 2001. Buyoya was sworn in as internationally recognized president in November, while the first South African peacekeepers arrived in Burundi. Despite this, the main Hutu rebel groups, CNDD-FDD and FNL, still refused to sign a ceasefire agreement. Instead, fighting intensified, as the FNL launched numerous attacks around Bujumbura. Some 300 boys were kidnapped from Museuma College on November 9, 2001. The army responded by launching an offensive against
9877-474: The legislative division of Burundi's government between chiefdoms and lower chiefdoms. Chiefdoms were in charge of land, and lower sub-chiefdoms were established. Native authorities also had powers. In 1948, Belgium allowed the region to form political parties . These factions contributed to Burundi gaining its independence from Belgium, on 1 July 1962. On 20 January 1959, King Mwami Mwambutsa IV requested Burundi's independence from Belgium and dissolution of
9996-593: The local level for the Parliament and the presidency. While there are still some difficulties with refugee returns and securing adequate food supplies for the war-weary population, the mission managed to win the trust and confidence of a majority of the formerly warring leaders, as well as the population at large. It was involved with several "quick effect" projects, including rehabilitating and building schools, orphanages, health clinics and rebuilding infrastructure such as water lines. The 2005 Constitution formalised
10115-548: The mainland part of Tanzania (formerly known as Tanganyika ). The German Empire stationed armed forces in Rwanda and Burundi during the late 1880s. The location of the present-day city of Gitega served as an administrative centre for the Ruanda-Urundi region. During the First World War , the East African Campaign greatly affected the African Great Lakes region. The Belgian and British colonial forces of
10234-777: The military government was destabilized from the beginning, as it faced internal chaos and opposition by foreign powers. As a result of President Ndadaye's murder, violence and chaos broke out all over Burundi. Hutu attacked and killed many UPRONA supporters, most of them Tutsi but also some Hutu, while the putschists and allied Tutsi groups assaulted Hutu and FRODEBU sympathizers. Many civilians banded together in local militias to defend themselves, but these groups quickly became proactive as well, carrying out attacks and mass killings against each other. Urban street gangs, many of which had been biethnic before 1993, split along ethnic lines and began to work for extremist politicians. They received money and guns, and in return demonstrated, and murdered on
10353-435: The military, the abajeunes were a success. The program was thus expanded to the entire country; the abajeunes in southern Burundi soon became known as the " Guardians of the Peace ". Numbering 3,000 fighters by late 1997, they were decisive in keeping the insurgents at bay. Nevertheless, the number of war casualties further increased in 1998. In 1998, Buyoya and the opposition-led Hutu parliament reached an agreement to sign
10472-468: The minority Tutsi generally dominated governance. In 1972, Hutu militants organized and carried out systematic attacks on ethnic Tutsi, with the declared intent of annihilating the whole group. The military regime responded with large-scale reprisals targeting Hutus. The total number of casualties was never established, but estimates for the Tutsi genocide and the reprisals on the Hutus together are said to exceed 100,000. As many refugees and asylum-seekers left
10591-418: The nascent government, and when the ceasefire would begin. The spoilers of the peace talks were the hardliner Tutsi and Hutu groups who refused to sign the accord; as a result, violence intensified. Three years later at a summit of African leaders in Tanzania, the Burundian president and the main opposition Hutu group signed an accord to end the conflict; the signatory members were granted ministerial posts within
10710-536: The nobility and in this way also had a say in the functioning of the state. The classification of Hutu or Tutsi was not merely based on ethnic criteria alone. Hutu farmers that managed to acquire wealth and livestock were regularly granted the higher social status of Tutsi, some even made it to become close advisors of the Ganwa . On the other hand, there are also reports of Tutsi that lost all their cattle and subsequently lost their higher status and were called Hutu. Thus,
10829-426: The number of people killed between 80,000 and 210,000. In addition, several hundred thousand Hutu were estimated to have fled the killings into Zaïre , Rwanda and Tanzania . Following the civil war and genocide, Micombero became mentally distraught and withdrawn. In 1976, Colonel Jean-Baptiste Bagaza , a Tutsi, led a bloodless coup to topple Micombero and set about promoting reform. His administration drafted
10948-451: The orders of the Tutsi and Hutu parties. An estimated 50,000 to 100,000 people died within a year about as many Hutu as Tutsi. As result of this chaos and international pressure, the putschists' regime collapsed, and power was returned to a FRODEBU-dominated civilian government. The mass killings consequently abated, and the country was somewhat restabilized by the end of 1993. The coup and subsequent ethnic violence had however deeply affected
11067-679: The peace negotiations. The UN has attempted to evaluate the impact of its peace-building initiatives. In the early 2010s, the UN peacekeeping mission in Burundi sought to assess the success of its Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration program by counting the number of arms that had been collected, given the prevalence of arms in the country. However, these evaluations failed to include data from local populations, which are significant in impact evaluations of peacebuilding initiatives. 1993 Burundian legislative election Parliamentary elections were held in Burundi on 29 June 1993. They were
11186-462: The peace process almost broke down. Even though some moderate Tutsi parties had signed the peace deal, they remained opposed to some of its provisitions. Many Tutsi extremists refused to accept the Arusha Accords at all and refused any deal with the Hutu rebels. On 18 April 2001, an attempted coup against Buyoya failed. The putschists had wanted to prevent the power-sharing deal from coming into effect. A group of extremist Tutsis also attempted to revive
11305-450: The presence of European authorities. The Belgians, however, preserved many of the kingdom's institutions; the Burundian monarchy succeeded in surviving into the post-colonial period. Following the Second World War , Ruanda-Urundi was classified as a United Nations Trust Territory under Belgian administrative authority. During the 1940s, a series of policies caused divisions throughout the country. On 4 October 1943, powers were split in
11424-555: The rebel bases in Tenga forest in December, claiming to have killed 500 insurgents. The September 9, 2002 Itaba massacre left hundreds of unarmed civilians dead. After being promised to be included in the new government, two wings of CNDD-FDD finally agreed to a ceasefire and joined the Arusha agreement on 3 December 2002. The PALIPEHUTU-FNL refused to enter negotiations with the government and continued its struggle. On April 9, 2003,
11543-454: The rebels to set up bases on their territories from where they could launch raids into Burundi. The reasons for which they supported the insurgents differed greatly: Zairean President Mobutu Sese Seko believed that he could gain political leverage by harboring Rwandan and Burundian Hutu militants and refugees. They would suppress anti-Mobutu groups in Zaire, and give him something to bargain with
11662-411: The region increased the pressure on Burundi's political leadership, pushing them to accept a government with participation of the rebel groups. Meanwhile, the civil war continued unabated, despite the efforts of the international community to facilitate the peace process. Though 1999 saw a reduction of fighting, the war again grew in intensity during the following two years. The Burundian military conducted
11781-611: The regional Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries . In addition, Burundi, along with Rwanda, joined the East African Community in 2007. However, the terms of the September 2006 Ceasefire between the government and the last remaining armed opposition group, the FLN (Forces for National Liberation, also called NLF or FROLINA), were not totally implemented, and senior FLN members subsequently left
11900-483: The remnants of the 1972 UBU, which had re-organized as PALIPEHUTU in 1981, led to killings of Tutsi peasants in the northern communes of Ntega and Marangara in August 1988. The government put the death toll at 5,000, some international NGOs believed this understated the deaths. The new regime did not unleash the harsh reprisals of 1972. Its effort to gain public trust was eroded when it decreed an amnesty for those who had called for, carried out, and taken credit for
12019-429: The same time, King Ntare V of Burundi returned from exile, heightening political tension in the country. On 29 April 1972, the 24-year-old Ntare V was murdered. In subsequent months, the Tutsi-dominated government of Michel Micombero used the army to combat Hutu rebels and commit genocide, murdering targeted members of the Hutu majority. The total number of casualties was never established, but contemporary estimates put
12138-433: The short term however, Nyerere believed that peace and order could only be achieved in Burundi through the inclusion of Hutus in the Burundian government and military. While the country further descended into civil war, the political situation in Burundi deteriorated. Ndadaye's successor Cyprien Ntaryamira was assassinated in the same plane crash with Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana on 6 April 1994. This act marked
12257-449: The sole national language . English was made an official language in 2014. One of the smallest countries in Africa, Burundi's land is used mostly for subsistence agriculture and grazing. Deforestation , soil erosion , and habitat loss are major ecological concerns. As of 2005 , the country was almost completely deforested. Less than 6% of its land was covered by trees, and over half of that being for commercial plantations. Burundi
12376-399: The then-capital, Bujumbura, while fighting killed at least 33. Children were recruited and used extensively by both sides during the civil war of 1993–2005. The Burundian military regularly conscripted children between the ages of 7 and 16 for its militias, most importantly the Guardians of the Peace. It would threaten the parents with violence or fines to hand over their sons to the army, and
12495-616: The throne. In November that same year, the Tutsi Prime Minister, then-Captain Michel Micombero, carried out another coup , this time deposing Ntare, abolishing the monarchy and declaring the nation a republic , though his one-party government was effectively a military dictatorship . As president, Micombero became an advocate of African socialism and received support from the People's Republic of China. He imposed
12614-529: The treaty would be irrelevant without an accompanying cease fire. This would require separate and direct talks with the rebel groups. The main Hutu party was skeptical of the offer of a power-sharing government; they alleged that they had been deceived by the Tutsi in past agreements. In 2000, the Burundian President signed the treaty, as well as 13 of the 19 warring Hutu and Tutsi factions. Disagreements persisted over which group would preside over
12733-610: The truce monitoring team, claiming that their security was threatened. In September 2007, rival FLN factions clashed in the capital, killing 20 fighters and causing residents to begin fleeing. Rebel raids were reported in other parts of the country. The rebel factions disagreed with the government over disarmament and the release of political prisoners. In late 2007 and early 2008, FLN combatants attacked government-protected camps where former combatants were living. The homes of rural residents were also pillaged. The 2007 report of Amnesty International mentions many areas where improvement
12852-588: The ubugabire—a patron-client relationship in which the populace received royal protection in exchange for tribute and land tenure. By this time, the royal court was made up of the Tutsi-Banyaruguru. They had higher social status than other pastoralists such as the Tutsi-Hima. In the lower levels of this society were generally Hutu people, and at the very bottom of the pyramid were the Twa. The system had some fluidity, however. Some Hutu people belonged to
12971-636: The various conflicts between 1962 and 1993. Since Burundi's independence in 1962, two genocides have taken place in the country: the 1972 mass killings of Hutus by the Tutsi-dominated army, and the mass killings of Tutsis in 1993 by the Hutu majority. Both were described as genocides in the final report of the International Commission of Inquiry for Burundi presented in 2002 to the United Nations Security Council . In June 1993, Melchior Ndadaye , leader of
13090-418: The war had not yet ended. The FNL remained the only active rebel group, but it was still a capable fighting force and continued its attacks. In July 2003, a rebel raid on Bujumbura left 300 dead and 15,000 displaced. On December 29, 2003, Archbishop Michael Courtney , the papal nuncio for the country, was murdered. Confronted by the newly unified Burundian military and the international peacekeepers, as well as
13209-490: Was appointed Minister of State in charge of good governance and the general inspection of the state. On 18 October 2003, it was announced that the African Union Mission had reached full strength: 1,483 South Africans, 820 Ethiopians, and 232 personnel from Mozambique . As the Arusha Accords were implemented, the peace process made substantial progress. The reform of the military proved remarkably successful, and
13328-424: Was appointed as president in October 1994. A coalition government involving 12 of the 13 parties was formed. A feared general massacre was averted, but violence broke out. A number of Hutu refugees in Bujumbura, the then-capital, were killed. The mainly Tutsi Union for National Progress withdrew from the government and parliament. In 1996, Pierre Buyoya (Tutsi) again took power through a coup d'état . He suspended
13447-455: Was at an end. Local revolts subsequently took place by Hutu peasants against several Tutsi leaders in northern Burundi; these Hutu militias killed hundreds of Tutsi families in the process. When the army came to quell the uprising, they in turn killed thousands of Hutu, leading to an estimated death toll of between 5,000 and 50,000. A low-level insurgency developed, and the first Hutu rebel groups were formed. Most notable among these were Party for
13566-479: Was elected as president by the two Hutu-dominated houses of parliament. After 12 years of living with a midnight-to-dawn curfew, Burundians were free to stay out late when the curfew was lifted on April 15, 2006, for the first time since 1993. This signified the most stable point in Burundian civil affairs since the assassination of Hutu President Melchior Ndadaye and the beginning of the civil war. Matters continued to look promising after Burundi's last rebel group,
13685-415: Was more threatened by Tutsi extremists than by radical Hutu groups: The latter were still rather weak, whereas the former controlled much of Burundi's military. The political situation escalated when Tutsi extremist army officers launched a coup on 21 October. Supported by about half of the armed forces, the putschists murdered Ndadaye alongside other leading FRODEBU members, and declared a new regime. However,
13804-473: Was no longer possible. Minister of Interior Léonard Nyangoma led a FRODEBU faction into armed rebellion, creating the National Council for the Defense of Democracy–Forces for the Defense of Democracy ( Conseil national pour la défense de la démocratie – Forces pour la défense de la démocratie , CNDD-FDD). Nyangoma's group consequently became the most important Hutu rebel group, though PALIPEHUTU-FNL and FROLINA continued to be active. PALIPEHUTU-FNL
13923-742: Was provided through individual and group meetings. In 2014 the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was established to investigate crimes committed during ethnic violence since independence in 1962, overseen by Pierre Claver Ndayicariye. Burundi Burundi , officially the Republic of Burundi , is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa, with population of over 14 million people. It
14042-441: Was weakened by further rifts, and would fracture into numerous smaller factions over disagreements on negotiations and leadership during the civil war. With the exception of the notably moderate CNDD-FDD, all Hutu militias embraced the radical Hutu Power ideology that desired for the extermination of all Burundian Tutsi. The Hutu insurgents received support by the neighboring countries of Zaire and Tanzania , both of which allowed
14161-499: Was wrought with problems from the beginning. Though PALIPEHUTU's leadership decided to cooperate with Ndadaye's new government, its military chief commander Kabora Kossan refused to end the insurgency. He and his followers split from PALIPEHUTU-FNL, and from then on simply called themselves "National Forces of Liberation" (FNL). For Kossan and his men the only option was to continue to fight until all Tutsi in Burundi were dead, removed or fully disempowered. Nevertheless, Ndadaye's government
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