Rhetoric versus reality: Burundi's leader feted by the churches in Northern Ireland just weeks after violent attacks on political opposition at home

The Rev Trevor Stevenson, of Irish-based charity Fields of Life, which invited the President Nkurunziza to Northern Ireland, believes this is an opportunity to discuss reconciliation progress in both countries. His visit is a symbol of how far the political process has moved forward. “We are thrilled to have President Nkurunziza here as a guest of Fields of Life. The strong message that he hopes to convey is that through the word of God, forgiveness can be found in the bleakest of times,” -Belfast Newsletter, 5 April 2008


http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/President-briefs-churchleaders-on-peace.3951147.jp


The attacks on the politicians’ homes took place almost simultaneously on March 8, 2008, suggesting they were a coordinated effort to intimidate the political opposition to the ruling party... Several opposition politicians have been threatened and targeted for violence during the last 18 months.... Five parliamentarians from the opposition party Front for Democracy in Burundi (Front pour la Démocratie au Burundi, Frodebu) and from a dissident wing of the CNDD-FDD, including Mpawenayo, were targeted in a set of grenade attacks in August 2007 that injured several bystanders. Pancrace Cimpaye, Frodebu spokesperson, was detained after suggesting the ruling party bore responsibility for the August attacks; after being released, he briefly left the country. In February 2008, a local Frodebu official was killed, while another was seriously injured in a grenade attack which killed his wife and child.... Increasing insecurity in Burundi spurred 46 opposition parliamentarians to write to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on February 22 to request international protection. They accused the ruling party of “persecution, arbitrary arrests, extrajudicial executions, and assassination” of its opponents. The four targets of the March 8 attacks had all signed the letter. -Human Rights Watch, 12 March 2008

http://hrw.org/english/docs/2008/03/12/burund18269.htm

Burundi, human rights, Current Affairs, Politics, Africa

Amnesties kill - the legacy of impunity in Zimbabwe

From “Breaking the Silence, Building True Peace - A report on the disturbances in Matabeleland and the Midlands”

Before the first election in Zimbabwe there was also a general amnesty granted under the peace agreement drawn up by Lord Soames, the British High Commissioner at this time. This amnesty meant that all those who had committed human rights violations could not face prosecution, whether they were Rhodesians or ex-freedom fighters. This meant people who had done terrible things during the 1970s were not punished.

Some of these Rhodesians who had tortured remained on in the Zimbabwean CIO and other units. A few used their position to act as South African agents to destabilise Zimbabwe. Others were recruited from ZANLA into 5 Brigade.

In 1988, after the Unity Accord had brought an end to violence, a second amnesty was announced in Zimbabwe. This time those who were being saved from prosecution for crimes committed against civilians were 5 Brigade, CIO, other army units and dissidents.

The very men who tortured people in the 1970s used the same methods to torture people again in the 1980s. Both times they got away with it and were never punished. Some of these men still hold senior positions in the Zimbabwean Government and armed forces.

human rights, Current Affairs, Politics, Africa

Topsy-turvy justice in Burundi - torture and killings go unpunished while calling the President an "empty bottle" can land you in jail

From the BBC

Burundi's Supreme Court has sentenced one of the country's most powerful politicians, Hussein Radjabu, to 13 years in prison for subversion.

The former ruling party chairman was accused of plotting an armed rebellion and insulting the president by referring to him as an "empty bottle".

Burundi, human rights, Current Affairs, Politics, Africa

Reuters issue bogus report on FNL "amnesty"

Reuters' latest report on Burundi claims that the FNL have demanded an amnesty, and that the Burundian government say they have acceded to this demand - yet the only sources given in the report refer not to an "amnesty" - which awards permanent protection from prosecution, but to "immunity". Under the terms of the peace agreements signed to date, the judicial immunity granted to Burundi's killers has always been clearly stated as a strictly temporary measure, pending the creation of a Special Court and Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Reuters' conflation of these two very different things can only serve to embolden those within Burundi's political elite who are determined to rewrite history and ensure that the "provisional immunity" they were granted in 2003 is quietly redefined as a permanent amnesty, thereby forever denying victims their right to justice.

From: http://africa.reuters.com/wire/news/usnL01782031.html

Burundian rebels refused to rejoin a truce monitoring team which was to have begun work on Tuesday, demanding amnesty in exchange for participation in the group overseeing the end of the country's long civil war.

The Hutu Forces for National Liberation (FNL) insurgency is seen as the final barrier to lasting stability in the central African coffee growing nation of 8 million, which has seen more than a decade of ethnic conflict that killed 300,000 people.

The FNL first quit the team last year, hampering a deal they had signed in September 2006 to end Burundi's 13-year civil war.

The truce team -- FNL members, government officials and international mediators -- was due to resume work on Tuesday, under a deadline set by chief mediator Charles Nqakula of South Africa.

"We have a team of 11 people ready to join the joint verification monitoring mechanism, but they can't come to Bujumbura unless they have immunity," FNL spokesman Pasteur Habimana said from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
He said the Burundian parliament should grant the amnesty, which the Burundian government said had already been granted.

"Last year, FNL members came into Bujumbura to take part in the ceasefire monitoring team. This couldn't be possible if an immunity was not given to them," said Evariste Ndayishimiye, head of the government delegation to peace talks.

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Burundi, human rights, Current Affairs, Politics, Africa