INTRODUCTION
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Burundi, landlocked republic in eastern Africa, bounded on the north by Rwanda, on the east and south by Tanzania, and on the west by Lake Tanganyika and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, formerly Zaire). Formerly ruled by tribal monarchies, the area that is now Burundi was colonized by Germany in the late 19th century and under German and then Belgian administration until its independence in 1962. Bujumbura is the capital and largest city.
Bujumbura,
formerly Usumbura, city in western Burundi, capital of the country and of
Bujumbura Province, at the northeastern end of Lake Tanganyika. Bujumbura is a
trade and communications center, with ferry service to Kigoma, Tanzania, from
which there are raillinks to Dar es Salaam. An international airport is located
11 km [1](7
mi) northwest of Bujumbura.
The city is in a cotton-growing region, and
lake fishing is also an important occupation. Plants in Bujumbura process
cotton, fish, and coffee; and factories produce beer, cement, and
pharmaceuticals. Bujumbura is the seat of the University of Burundi (founded in
1960).
The
explorers David Livingstone and Henry Morton Stanley visited Usumbura in 1871.
The settlement subsequently became an important army camp in German East
Africa. In 1923 Usumbura became the capital of the Belgian mandate (after 1946
the trust territory) of Ruanda-Urundi. The city’s name was changed to Bujumbura
when it became the capital of independent
Burundi in
1962, Ethnic violence between Tutsi and Hutu groups in Bujumbura erupted in
1962, 1972, 1988, and 1991. After Burundian president Melchior Ndadaye was
killed in a 1993 coup attempt, Hutu-Tutsi violence flared again. Thousands of
Hutu fled the capital, which became a stronghold for the Tutsi-dominated army.
The violence continued through 1996, and repeated clashes caused many deaths in
and around Bujumbura. Population (2003 estimate) 378,000.
The population of Burundi (2008 estimate) is
8,691,005. The overall density of 339 persons per sq km (877 per sq mi) is one
of the highest in Africa. The population is 89 percent rural. Most Burundians
live in family groupings dispersed throughout the highlands, and villages are
uncommon. Instability due to violence between the Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups
in both Burundi and Rwanda has led to mass migrations. Most Hutu have fled
Bujumbura and some have gone to Rwanda. Thousands of persecuted Rwandan Tutsi
have crossed into Burundi. Burundi’s life expectancy at birth is 52 years,
among the lowest in the world, due to poverty, ethnic strife, and numerous
diseases, including one of the highest incidences of acquired immunodeficiency
syndrome (AIDS) in the world. The population growth rate in 2008 was an
estimated 3.4 percent. The country’s capital and most important city is
Bujumbura, on the northeastern shore of Lake Tanganyika.
POPULATION OF BURUNDI
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The population of Burundi
(2008 estimate) is 8,691,005. The overall density of 339 persons per sq km (877
per sq mi) is one of the highest in Africa. The population is 89 percent rural.
Most Burundians live in family groupings dispersed throughout the highlands,
and villages are uncommon. Instability due to violence between the Hutu and
Tutsi ethnic groups in both Burundi and Rwanda has led to mass migrations. Most
Hutu have fled Bujumbura and some have gone to Rwanda. Thousands of persecuted
Rwandan Tutsi have crossed into Burundi. Burundi’s life expectancy at birth is
52 years, among the lowest in the world, due to poverty, ethnic strife, and
numerous diseases, including one of the highest incidences of acquired
immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in the world. The population growth rate in
2008 was an estimated 3.4 percent. The country’s capital and most important
city is Bujumbura, on the northeastern shore of Lake Tanganyika.
Population
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8,691,005 (2008 estimate)
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Population density
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339 persons per sq km
877 persons per sq mi (2008 estimate) |
Urban population distribution
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11 percent (2005 estimate)
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Rural population distribution
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89 percent (2005 estimate)
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Largest cities, with population
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Bujumbura, 378,000 (2003 estimate)
Gitega, 101,827 (1990) |
Official languages
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Kirundi, French
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Chief religious affiliations
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Roman Catholic, 57 percent
Protestant, 12 percent Indigenous beliefs, 7 percent |
Life expectancy
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51.7 years (2008 estimate)
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Infant mortality rate
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61 deaths per 1,000 live births
(2008 estimate)
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Literacy rate
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53.9 percent (2005 estimate)
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SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT OF
BURUNDI
A
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Ethnic Groups and Languages
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The chief ethnic groups
are the Hutu and the Tutsi, who have traditionally comprised 85 percent and 14
percent of the population, respectively. The Twa, a pygmy group, account for 1
percent. The official languages are Kirundi and French. Swahili is also widely
spoken along Lake Tanganyika.
B
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Religion
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About two-thirds of the
population is Christian, chiefly Roman Catholic, and 32 percent adhere to
traditional beliefs, which are based on belief in a spirit world and a single
abstract god, Imana. About 1 percent are Muslims.
C
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Education
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Primary education is free
and officially compulsory for children aged 7 through 12, although in 2002–2003
only 77 percent of primary school-age children were in school. Secondary school
enrollment was even lower, with 11 percent of secondary school-age children
attending school. The literacy rate for Burundi is 54 percent of the
population. Attendance and literacy rates are very low due to national
instability and shortages of teachers and school supplies. The University of
Burundi (founded in 1960) in Bujumbura is the leading institution of higher
education.
Way of Life
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Most Burundians live in
self-contained compounds of small round grass huts scattered over the country’s
many hills. The rugo, the traditional Tutsi hut, is divided into
sections and surrounded by an enclosure and cattle corrals.
“Families farm scattered plots of land on different soils at different
altitudes to minimize crop failure. The floors of valleys are avoided due to
higher temperatures and tsetse fly [2]infestation.”
Social
roles are largely determined by ethnicity, with the Tutsi as herders, the Hutu
as peasant farmers, and the Twa as hunter-gatherers. Family life is central in
all groups. Traditionally, the principal goal in life has been parenthood.
Women traditionally dress in brightly colored wraps, and men in white. However,
many have adopted Western clothes. The Burundian diet consists mainly of sweet
potatoes and beans, with bananas, cassava, corn, peas, millet, and fruits added
in season. Cattle are herded as signs of wealth and status rather than for
their value as food. Meat is consumed by most Burundians only about once or
twice a month. Fish is eaten more frequently. Gourds are grown for use as
containers. Beer and milk are common beverages. Pastimes include soccer, poetry
recitation, storytelling, and mancala, a board game common throughout Africa.
Social Issues
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Hutu-Tutsi ethnic rivalry
has been the dominant feature of Burundian society since independence. This
severe and often violent problem is compounded by poverty, high unemployment,
overcrowding, environmental stress, and the high incidence of AIDS. Crime is
high in and around Bujumbura.
CULTURE OF BURUNDI
The richness of Burundian
culture is apparent in a strong literary and musical tradition and a wide range
of fine crafts. Little government funding for cultural activities is available.
However, an art school at Gitega and an artisans’ center at Giheta have done
much to encourage artistic expression and preservation. The major libraries are
at the University of Burundi, the American Cultural Center, and the French
Cultural Center in Bujumbura and the Burundi Literature Center in Gitega. The
most important museums are Bujumbura’s Living Museum (founded in 1977) and the
National Museum (founded in 1955) in Gitega.
Literature, Music, and Dance
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Burundians cherish strong
oral traditions. Folk tales and fables are often set to music and no
distinction is made between music and poetry. The Tutsi are particularly known
for their epic songs and dynastic poetry, strongly flavored with traditional
mythology. Cattle, local history, and the travels of the god Imana throughout
the country are the most important themes of Burundian literary and musical
traditions. Tall, splendidly adorned intore dancers and tambourinaires
(drummers) were traditionally entertainers for the royal elite and tourists.
Art and Architecture
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Traditional Burundian
art includes basketry, ironworking, and the making of gourd containers. The Twa
are famed for their pottery. The traditional Tutsi hut or rugo is
considered the most important local architectural style, while modern
European-style construction predominates in the capital and in government
buildings.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF
BURUNDI
One of the world’s poorest
nations, Burundi has a predominantly agricultural economy. The country’s
estimated gross domestic product (GDP) was $903 million in 2006. Export
earnings are dominated by a single crop: coffee. National budget figures for
1999 showed a large deficit, with $167 million in revenues and $128 million in
expenditures. The government and foreign companies dominate the export sector
of the economy. Burundi is heavily dependent on foreign aid, principally from
Western Europe. Past austerity measures have added to ethnic tensions. In turn,
ethnic and political instability has severely affected Burundi’s production
capacity. Burundi’s labor force numbers 4.2 million people, of which 15 percent
are engaged in agriculture, 22 percent in industry, and 59 percent in services.
Agriculture and Fishing
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Subsistence agriculture
is the main means of livelihood. Chief food crops are sweet potatoes, cassava,
bananas, beans, and maize. The most important cash crop is coffee. Cotton and
tea are also grown for export.
“In 2006 livestock numbered 395,741 cattle, 750,000 goats, and
242,933 sheep. Social and cultural importance is [3]attached
to the ownership of large cattle herds.”
They
are, however, economically underutilized and overgrazing has contributed to
soil erosion. Commercial fisheries and subsistence fishing around Lake
Tanganyika supply domestic demand.
Mining
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Mining includes the small-scale
exploitation of gold and peat. Important reserves of uranium and nickel
(estimated at 5 percent of the world’s reserves) remain to be exploited. Tin
and bastnasite ores have been mined sporadically in the past. Test drilling has
indicated the presence of oil under Lake Tanganyika, but petroleum exploitation
has not yet proved significant.
Manufacturing and Services
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Manufacturing is limited
to processing agricultural products, particularly coffee, and producing
consumer goods intended to decrease reliance on imports. These consumer goods
include cigarettes, soap, glass, blankets, cement, shoes, beer, and insecticides.
Almost all banking, insurance, transportation, communication, technical, and
trading services are located in Bujumbura. Despite official efforts, tourism
has not proved to be significant.
Energy
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Burundi has two small
coal-fired generating plants and two small hydroelectric dams, which in 2003
produced 141 million kilowatt-hours of electricity, or 80 percent of the
country’s needs. A portion of the country’s electricity is now supplied by
hydroelectric facilities in Bukavu, the DRC. However, for most Burundians, wood
and other traditional fuels remain the primary source of energy for heating and
cooking, providing 94 percent of all the energy used.
Transportation and Communications
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Burundi has no railroads
but possesses a road network of about 14,500 km (about 9,000 mi), of which 640
km (400 mi) are paved, and about 1,950 km (about 1,210 mi) are classified as
national roads. Most trade is shipped by way of Tanzania through the port of
Bujumbura at the head of Lake Tanganyika. Bujumbura has the only international
airport. Air Burundi, the national airline, has a limited schedule. The
government controls radio and television broadcasting. The country has 1 daily
newspaper in French and two weeklies, one in French and one in Kirundi.
Foreign Trade
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In 2002 annual exports
were $27 million and imports $129 million. In the early 1990s coffee accounted
for 81 percent of the value of exports. Cotton, hides, and tea are the only
other important exports, with tea increasing to nearly 10 percent of export
value in the early 1990s. Principal trading partners for exports were the
United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg, and Switzerland. Textiles,
motor vehicles, flour, and petroleum products are imported, principally from
Belgium and Luxembourg, France, Germany, and Japan.
Currency and Banking
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The unit of currency is
the Burundi franc (1,028.40 francs equal U.S.$1; 2006 average). The Banque de
la République de Burundi (1967) is the national bank of issue. Other banks
include a half dozen commercial banks and a post office savings bank system.
POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT OF
BURUNDI
Burundians approved a new constitution in a February 2005 referendum.
The new constitution was crafted to create a balance of political power between
the Hutu majority and the Tutsi minority.
Executive
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Under the terms of the
2005 constitution, the president is the head of government and the commander in
chief of the armed forces. The president is elected by universal suffrage,
except for the first president who was elected by a two-thirds majority in both
houses of the legislature. The president can serve a maximum of two, five-year
terms.
“The president has the power to declare war and to nominate
members of the cabinet and members of the Constitutional Court and the Supreme
Court”[4]
The president’s appointees to the 20-member
cabinet must be 60 percent Hutu, 40 percent Tutsi, and 30 percent women. The
president selects two deputies (vice presidents), a Hutu and a Tutsi, who are
chosen from the elected members of the legislature and who represent two
different political parties.
Legislature
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The legislature consists
of the National Assembly and the Senate. Under the terms of the 2005
constitution, the National Assembly is to be composed of at least 100 members,
of whom 60 percent are to be Hutu, 40 percent Tutsi, and 30 percent women.
Three members must be from the Twa tribe. Members are directly elected to
five-year terms. Legislation in the National Assembly must be passed by a
two-thirds majority. The Senate is composed of two representatives from each of
Burundi’s 17 provinces. Its members are chosen by an electoral college. At
least 30 percent of the senators must be women, and legislation is passed by a
two-thirds majority.
Judiciary
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The legal system is headed
by the Supreme Court and is based on German and Belgian codified law and
traditional customary law. The 2005 constitution created a Constitutional
Court, which is designed to rule on the constitutionality of lower court
rulings and government actions. The Supreme Court, however, is the final court
of appeal.
Local Government
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Burundi is divided into
17 provinces, each subdivided into arrondissements and communes. Local
authorities tend to be dominated by the national government.
Political Parties
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The dominant political
party is the Forces for the Defense of Democracy (FDD), which won a majority in
both the National Assembly and the Senate in 2005 elections. The FDD is
predominantly Hutu, but under the 2005 constitution all political parties must
be ethnically integrated. Other significant political parties are the
predominantly Hutu Burundi Democracy Front (Front pour la Démocratie au
Burundi, or FRODEBU) and the predominantly Tutsi UPRONA.
Social Services
Burundi’s health and social security systems are rudimentary and underfinanced. AIDS, typhus, tuberculosis, pneumonia, dysentery, and kwashiorkor (severe protein deficiency) are the most serious health problems. |
Defense
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Burundi’s armed forces
are composed of a paramilitary gendarmerie (police force) and an army, which
includes naval and air units. In 2004 the total force numbered 50,500, all
volunteers. Since independence the military has been very politically active
and in turn has fallen victim to corruption and often violent purges.
International and Regional Organizations
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Burundi is a member of
the United Nations (UN), the East African Community, and the African Union and
is a signatory of the Lomé Convention (agreements of cooperation between the
European Union and many developing countries).
THE INDEPENDENCE OF
BURUNDI UP TO RECENT
In the early 14th century,
the Hutu arrived, probably from the Congo Basin, and imposed their language and
customs on the Twa, who are believed to be Burundi’s original inhabitants. The
development of an organized kingdom began in the 15th century, when the Tutsi,
probably migrating from the north, established themselves as feudal rulers.
Tutsi kings, or mwamis, became monarchs of distinct kingdoms in Burundi
and Rwanda. Their rule was enforced by chiefs and subchiefs, who each ruled an umusozi,
a fiefdom consisting of a single hill.
“Political and economic relations were based on an unequal feudal
relationship, known as the ubugabire
system, in which most Hutu became serfs subjugated by and economically
dependent on the Tutsi. However, Burundi’s economic and sociopolitical
structures were not as rigid as those of [5]Rwanda”.
The power of the mwami was not absolute, and
various princely leaders, known as ganwa, often vied for the throne.
Unlike in Rwanda, marriages between Hutu and Tutsi were common in Burundi.
European Colonization
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In 1858 the British explorers
Sir Richard Burton and John Hanning Speke were the first Europeans to visit
Burundi. Austrian explorer Oskar Baumann and German Count Gustav Adolf von
Götzen arrived in the 1890s, and soon Roman Catholic clergy established missions
in the area. Later Burundi (then called Urundi) and Rwanda (then called Ruanda)
were incorporated into German East Africa. The indigenous Tutsi rulers
maintained good relations with the Germans and later with the Belgians, who
occupied the country during World War I (1914-1918). After the war, the area
was mandated to Belgium by the League of Nations and became known as the
Territory of Ruanda-Urundi. Following World War II (1939-1945), it became a
United Nations (UN) trust territory. The Belgians continued previous policies
of supporting mission education and ruling through Tutsi chiefs. The colonial
authorities strengthened precolonial inequalities and were late in seeking
reforms. Nevertheless, the Belgians encouraged the mwami to phase out the ubugabire
system in 1955.
Independence and Violence
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As African political consciousness
increased, the Hutu grew more vocal in protesting inequalities. In 1959 ethnic
antagonisms in Rwanda erupted into violence. The Rwandan Tutsi king fled the
country, and an exodus of some 200,000 Tutsi followed, many of whom went to
Burundi. At the insistence of the UN Trusteeship Council, Burundi became an
independent constitutional monarchy under MwamiMwambutsa IV on July 1, 1962,
and was admitted to the UN in September. However, political rivalry between
Hutu and Tutsi threatened regional stability. Fearing a Hutu revolution similar
to Rwanda’s, the Burundian Tutsi reacted brutally.
In 1963 thousands of Hutu
victimized in Burundi took refuge in Rwanda. The Burundian power structure
remained in Tutsi hands, despite a Hutu majority in the legislature after 1965.
Accusing Mwambutsa of intriguing to strengthen his position, a group of Hutu
police attempted a coup in October 1965. Loyalist police led by Captain Michel
Micombero, a Tutsi, thwarted the rebels, but the mwami fled the country. In
July 1966 he was declared deposed by his son, MwamiNtare V. Four months later
Micombero led a successful coup, declared Burundi a republic, appointed himself
president, and established a National Revolutionary Committee to help stabilize
his regime and develop the economy. In April 1972 a Hutu uprising led to
widespread massacres claiming at least 100,000 lives, mainly Hutu. Ntare, who
was under house arrest, was also killed. The uprising was quelled, but unrest
continued, and thousands of Hutu refugees found haven in nearby countries.
“Micombero was ousted in a bloodless coup in
November 1976. The ruling Supreme Revolutionary Council subsequently named
Colonel Jean-Baptiste Bagaza as president, but peace between the ruling Tutsi
and the Hutu majority remained precarious. A new constitution in 1981 declared
Burundi a one-party state.”[6]
Coming into conflict with the Roman Catholic
Church, Bagaza became more authoritarian, persecuting clergy and forbidding
masses.This policy led to an erosion of support, and in 1987, while on a
foreign visit, he was overthrown by Major Pierre Buyoya, who ruled as head of
the Military Committee for National Salvation. Suspending the constitution,
freeing political prisoners, lifting restrictions on churches, and touring the
country in an effort to unite the people, he quickly consolidated his power and
dealt with political tensions.
Stability was threatened
again in 1988 when the Tutsi-led army engaged in massacres of Hutu that left at
least 5,000 dead. Buyoya responded by appointing a Hutu prime minister and
including Hutu in the cabinet. He controlled the military and planned a return
to democratic, civilian rule. A new constitution providing for a multiparty
system was ratified by referendum in March 1992. An unsuccessful coup attempt
the same month reportedly was organized by Bagaza, in exile in Libya.
Further Instability
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In June 1993 Burundi held
its first democratic presidential elections since independence. Melchior
Ndadaye, a Hutu and a member of the Burundi Democracy Front, won the elections
with 60 percent of the vote. Buyoya stepped down peacefully, retired from the army,
and remained politically active. In October 1993 army factions loyal to Bagaza
assassinated Ndadaye, sparking a civil war that was to last for nearly 12
years. Instability in neighboring Rwanda also spread to Burundi.
“Ndadaye’s death provoked waves of ethnic violence that sent
thousands of refugees fleeing into neighboring Rwanda. CyprienNtaryamira, a
Hutu who replaced Ndadaye, [7]attempted
to restore order by reining in the Tutsi-dominated security forces implicated
in the violence.”
In
April 1994, shortly after concluding talks, Ntaryamira and Rwandan president
JuvénalHabyarimana were killed in a suspicious plane crash near Kigali, Rwanda.
SylvestreNtibantunganya, former head of the National Assembly, was named acting
president and was formally elected in September 1994. However, Burundi was
locked in a stalemate between the elected, Hutu-dominated government and the
Tutsi-led army. The situation continued to deteriorate, exacerbated by the
influx of thousands of refugees from Rwanda. Many government functions ceased.
In July 1996 Pierre Buyoya
seized power in another military coup and suspended the constitution, claiming
that extraordinary measures were necessary to ensure national survival. In
September 1996 Roman Catholic archbishop Joachim Ruhuna, a Tutsi, was killed in
an ambush by Hutu rebels. In response to public outcry over the murder, Buyoya
permitted some political party and parliamentary activity. In 1998 Buyoya and
the National Assembly agreed upon a transitional administration in which Buyoya
was formally sworn in as president.
In 2000 a formal peace
agreement aimed at ending the civil war between Hutu and Tutsi was reached in
Arusha, Tanzania. The peace agreement called for a transitional government
leading to a new constitution and elections. A referendum on the new
constitution was planned for 2004.
Hutu and Tutsi parties
shared power in this transitional system. Under this scheme, Buyoya (a Tutsi)
handed the presidency over to DomitienNdayizeye (a Hutu) in April 2003. At the
same time, membership in the legislature and the military was carefully
balanced between Hutu and Tutsi. In November 2003 the largest rebel group, the
Forces for the Defense of Democracy (FDD), made up mainly of Hutus, joined the
peace process.
The delayed referendum
on a new constitution was finally held in February 2005 and was overwhelmingly
approved. In legislative elections that followed, the FDD won a majority in
both the National Assembly and the Senate, and in August, FDD leader Pierre
Nkurunziza was sworn in as the first president under the new constitution. In
accordance with the new constitution, Nkurunziza appointed a 20-member cabinet
that included 60 percent Hutus, 40 percent Tutsi, and 30 percent women. Rival
political parties criticized the appointments for not being inclusive enough.
The election and swearing-in
of Nkurunziza represented the crowning achievement of the peace process. Since
1993 ethnic violence had claimed more than 300,000 lives in Burundi and led to
the displacement of some 700,000 people. The new government, however, faced the
difficult task of persuading the last active rebel group, the Hutu-dominated
National Liberation Forces (FNL), to join the peace process. The FNL is a rival
of the FDD.
CONCLUSION;
Colonization of east Africa in the
late 1800s by Germany and later by Belgium did not alter Tutsi-Hutu relations.
The Europeans ruled through Tutsi leaders until after World War II (1939-1945).
In the late 1950s antagonism between the Tutsi and Hutu erupted into violence
in the area, by then known as the United Nations trust territory of
Ruanda-Urundi. Hutu uprisings and Tutsi retaliations eventually disrupted the
centuries-old balance of power. Both Rwanda and Burundi gained independence in
1962. In Rwanda an unsuccessful invasion by Tutsi exiles in 1963 prompted
massacres of Tutsi by Hutu. Outbreaks of violence and mass killings have
occurred sporadically since then as each group vied for power. In 1994 civil
war and a campaign of genocide against the Tutsi broke out in Rwanda. By 1995,
hundreds of thousands of Tutsi as well as Hutu had been killed in both Rwanda
and Burundi. Tutsi who had lived in exile for years began to return to Rwanda
in large numbers in 1995, after the Tutsi-backed Rwandan Patriotic Front took
control of the country.
REFFERENCES
Eggers, Ellen K., ed. of Burundi Historical Dictionary. 2nd
ed . Scarecrow, 1997. A thorough chronological guide to Burundi's
unsettled existence.
2. Jean pierrechretiien; The great lake of Africa; two
thousands year of history trans scottstraus.
3. Lemarchand, Rene. Burundi:
Ethnic Conflict and Genocide. Cambridge University Press, 1996. A
wide-ranging discussion of the history, roots, and consequences of ethnic
strife in historical and contemporary Burundi.
4.
Ngaruko,
Floribert, ankurumiza, Janvier D.(2006), civil
war and its Duration in Burundi
5. Wolbers, Marian. Burundi.
Chelsea House, 1989. For younger readers
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