Dr. Antoine NTEZIRYAYO
                                                                                                          B.P.1071
                                                                                                          B U J U M B U R A
                                                                                                          BURUNDI
 
 

Dear International Community,

For the last two years you have invested heavily in the Burundi peace process, but of late the conviction has steadily grown upon me that the return on your investment may not be the kind of peace that we Burundians earnestly seek and deserve, but rather what I and a number of my countrymen and women see as the curse of the subregion about to fall upon us again.

Because you are “the key player” in the Arusha peace negotiations. I am appealing to you to do everything in your power to prevent the worst for our nation (it has happened elsewhere and it can happen here), and to help us set our beloved country back on the path towards peace and stability.

It is difficult for any of us to know at this time what your real plans are for Burundi, but if peace is what you want for our country, then I suggest that you do the following:

1. Help us remove the single most important obstacle to peace not only in Burundi but also in the rest of the subregion, that is the ideology of genocide.

 This can be done first by admitting that there has been a genocide in Burundi and then pushing for a resolution to that effect by the United Nations Security Council. I find it hard to believe that so may of you are still reluctant to recognize the genocide perpetrated in 1993 against Tutsis and Hutus opposed to the ideology of genocide, in spite of a 1996 UN report establishing the facts about this horror and putting the responsibility on the ruling party. What more evidence do you need ?

 The fight for the eradication of the ideology of genocide could also be helped greatly by excluding from the negotiations, even at this stage, all those suspected of having been involved directly or indirectly in the planning and execution of the 1993 genocide. These people constitute a permanent threat to peace and security in our country and could in no way be working for the restoration of peace now or at any time in the future. Instead, and this is a view shared by many in this country, they are using the Arusha negotiations as a stepping-stone to the attempt to regain access to important posts in the future government, which they can then use to get to what they see as the final solution of the Tutsi and moderate Hutu question. And what assurances can you give the Burundian people that this will not happen ? None, I believe.

 That is why they must be stopped here and now, and not be given the opportunity to organize and carry out another genocide, and nobody is in a better position to do this than the  International Community

2. Stop supporting and arming the rebels, anad providing aid to the country that has been harbouring and training the various groups whose terrorist acts have claimed hundreds of thousands of lives of peaceful Tutsis, Hutus and Twas, and caused millions of dollars worth of property damage.

 There can be no question that you must bear a major share of responsibility for the killings that have been committed and are still being committed in this country, and it simply does not make sense to us that you should be advocating peace in Arusha while sponsoring terrorism against innocent citizens in Burundi. Don’t you find it odd that the Arusha negotiations, which are supposed to determine the fate of this country for many years to come, should be going on while violence in Burundi continues unabated ? And don’t you realize that, in this war being waged against our country with your full blessing, there can be no victors, but only losers ?

 I am therefore appealing to you to approach the rebel groups and prevail upon them to lay down their arms and to help us meet our national crisis by nonviolent means. You should also inculcate in them the spiritual teachings of the great apostles of nonviolence and preach them the gospel of love and peace. In so doing, you will be laying a firm foundation for a lasting peace in Burundi.

 In the absence of war, you could consider starting investing in peace by reallocating the money hitherto earmarked for the purchase of weapons whose sole purpose is to destroy this country and its people, and setting up a relief fund for the countless victims of the genocide and other killings. And if you did, Burundians today and future generations would be most grateful to you.

3. Stop meddling in Burundi’s internal affairs.

 One good example of this is your recent proposal for restructuring Burundi’s national army by introducing a quota system in the recruiting process, a system which has failed so miserably elsewhere and would thus have little or no chance of success in this country. Moreover, such a system would inevitably lead to what is known in some of your countries as reverse discrimination and should therefore be rejected on moral grounds.

 You must be aware by now, I am sure, of Burundians’ strong opposition to any idea of having an army divided along ethnic lines, and any attempt by the International Community to impose its will in connection with the future structure of our national army would constitute a blatant violation of our independence and would therefore have to be resisted with all the strength of the nation.

My submission is that it should be left up to the Burundians themselves to work out a recruiting system that provides for equal opportunity for all the young men and women who want to enter the armed forces, regardless of their ethnic background.

Another case of undue interference in Burundi’s domestic affairs has to do with the recent mobilization of the International Community against our Government’s regroupment policy, Who are you to want to dictate to our Government what it should do to protect its own population ? Doesn’t our Government have the right to institute a policy to ensure the safety of its own citizens as it sees fit ?

A few months ago, I had a chance to see with my own eyes some of the regroupment camps, and I too was horrified by the miserable conditions some of my countrymen and women were in. I personally feel that no human being should ever be subjected to so much suffering and deprivation. I do believe, however, that our Government acted in good faith as it sought to  protect a segment of its population from constant rebel attacks, and I think it should be commended for having taken measures to secure peace and order in Rural Bujumbura, in compliance, I must add, with Article 17 of Protocol 2 of the Geneva Convention , and also for the way it stood up to your threats.

 With respect to regroupment camps, one should also keep in mind that some of the people in those camps were actually fleeing for their lives before being regrouped, and thus felt relieved to be resettled on sites where their security could be assured.

 Just as you have denounced the Government’s action in regrouping some of its population for security reasons, so must you be vigorously condemned for haring contributed, trough your continued support of armed rebellion, to creating the conditions that made the regroupment  policy inevitable. And you also happen to be the one that can help establish the security conditions that will make it possible for our regrouped brothers and sisters to return to their “Colline” by ending your support to terrorism.

 One thing is certain. As long as you will be siding with those who have vowed to destroy this country, more and more Burundians will continue to flee their homes and to seek refuge in camps for the displaced or the regrouped, or in neighbouring countries, and all efforts towards a peaceful resolution of the Burundian crisis will be doomed to failure.

 By the way, you were shocked, and rightly so, by the conditions prevailing in regroupment camps, but where were you when the displaced Tutsis and moderate Hutus were dropping like flies at CARAMA ? Who cares about the plight of the displaced  and what they have endured since the beginning of the crisis ?

4. Stop comparing the situation in Burundi with that prevailing in South Africa during the apartheid years in seeking a settlement of the Burundian conflict.

 You should not compare the two countries, simply because there is no apartheid in Burundi, there has never been, and there will never be. Nor should you equate the ideology of liberation, which guided the African National Congress in its struggle against one of the most oppressive regimes in recent  times, with the ideology of extermination, which is the main force behind rebel action. Moreover, history has shown that solutions imported from outside do not work and in most cases result in making things worse.

5. Refrain from reimposing your democracy on a country that is definitely not ready for this form of government.

  I have always been a staunch supporter of democracy, but , believe me, democracy as you and I know it, would not work in this country. And every time it has been tried or imposed on us, it has been followed by a tragedy, the worst case being that of the 1993 genocide, during which hundreds of thousands of Tutsis and moderate Hutus were slaughtered in the name of democracy. Ironically, all this happened only a few months after Burundi was held by the international community as an example of the success of democracy.

  Given the current situation, the remarks I made in 1994 are even more relevant today and deserve careful consideration :

  I think we should reconsider the whole process, and it would be wise of the International Community to respect our right to determine our own system of government according to our specific needs.

6. Oppose the much talked about idea of granting amnesty to the “genocidaires” and other
killers.

 Amnesty is an issue that has been dogged with controversy since it was first mooted, and more and more people are joining the fray. The question that seems to be uppermost in everybody’s mind is: How can you grant amnesty to these criminals without perpetuating the problem of impunity which is responsible for all the tragedies we have had in recent years ?

I happen to believe that a killer who is not punished for his crime is likely to repeat it. Our own experience in this country would tend to bear this out as those who got pardoned in 1990 are said to have been the spearhead in the 1993 genocide. Once a’ genocidaire’  , always a’ genocidaire’.

 I think the peace process would gain by having all the Hutus, Tutsi and Twas involved in the genocide and related crimes arrested and brought to justice.

7. Not dare send foreign troops to Burundi’.

Haven’t you ever heard that we Burundians are allergic to the idea of having foreign troops on our soil ? Il the case should arise, we are resolved, and prepared, to fight to the last man and to the last ammunition to defend our sovereignty. How well do you know our history ?

8.Tell the truth and nothing but the truth about Burundi.

 The lies that the International Community has been spreading about the Burundian people and their institutions constitute a major impediment to peace in themselves.

9. Remember the past, and particularly the recent past, so you will not have to relive it. It is better to be safe now than sorry after the signing of the accord.

 Today, the whole country is tense with suspense, waiting anxiously to see what comes out of the Arusha peace talks. What have you got in store for us ? What are you doing to avert another tragedy ?

As far as I am concerned, I think that we Burundians owe it to ourselves and to our children to make sure that the genocide does not engulf us for the second time.

In closing, I would like to say that I have  made some suggestions as to what you should to do in order to ensure a successful outcome of the Arusha negotiations. I can only hope that  they will not go unheeded as they could also help you decide on a viable alternative if need be.

 I also adjure you not to compel our country to sign a peace accord which may reflect the wishes of the International Community more than the wishes of the Burundian people; If you do, it will bode ill for our  nation, and the two years of negotiations will come to an inglorious end.

As for us Burundians, this is no time to vacillate because our future and the future of our children are at stake. Today, we (Hutus, Tutsis and Twas) may be marching  down separate paths, but I strongly believe that destiny will bind us together again, after all our invaders have been dealt with and a liberated Burundi has been reestablished.

At present the forces ranged against us are enormous, but there can be no doubt that, in spite of the grievous ordeal our country is being subjected to and the menace of the International Community hanging over us on the eve of the signing of the peace accord, Burundi will rise again.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

Dr. Antoine NTEZIRYAYO
Professor at the University of Burundi
and former Independent Presidential Candidate

CC to:  President Nelson MANDELA
            The President of the United States of America
            Son Excellence Monsieur le Président de la République Française
            The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
            The Prime Minister of  Britain
            The Prime Minister of Canada
            Son Excellence Monsieur le Premier Ministre du Royaume de Belgique
            The Secretary General of the United Nations
            The Secretary General of the Organization of African Unity.