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A letter
to the President Clinton of America
The Network of Associations
Fighting Against Genocide
in Burundi
His Excellency William Jefferson Clinton
President of the United States of America
Washington, D.C.
Mr. President,
The word has been out and running that
you are setting sail for a second trip to Africa. We feel honored by this
mark of committed interest in our Continent and commend your earnest efforts
to alleviate the worst sin America ever committed about Africa: the sin
of neglect and ignorance. We all-heartedly wish you a very safe and pleasant
trip.
The news spread that your trip plans include
a few hours stopover in Arusha, (United Republic of Tanzania) on August
28, 2000. You are featured as Guest of Honor witnessing the signing of
the Burundi Peace Accords mediated by Nelson Mandela since December last
year. Under normal circumstances, that was a worthwhile gesture that could
compensate for the frustrating moments you extended to the Burundi people
during your first visit in the area. During your lightning visit to Rwanda
early 1998, while paying a belated tribute to the genocide survivals, you
hardly got a thought to the Burundian Tutsis who had escaped the machete-wielding
thugs in the October-November 1993 genocide six months before the eruption
of the Rwandan climax. Your analysts then misinterpreted what was indeed
a rehearsal for the genocidal forces in the Great Lakes region.
Mr. President,
During that historic trip to Rwanda, you
rightfully pinpointed the failure for your administration to recognize
the 1994 Rwandan tragedy by its dutiful name: genocide. You promised to
make sure that such human tragedy never happens again. Today, it seems
your country, as an undisputed leader in the world has trouble formulating
any coherent policy with respect to genocide. For we fail to detect the
slightest change since your trip to Rwanda when it comes to the Burundi
stalemate.
The facts are that by its Resolution 1042
(1995), the UN Security Council set up an International Commission of inquiry
charged to investigate in the assassination of the Burundi President and
the massacres that followed. By its Report S/1996/682 submitted on July
28, 1996 to the Security Council, the Commission recognized that acts of
genocide had been committed against the minority ethnic Tutsis by the ruling
Hutu Frodebu party.
Despite your public chest beating for missing
the point in 1994, we will never know for sure what prevented Madeleine
Albright, then your Permanent Representative to the UN to take the right
stand that could have saved the Rwandan Tutsis. As we probably will never
know the instructions given to Bill Richardson and Richard Holbrooke with
respect to the Burundi situation. All that we witness is an unprecedented
situation where genocidal leaders, among them criminals served with an
Interpol search warrant, are presented as peace negotiating parties. No
action has ever been initiated by your representative to the Security Council
to transform in deeds your promise made in Africa to stop once for ever
the genocide ideology.
Some of the Hutu rebels lead the militias
that hacked children to death, slashed open pregnant women's wombs and
tortured to death elderly and innocent people for their ethnicity. Those
are slated to seat with you at the so-called peace accords signing ceremony.
Some of the Tutsi leaders without vision and moved by greed will be gratified
by your presence. The former will take their sins for de facto absolved
and will quickly add more horrendous death tolls to their counts. The latter
will self comfort that seating with you confers them any recognition to
speak on behalf of Tutsis. The truth is that they are embattled and besieged
by genuine anti-genocide forces in Burundi.
Mr. President,
We urge you not to send a wrong message
by attending the ill-fated proposed ceremonies. As much as we respect Peace
Nobel Prize and Burundi Peace Broker Nelson Mandela, we regret that the
peace process has missed its raison d'être - the core target -. The
Burundi conflict being a genocide-related conflict, no sustainable peace
agreement will ever come out of a deal that does not embed and enshrine
the prevention and repression of genocide in any peace agreement for Burundi.
That is pursuant to the UN findings and consistent with the 1948 United
Nations Covenants thereof.
After your February 2000 telecast message
to the peace negotiators, we had hoped to see a focus on the main thing.
We would rather see all the spending for the ceremony go to the FORGOTTEN
TUTSI CONCENTRATION CAMPS where internally displaced Tutsis have been living
a hell on earth in undespicable situation since seven years while all the
lights are constantly focused on the need to dismantle the Hutu regroupement
camps in and around Bujumbura . Again we would have been happy to see a
more balanced attitude in these dramatic situations.
Witnessing the signing of an agreement
in which nobody believes is not worth your time. But if you do not have
any more significant agenda, please feel free to proceed. It will be another
too late and too little sign offered to Burundi as nor you, nor Nelson
Mandela will probably be around to extinguish the fires that will be stocked
on August 28, 2000.
Sincerely yours,
For the Network of Associations Fighting Against Genocide in Burundi
Sylvere KABWA,
President.