Rapport Mondial 2012 de Human Rights Watch
- Detalles
- Categoría: Actualidad en inglés
- Publicado el Viernes, 27 Enero 2012 17:15
Burundi
Violence increased in Burundi in 2011 as the country’s political situation failed to stabilize.
Reciprocal killings by members of the ruling National Council for the Defense of
Democracy-Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD) and the former rebel group
the National Liberation Forces (FNL) increased, particularly in Bujumbura, the capital, and
in Bujumbura Rural Province. Impunity for these crimes remains one of the most serious
obstacles to peace. The single largest incident of killings took place in September in
Gatumba, near the Congolese border.
The political space in 2011 continued to narrow, with the CNDD-FDD still in a position of
near-monopoly following the main opposition parties’ boycott of the 2010 elections. The
government continued to harass and intimidate journalists, lawyers, and civil society
actors who exposed abuses, often labeling them opposition supporters.
The creation of a National Independent Human Rights Commission (CNIDH), whose
members were sworn in in June, was a positive step, but the CNIDH’s activities in 2011
were poorly funded.
Political Space
The CNDD-FDD continued to dominate political space, sending contradictory messages to
the opposition. On the one hand, President Pierre Nkurunziza, during his Independence
Day speech on July 1, appealed to exiled opposition leaders to return to Burundi peacefully
and help contribute to the construction of the country. On the other, the government and
the opposition were unable to agree on the preconditions for dialogue, despite
international appeals to do so. The situation was exacerbated by the disarray of the
opposition and the lack of official recognition of the opposition coalition, ADC-Ikibiri.
Escalation of Political Violence
After exiting the political process in 2010, some FNL members again took up arms and
began launching attacks inside Burundi and from neighboring Democratic Republic of
Congo. A number of other unknown armed groups have also emerged. In response, the
CNDD-FDD increased attacks on FNL members and former members, notably through its
imbonerakure youth wing and the National Intelligence Services (SNR).
Killings targeted prominent members of the FNL as well as the rank and file. Demobilized
FNL commander Audace Vianney Habonarugira was shot dead in July 2011. He had first
been shot and seriously injured by a policeman in March 2011, and he was repeatedly
threatened and sought after by state security agents in the months before his death.
Dédithe Niyirera, FNL representative in Kayanza province, was killed in Kayanza in late
August after receiving numerous death threats. Médard Ndayishimiye, a local FNL leader in
Mwaro province who was also threatened, was found dead in Rutana province in October
after being abducted in Gitega town where he had fled for his safety. Demobilized FNL
combatants were also pressured to join the SNR and the imbonerakure or face death, in an
effort to recruit members who can more easily identify current and former FNL members.
Many FNL members and former members went into hiding after receiving threats.
In response to these attacks, armed groups, some of whom were believed to be associated
with the FNL, increased attacks on CNDD-FDD members and local officials. Among the
victims were Pascal Ngendakumana and Albert Ntiranyibagira, two low-ranking CNDD-FDD
members, killed on April 6 by individuals believed to be associated with the FNL.
On September 18, gunmen killed around 40 people in an attack on a bar in Gatumba,
Bujumbura Rural province. It was the largest massacre in the country in several years. The
majority of victims were not known to be affiliated with a particular political party. Nine
days later the intelligence services blamed FNL leaders for the attack. However, the
findings of the commission of inquiry have not yet been published.
Impunity
Following the Gatumba killings, President Nkurunziza announced that the government
would find the perpetrators within one month. A special commission was established to
conduct an investigation and submitted its report to the prosecutor general in October. By
the end of October, 20 people were in pre-trial detention in connection with the Gatumba
attack. Other commissions have been established since late 2010 to investigate
extrajudicial killings and other abuses before, during, and since the 2010 elections. At this
writing none of these commissions had published their findings.
Almost all political killings by individuals affiliated with the CNDD-FDD or the security
forces were conducted with impunity. In some cases, the police or the prosecutor opened
investigations, but these rarely led to arrests. When crimes were believed to have been
perpetrated by opposition groups, the typical government response was to arbitrarily
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target FNL or ex-FNL members, even when there was no credible evidence that the
individuals punished were responsible for these crimes.
Hearings into the killing of Ernest Manirumva, vice-president of the anti-corruption
organization OLUCOME, have stalled since 2010. Eleven suspects remain in preventive
detention since 2009 while high-level security force suspects have still not been questioned.
Journalists, Civil Society Activists, and Lawyers
Jean Claude Kavumbagu, a journalist charged with treason following his 2010 article
questioning the army’s ability to respond to attacks from al-Shabaab, was released on May
13, 2011. He was found guilty of “publishing an article likely to discredit the state or
economy” and sentenced to eight months, but was released shortly after the trial since he
had spent 10 months in pre-trial detention.
Bob Rugurika, chief editor of African Public Radio (RPA), was summoned multiple times to
the public prosecutor’s office and questioned about RPA’s radio broadcasts. He was
accused of disseminating information that “incites the population to civil disobedience”
and “incites ethnic hatred” after broadcasting programs that called for dialogue with the
opposition. Rugurika also faced questions about programs that touched on the
composition of a committee set up by the government to prepare a Truth and
Reconciliation Commission. Patrick Mitabaro, editor-in-chief of Radio Isanganiro, was also
summoned after his station aired an interview with former spokesperson of the FRODEBU
party, Pancrace Cimpaye. He was accused, among other things, of disseminating
information that could affect state security. Neither journalist was charged.
The National Security Council issued a one month media blackout on the Gatumba killings,
prohibiting journalists from reporting, commenting on, or analyzing the incident and any
other case under investigation. Five radio stations and one newspaper briefly defied the order.
Civil society leaders were likewise harassed by the authorities and accused of siding with
the opposition. Pierre-Claver Mbonimpa, president of the human rights organization
APRODH, and Gabriel Rufyiri, president of OLUCOME, were repeatedly summoned for
questioning by the public prosecutor’s office, but were not charged with any offense. In
late August President Nkurunziza publicly warned that civil society organizations should
be “on guard” in a response to their criticism of state pressure on journalists, lawyers, and
civil society activists.
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In April the government refused to allow civil society leaders to march in support of justice
for Manirumva. When the organizations attempted to march without permission, two
members were arrested and detained for several hours before being released.
State authorities also targeted lawyers. On July 15 lawyer Suzanne Bukuru was arrested on
espionage charges after facilitating an interview between her clients and journalists.
Isidore Rufyikiri, president of the Burundi Bar Association, was arrested on July 27 on
charges of “insulting magistrates” after organizing a rally in defence of Bukuru. Bukuru
was released on August 1 and the charges were dropped. Rufyikiri was released on August
4 after paying a fine.
François Nyamoya, lawyer and spokesman for the opposition party Movement for Solidarity
and Democracy (MSD), was arrested on July 29 on charges of witness tampering in a 2004
murder trial. At this writing he remained in detention. Nyamoya, who is also the lawyer for
journalist Rugurika of RPA, had previously been arrested in 2010 on charges of
“threatening state security.”
National Independent Human Rights Commission
CNIDH began working in June and issued its first public statement on an alleged
extrajudicial execution by the police. However, the commission’s activities in 2011 were
poorly funded. Following pressure from the Burundian government and other African
governments, the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) hastened the termination of
the mandate of the UN independent expert on the situation of human rights in Burundi, on
the basis that a national human rights commission had been created.
Transitional Justice
After years of delay, measures were put in place relatively quickly to prepare the
establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) to cover grave crimes in
Burundi since 1962. The government appointed a technical committee in July to create a
framework for a TRC, and in October the committee submitted its report to the president. At
this writing the report had not been officially published. The government has not made a
commitment to establish a special tribunal to investigate past war crimes.
Key International Actors
On January 1 the UN Security Council adopted a resolution scaling down the UN Office in
Burundi (BNUB). Staffing reduction affected BNUB’s human rights monitoring capacity.
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In June the UN independent expert on the situation of human rights in Burundi presented
his first report since September 2008. Burundi officials and the African Group at the HRC
had repeatedly blocked previous publication attempts. The expert called for measures to
end impunity and promote greater respect for freedom of expression.
International diplomats in Bujumbura continued to follow high-profile court proceedings
including that of Kavumbagu. In May European diplomats in Burundi, in a joint statement,
expressed concern over reports of extrajudicial executions and torture in 2010 and 2011.
The UN secretary-general and several governments, including those of the United States
and Belgium, condemned the Gatumba attack and called for an investigation. The United
Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) announced that it would close
its aid programme in Burundi in 2012, citing internal reprioritization. Other international
donors expressed concerns over state corruption.