Burundi is burning – help us put out the fire before it's too late
Pierre Claver Mbonimpa was shot in the face in Bujumbura for speaking out about human rights. From his hospital bed in Brussels he calls on the EU intervene – as another opposition leader is shot dead
Pierre Claver Mbonimpa photographed in Bujumbura,
Burundi’s capital, in March this year.
I am no stranger to the peculiarities of Burundian democracy. As an active citizen committed to defending human rights over the past 20 years, I have been harassed, arrested, imprisoned and mistreated by the authorities.
I am no stranger to the peculiarities of Burundian democracy. As an active citizen committed to defending human rights over the past 20 years, I have been harassed, arrested, imprisoned and mistreated by the authorities.
In Burundi, the exercise of democracy often means these things. On the evening of 3 August, I left my office in the centre of the capital city, Bujumbura, and barely even saw the motorbike ahead of me before the bullets shattered my windscreen and I was shot directly in the face.
Less than two weeks earlier the president, Pierre Nkurunziza, claimed victory in an election marred by violence and intimidation of the opposition, civil society activists, journalists and voters themselves.
As a human rights activist I openly condemned the process, the president and the result. The United Nations and the African Union were on my side: they agreed the ballot was neither free nor fair.
The bullet was my reward for exercising my democratic duty.
When the president announced that he would seek a third term in office – violating both the constitution and the peace accords that brought peace to my country after a decade of conflict – widespread protests prompted new levels of government repressionand human rights abuses.
The violence caused many members of Burundi’s political opposition, independent journalists and human rights defenders to flee the country. It is a miracle that my own decision to remain in Burundi has not cost me my life. But what is democracy without political dissent, free media to report that dissent and the people to defend the right to express it?
While I am lucky to be alive, my friends, family and compatriots are at risk because targeted killings, arbitrary arrests, harassment and torture have become commonplace.
On Monday the UN high commissioner for human rights said there has been an “alarming upsurge” in the number of killings and arrests in Burundi since the president was sworn in for his third term. On Tuesday, unidentified gunmen killed Jean Baptiste Nsengiyumvaan, the head of a district opposition leader.
Yet the international response to Burundi’s crisis continues to be disjointed and inadequate. The East African Community of Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda have been paralysed in their ability to help by their rivalries and disagreements. Mediation efforts led by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni have so far proved unproductive.
Not nearly enough pressure has been put on the Burundian government to respect human rights or the rule of law. There is no justice for the protestors who became victims of excessive force by the police. No justice for political prisoners being tortured by the so-called security services.
I am now writing from the safety of a hospital bed in Brussels, receiving care for my gunshot wounds. Luckily, friends helped me leave the country to get the necessary treatment. So here I lie in the city at the heart of the European Union, which, together with its member states, funds a substantial portion of Burundi’s annual budget. This support gives the EU real leverage over the Burundian authorities.
The EU must wield that influence. A treaty between the EU and African states allows the EU to suspend budgetary aid to any country that is found to be wanting with respect to human rights, democratic values and the rule of law.
Brussels must make that threat and force the Burundian government to end human rights violations, bring perpetrators of crimes to justice and re-establish the rule of law, or suffer the consequences of a budgetary crisis.
As far as possible, international aid should be redirected towards NGOs, Burundian civil society, the independent media and humanitarian needs.
As EU officials and diplomats consider this course of action only a few miles from my hospital bed, they should know that they have my support. Taking a back seat as regional mediation efforts falter is no strategy.
In Burundi we have a saying: “You cannot hide the smoke of the hut you set on fire.”
Burundi is burning while the world is watching. The EU must help put out the fire before the house burns down.
The Guardian UK
Less than two weeks earlier the president, Pierre Nkurunziza, claimed victory in an election marred by violence and intimidation of the opposition, civil society activists, journalists and voters themselves.
A masked Burundian protester faces soldiers in front of a
burning barricade in Bujumbura
As a human rights activist I openly condemned the process, the president and the result. The United Nations and the African Union were on my side: they agreed the ballot was neither free nor fair.
The bullet was my reward for exercising my democratic duty.
When the president announced that he would seek a third term in office – violating both the constitution and the peace accords that brought peace to my country after a decade of conflict – widespread protests prompted new levels of government repressionand human rights abuses.
The violence caused many members of Burundi’s political opposition, independent journalists and human rights defenders to flee the country. It is a miracle that my own decision to remain in Burundi has not cost me my life. But what is democracy without political dissent, free media to report that dissent and the people to defend the right to express it?
While I am lucky to be alive, my friends, family and compatriots are at risk because targeted killings, arbitrary arrests, harassment and torture have become commonplace.
On Monday the UN high commissioner for human rights said there has been an “alarming upsurge” in the number of killings and arrests in Burundi since the president was sworn in for his third term. On Tuesday, unidentified gunmen killed Jean Baptiste Nsengiyumvaan, the head of a district opposition leader.
Great Lakes up in flames
If current trends continue, it is possible that violence will spiral out of control. Our region is a volatile one: civil unrest in Burundi could send the entire Great Lakes region up in flames again, echoing events in the 1990s and the Rwandan genocide.Yet the international response to Burundi’s crisis continues to be disjointed and inadequate. The East African Community of Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda have been paralysed in their ability to help by their rivalries and disagreements. Mediation efforts led by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni have so far proved unproductive.
Not nearly enough pressure has been put on the Burundian government to respect human rights or the rule of law. There is no justice for the protestors who became victims of excessive force by the police. No justice for political prisoners being tortured by the so-called security services.
I am now writing from the safety of a hospital bed in Brussels, receiving care for my gunshot wounds. Luckily, friends helped me leave the country to get the necessary treatment. So here I lie in the city at the heart of the European Union, which, together with its member states, funds a substantial portion of Burundi’s annual budget. This support gives the EU real leverage over the Burundian authorities.
The EU must wield that influence. A treaty between the EU and African states allows the EU to suspend budgetary aid to any country that is found to be wanting with respect to human rights, democratic values and the rule of law.
Brussels must make that threat and force the Burundian government to end human rights violations, bring perpetrators of crimes to justice and re-establish the rule of law, or suffer the consequences of a budgetary crisis.
As far as possible, international aid should be redirected towards NGOs, Burundian civil society, the independent media and humanitarian needs.
As EU officials and diplomats consider this course of action only a few miles from my hospital bed, they should know that they have my support. Taking a back seat as regional mediation efforts falter is no strategy.
In Burundi we have a saying: “You cannot hide the smoke of the hut you set on fire.”
Burundi is burning while the world is watching. The EU must help put out the fire before the house burns down.
The Guardian UK
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