Burundi a ‘violent dictatorship’

BURUNDI President Pierre Nkurunziza and his ruling party have moved the nation towards violent dictatorship, rights groups said yesterday in a report that slams the international community for inaction.

A “purge” of ethnic Tutsis from the army, a crackdown on opposition and media and a bid to change the constitution to allow unlimited presidential terms are signs of an “increasingly violent dictatorial regime”, it said.

The tiny central African state was plunged into political crisis in April 2015 when Nkurunziza announced his intention to run for a third term, which he went on to win.

At least 500 people have been killed in ensuing violence, according to the UN – although rights groups put the figure at more than 1 000 – and more than 400 000 have fled the country since the crisis began.

In their report, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and partner groups describe how the ruling party has tightened its stranglehold during a twoyear conflict.

It said the ruling CNDDFDD has become the sole state party, with monuments glorifying it erected, party flags placed at entrances to public schools and violent propaganda broadcasts urging Burundians to be ready to fight and eliminate opponents.

“In a matter of two years, almost all the heads and activists of the political opposition have been silenced and hunted down by the Burundian authorities,” it said.

The report details accounts of Tutsi soldiers who have disappeared, been arrested or brutally tortured, or found dead.

It warns that without international intervention Nkurunziza could succeed in reversing history and establishing a Hutu-controlled regime based on a mono-ethnic army under the control of the authorities.

In Burundi, which has a long history of violence between Hutu and Tutsi communities, “this would represent a major risk for peace in the country, as in the region”.

The report singles out the ruling party youth wing, the Imbonerakure, which it describes as a militia characterised by “ideological radicalisation” that has been recorded singing songs encouraging rape of opposition women and is widely accused of human rights violations, including murder, rape and torture.

The FIDH urges “the international community to recognise the gravity of the situation in Burundi” and for the International Criminal Court (ICC) to quickly open an invest

It also says the African Union and UN should ensure political dialogue, impose an arms embargo and apply sanctions against officials. — AFP