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By
Bahati Ntama Jacques
Published
March 15, 2008
President Pierre
Nkurunziza was recently in Washington and in
his remarks at the Woodrow Wilson Center
for Scholars on February 6, 2008, he offered Burundi
as an example of hope in a troubled Africa. Nkurunziza took office on August 26, 2005 as
the second democratically elected president in Burundi. This is the fist time in Burundi’s
history an elected president has held the office for more than two years. It is a sign of hope for Burundi, given
its long history of political assassinations and several coup attempts. Between 1961 and 2001, 12 leaders were
assassinated, among them three prime ministers, a Roman Catholic bishop, and
the first Burundian democratically elected president, Melchior Ndadaye who was
assassinated just three months after his election.
Opportunities
This is the time for Burundi to
build its development foundation. The Burundian government plans to review its
constitution (as it is required by law
to be done every five years) to encourage investors who are interested in
business in Burundi. The Code of Investment is one of the laws
that needs revision because it has been a hindrance to developing Burundi’s
tourism sector.
Through its community
service program, Burundians have built 200 primary schools in addition to 300
built by the government. Burundi
provides free primary school education and free healthcare for all pregnant
woman and every child under the age of 5.
On the issue of peace and
conflict, a ceasefire negotiation with the FNL rebel group is in progress and
there is hope that the deal will be sealed soon. Burundi
is grateful for the help it received during its civil war and today it is
giving back by contributing peacekeeping troops in Sudan,
Somalia and Ivory Coast. In addition, unlike any other government to
date, Nkurunziza plans to examine Burundian history by putting in place the
Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) to deal with all crimes committed
since 1962. This not only aims to build
a stable and peaceful Burundi, but also to bring an end to years of hurt and
anger that many Burundians live with daily.
One of the challenges that has delayed the trial of some of the
criminals, says president Nkurunziza, has been the temporary immunity
stipulated in the Arusha accord.
Land and Property
The issue of land rights
is a serious one in Burundi.
Consequently, the government recently put in place the “land and other property
commission.” With an area of 27,830 sq. km, Burundi is a very small country for
its estimated 7,548,000 people. Land is a particularly difficult issue for
Burundians who were born in refugee camps after 1962, for orphans, and for
those whose land was sold because they belonged to rebel groups. Fortunately,
on the matter of land inheritance and women, the Burundian government has put
in place a law to allow them to inherit land - a huge opportunity for the
country to change its mentality on women’s rights.
Challenges
Despite such successes, Burundi still
faces many challenges. In 2007, the World Bank estimated Burundi to be
the poorest country in the world.
Disease, high birth rates, HIV/AIDS, and disarmament of civilians who
were involved in the civil war are all issues that remain to be addressed. Also, in light of the situation in Kenya, Burundi should be on the radar of
the international community because of its history of ethicized politics. Among the three Burundian tribes, Hutu, Tutsi
and Twa, there has always been tension between the Hutu and the Tutsi. Before the election of President Melchior
Ndadaye, a Hutu, Burundi had
been led by Tutsi presidents since its independence from Belgium in
1962. In 1972, rivalry between the two
tribes resulted in the killing of about 100,000 Hutu intellectuals and moderate
Tutsi. After the assassination of
President Ndadaye by Tutsi military extremists in 1993, Hutu and Tutsi alike
died in large numbers. The United
Nations called this genocide against the Tutsi minority. Thus, while Burundi
has made great strides under President Nkurunziza, it must be wary of the
difficulties faced by new democracies in Africa.
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