Never Again? Rwanda and Burundi Promise Action
Oread Daily | 18.08.2004 21:01
NEVER AGAIN?
Police in Burundi's capital, Bujumbura, used tear gas to break up a demonstration Wednesday held to protest the massacre of Congolese Tutsi refugees. At least 100 Congolese Tutsis gathered outside the embassy of the Democratic Republic of Congo to denounce last Friday's attack.
Almost 160 Congolese refugees, mostly of Tutsi descent, on Friday were massacred by Hutu rebel forces in Burundi. Burundi's Hutu rebel National Liberation Forces (FNL) has claimed responsibility for the attack on the refugee camp in Gatumba, near the Congolese border. The radical Hutu group is the only rebel militia still fighting the Burundian transitional government - which is mostly composed of former rebel groups - and refuses to participate in peace negotiations. The Hutu militia attacked the unarmed refugees with guns and machetes and set fire on their tents. Most of the victims were women, children and babies of the Banyamulenge community who were shot dead and burnt in their shelters, according to ONUB, the UN's peacekeeping mission in Burundi.
Burundi's transitional President Domitien Ndayizeye on Saturday claimed the massacre had been organized by Hutu extremists based in nearby eastern Congo, not by the FNL. The claims by President Ndayizeye were supported by some survivors. Several of the Banyamulenge in the camp claim that the attackers indeed did belong to the Interahamwe or even regular Congolese troops, which according to Rwanda have armed and trained the Interahamwe during the last decade. According to the Burundian army, the armed men had crossed the border into Congo after the attack. Similar claims were made by Rwanda immediately after the assault.
In neighboring Rwanda, the Tutsi massacre has caused shock and pain. Rwandan President Paul Kagame quickly condemned the massacre and said he was certain that Rwandan Hutu militia such as the Interahamwe were linked to the attack. The massacre was part of a regional "genocidal plan" against the Tutsi, according to a Rwandan government official.
At a mass burial in Burundi on Monday, thousands of people lamented the deaths. The victims were all buried in a large pit in which coffins were laid side by side in rows of four. Some were marked with question marks because the remains were too charred to be identified. Some coffins held the remains of more than one person. Speakers at the funeral expressed concern and anger over another genocide taking place in the Great Lakes region, 10 years after the genocide in Rwanda. "Rwanda is resolved to no longer tolerate acts of genocide in the world," Rwanda's minister for local administration, Christophe Bazivamo, said at the burial site. "Rwanda is ready to bring aid to and intervene... to stop genocide and calm down the people, as in Darfur," in western Sudan, he said. Rwanda was the first member of the African Union to send soldiers to Darfur as part of an African Union protection force for ceasefire observers in west Sudan, where more than a year's strife has led to a massive humanitarian crisis. Rwanda "will no longer settle for being a spectator," Bazivamo said.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame accused the United Nations Tuesday of "doing nothing" to bring peace to Africa's unstable Great Lakes region, where the massacre took place. "It is clear that they are doing nothing," said Kagame, himself a Tutsi. "We cannot remain with folded arms. We have to look for other ways to resolve the problem, especially at the level of the African Union."
According to the Rwandan government, there are still armed "Rwandan, Burundian and Congolese" rebel groups aiming at exterminating the Tutsi people. Their stronghold is, according to Rwanda, in eastern Congo. The Rwandan army, faced with Friday's massacre on Tutsis in Burundi, would not wait for new attacks on Tutsis in Rwanda, the government said.
Burundi's army chief, Germain Niyoyankana, yesterday accused Congolese soldiers of participating in Friday's attack. He said the governments of Rwanda and Burundi may send troops into Congo Kinshasa (DRC) if Kinshasa does not finally take action against the militias still slaughtering Tutsis. Sources: AfricaLog, Afrol, IRIN, AFP, Reuters
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Police in Burundi's capital, Bujumbura, used tear gas to break up a demonstration Wednesday held to protest the massacre of Congolese Tutsi refugees. At least 100 Congolese Tutsis gathered outside the embassy of the Democratic Republic of Congo to denounce last Friday's attack.
Almost 160 Congolese refugees, mostly of Tutsi descent, on Friday were massacred by Hutu rebel forces in Burundi. Burundi's Hutu rebel National Liberation Forces (FNL) has claimed responsibility for the attack on the refugee camp in Gatumba, near the Congolese border. The radical Hutu group is the only rebel militia still fighting the Burundian transitional government - which is mostly composed of former rebel groups - and refuses to participate in peace negotiations. The Hutu militia attacked the unarmed refugees with guns and machetes and set fire on their tents. Most of the victims were women, children and babies of the Banyamulenge community who were shot dead and burnt in their shelters, according to ONUB, the UN's peacekeeping mission in Burundi.
Burundi's transitional President Domitien Ndayizeye on Saturday claimed the massacre had been organized by Hutu extremists based in nearby eastern Congo, not by the FNL. The claims by President Ndayizeye were supported by some survivors. Several of the Banyamulenge in the camp claim that the attackers indeed did belong to the Interahamwe or even regular Congolese troops, which according to Rwanda have armed and trained the Interahamwe during the last decade. According to the Burundian army, the armed men had crossed the border into Congo after the attack. Similar claims were made by Rwanda immediately after the assault.
In neighboring Rwanda, the Tutsi massacre has caused shock and pain. Rwandan President Paul Kagame quickly condemned the massacre and said he was certain that Rwandan Hutu militia such as the Interahamwe were linked to the attack. The massacre was part of a regional "genocidal plan" against the Tutsi, according to a Rwandan government official.
At a mass burial in Burundi on Monday, thousands of people lamented the deaths. The victims were all buried in a large pit in which coffins were laid side by side in rows of four. Some were marked with question marks because the remains were too charred to be identified. Some coffins held the remains of more than one person. Speakers at the funeral expressed concern and anger over another genocide taking place in the Great Lakes region, 10 years after the genocide in Rwanda. "Rwanda is resolved to no longer tolerate acts of genocide in the world," Rwanda's minister for local administration, Christophe Bazivamo, said at the burial site. "Rwanda is ready to bring aid to and intervene... to stop genocide and calm down the people, as in Darfur," in western Sudan, he said. Rwanda was the first member of the African Union to send soldiers to Darfur as part of an African Union protection force for ceasefire observers in west Sudan, where more than a year's strife has led to a massive humanitarian crisis. Rwanda "will no longer settle for being a spectator," Bazivamo said.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame accused the United Nations Tuesday of "doing nothing" to bring peace to Africa's unstable Great Lakes region, where the massacre took place. "It is clear that they are doing nothing," said Kagame, himself a Tutsi. "We cannot remain with folded arms. We have to look for other ways to resolve the problem, especially at the level of the African Union."
According to the Rwandan government, there are still armed "Rwandan, Burundian and Congolese" rebel groups aiming at exterminating the Tutsi people. Their stronghold is, according to Rwanda, in eastern Congo. The Rwandan army, faced with Friday's massacre on Tutsis in Burundi, would not wait for new attacks on Tutsis in Rwanda, the government said.
Burundi's army chief, Germain Niyoyankana, yesterday accused Congolese soldiers of participating in Friday's attack. He said the governments of Rwanda and Burundi may send troops into Congo Kinshasa (DRC) if Kinshasa does not finally take action against the militias still slaughtering Tutsis. Sources: AfricaLog, Afrol, IRIN, AFP, Reuters
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