Burundi

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Burundi' (IPA: Template:IPA), officially the Republic of Burundi, is a small country in the Great Lakes region of Africa. It is bordered by Rwanda on the north, Tanzania on the south and east, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the west. Although the country is landlocked, much of its western border is adjacent to Lake Tanganyika. The country's modern name is derived from its Bantu language, Kirundi.

Geographically isolated, facing population pressures and having sparse resources, Burundi has the lowest GDP per capita in the world, arguably making it the poorest country on the planet. It is also one of the most conflict-ridden countries in Africa and in the world. Its small size belies the magnitude of the problems it faces in reconciling the claims of the Tutsi minority with the Hutu majority.

Contents

[edit] History

Template:Main The earliest inhabitants of the area were the pygmoid Twa. They were largely replaced and absorbed by Bantu tribes during Bantu migrations.

Burundi existed as an independent kingdom from the sixteenth century. In 1903, it became a German colony and passed to Belgium in World War I. It was part of the Belgian League of Nations mandate of Ruanda-Urundi in 1923, later a United Nations Trust Territory under Belgian administrative authority following World War II. The origins of Burundi monarchy are veiled in myth. According to some legends, Ntare Rushatsi, founder of the original dynasty, came to Burundi from Rwanda in seventeenth century; other, more reliable sources, suggest that Ntare came from Buha, in the south-east, and laid the foundation for his kingdom in the Nkoma region.

Until the downfall of the monarchy in 1966, kingship remained one of last links that bound Burundi with its past.

From independence in 1962, until the elections of 1993, Burundi was controlled by a series of military dictators. These years saw extensive ethnic violence. In 1965 Hutu extremists attempted to wipe out ethnic Tutsi in the central province of Muramvya, at Busangana. In 1972, 1988, and in 1993, the Tutsi minority was victim of a genocide at the hands of Hutu extremist organisations such asUBU (Umugambwe w'Abakozi b'Uburundi or Burundi Workers Party; PALIPEHUTU, FRODEBU, and more recently the now ruling CNDD-FDD. in the northern region, precisely in Ntega and Marangara. and the Burundian genocide . In 1993, Burundi held presidential elections, democratic elections, which were won by the Hutu-dominated Front for Democracy in Burundi (FRODEBU). FRODEBU leader Melchior Ndadaye became Burundi's first Hutu President, but a few months later he was assassinated by a group of Tutsi army officers. The killing was a pretense for the ruling party FRODEBU to start a new genocide against the Tutsi minority. Thus, in retaliation for Ndadaye's killing, Hutu extremists massacred thousands of Tutsi civilians. Years of instability followed until 1996, when former president Pierre Buyoya took power in a coup. In August 2000, a peace-deal was agreed by most of Burundi's political groups. Unfortunately, it made no distinction between political parties and genocidal forces, as both were allowed to play a role in the national institutions. The deal laid out a timetable for the restoration of democracy. After several more years of genocide against the Tutsi minority, a cease-fire was signed in 2003 between the government and the largest Hutu rebel group, CNDD-FDD. In April of that year, FRODEBU leader Domitien Ndayizeye had replaced Buyoya as President. Yet the most extreme Hutu group, PALIPEHUTU-FNL (commonly known as "FNL"), continued to refuse negotiations. In August 2004, the group massacred 152 Congolese Tutsi refugees at the Gatumba refugee camp in western Burundi. In response to the attack, the Burundian government issued arrest warrants for the FNL leaders Agathon Rwasa and Pasteur Habimana, and declared the group a terrorist organisation. However, the arrest warrants were never effected. On the contrary, a few months later, the UN representative to Burundi went to meet the two men in Nairobi, Kenya.

In May 2005, a cease-fire was finally agreed between the FNL and the Burundian government, but fighting continued. Renewed negotiations are now under way, amid fears that the FNL will demand a blanket amnesty in exchange for laying down their arms. A series of elections, held in mid-2005 were won by the former Hutu rebel National Council for the Defense of Democracy-Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD). On September 7, 2006, a second ceasefire agreement was signed.

[edit] Genocide and mass killings

There was a well prepared genocide against Tutsi population in Burundi in 1972 by a political party named UBU (Umugambwe w'abakozi w'Uburundi or Burundi Workers' Party), which had called for an extermination of all tutsi regardless of age or gender, starting on April 29 of the same year. The plan foiled even if it had succeeded in the southern province of Bururi, now Makamba. It is only on May 9 1972, that is, after more than a week, that the military subdued the insurgeants, who had established their command post at Martyazo. In the ensuing reprisals, scores of Hutus were killed, to such a point that some sources estimated the number of victims, both Hutu and Tutsi to be in the vicinity of 250,000. Some historians, however, have questioned the reliability of these figures. They argue that if Burundians had died in such a big number and out of a population of only 3,500,000 in 1971; the gap should have been remarkable in the population census of 1979 and 1990. Those who participated in that genocide are free after the current government of Burundi continue to urge all the people to forgive each other on all of the killings. There have been other mass killings against of the population in Burundi, like in 1988, when the PALIPEHUTU group attacked innocent Tutsi in the northern region of Ntenga and Marangara in Burundi. The Burundi government headed by Pierre Buyoya is accused by some, of having unleashed a disproportionate reprisal force, bringing the total of casualties to the thousands. Others often point out the fact that rather than punishing the perpetrators of this genocide, the government decreed an amnesty, and went as far as building a house for each of them. Most believe that this is what encouraged further selective killings. In 1993, Burundi's first democratically elected Hutu president, Melchior Ndadaye, was assassinated by extremists in the army. His assassination was followed by a genocide against the Tutsi minority, as accounted for by an International Inquiry Commission that was appointed by the United Nations. In their report S/1996/682,[1], the commission concluded that "acts of genocide against the Tutsi minority were committed in Burundi in October 1993". According to the same report, the mainly Hutu ruling FRODEBU party set in motion a long-prepared retaliation plan against the Tutsi minority. The report also implicated senior figures in Burundi's Tutsi-dominated army in the assassination of President Ndadaye. Therefore, in the aftermath of Ndadaye's assassination broke out a genocidal war aimed at extermination of Tutsi, but a number of Hutu civilians were killed in the process. The difference is that the Tutsi were systematically hunted down by the Hutu rebels, either in their homes or on the country roads where they were separated from other passengers and killed on the spot. As for the Hutu victims, they were sometimes killed in reprisals by the army, sometimes by the rebels, for example when they accused them of making little or no contribution. The current government is made up of both Hutu and Tutsi, but the ruling CNDD-FDD is accused of many crimes against humanity and even genocide against the Tutsi minority. The Military, too, is made up of both former Tutsi government soldiers and former Hutu rebels who have been committing genocide, sometimes with the help of the former Rwandan army and Interahamwe militia. These are the main issues facing the restoration of democracy in Burundi. While many people are happy and glad that the war is over, it is still feared that the so many unpunished crimes against humanity may give birth to more conflicts in the future.

[edit] Politics

Image:Pierre Nkurunziza.jpeg
Pierre Nkurunziza, president of Burundi.

Template:Main The politics of Burundi take place in a framework of a transitional presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Burundi is both head of state and head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament, the Senate and the National Assembly. The President has officially called a cease-fire between the two warring parties in the civil war.

Decades of ethnic violence makes the achievement of political and social harmony difficult, as is evident in the reports of seminars of ministers of religion and teachers on the prospects for a 'nonkilling society' conducted in 2005-2006 by Fondation chirezi

Bilateral relations with neighboring Uganda have recently become strained after the discovery of oil on Lake Kyoga, near the town of Kenyi, Uganda. The Lord's Resistance Army, the rebel group responsible for a brutal reign of terror in Uganda and Burundi's border region has begun to rearm around the borders. International observers wonder how long the tenuous cease fire will last. Template:Fact

[edit] Provinces, communes, and collines

Image:Burundi Provinces.png

Template:Main Burundi is divided into 17 provinces, 117 communes, and 2,638 collines.

The provinces are:

The capital city, Bujumbura, has by far the largest population. Smaller cities of Burundi include Gitega, Muyinga, Ngozi and Ruyigi.

[edit] Geography

Image:By-map.png
Map of Burundi
Image:Bujumbura 29.36607E 3.37443S.jpg
NASA photo of the Bujumbura region.
Image:Satellite image of Burundi in February 2003.jpg
Satellite image of Burundi and the surrounding region.

Template:MapLibrary Template:Main Burundi is a landlocked country with an equatorial climate. Called "The heart of Africa" it lies on a rolling plateau, with Lake Tanganyika in its south west corner. The average elevation of the central plateau is 5,600 feet, with lower elevations at the borders. The highest peak, Mount Karonje, at 8,809 feet (2,685 m), lies to the southeast of the capital, Bujumbura. The southeastern and southern borders are at roughly 4,500 feet (1,370 m). A strip of land along the Ruzizi River, north of Lake Tanganyika, is the only area below 3,000 feet (915 m): this area forms part of the Albertine Rift, the western extension of the Great Rift Valley.

The land is mostly agricultural or pasture, the creation of which has led to deforestation, soil erosion and habitat loss. Deforestation of the entire country is almost complete due to overpopulation, with a mere 600 km² remaining and an ongoing loss of about nine percent per annum[2]. There are two national parks, Kibira National Park to the northwest (a small region of montane rainforest, adjacent to Nyungwe Forest National Park in Rwanda), Rurubu National Park to the north east (along the Rurubu River, also known as Ruvubu or Ruvuvu).

The farthest headstream of the Nile is in Burundi. Although Lake Victoria is commonly considered to be the source of the Nile, the Kagera River flows for 429 miles (690 km) before reaching Lake Victoria. The source of the Ruvyironza River, an upper branch of the Kagera River, is at Mount Kikizi in Burundi.

[edit] Economy

Template:Main Burundi's largest industry is agriculture, which accounted for 58% of GDP in 1997. Coffee is the nation's biggest revenue earner with 78% of all exported goods. Other agriculture products include cotton, tea, maize, sorghum, sweet potatoes, bananas (of which Burundi is one of the world's ten largest producers), manioc (tapioca); beef, milk, and hides. Besides agriculture, other industries include light consumer goods such as blankets, shoes, soap; assembly of imported components; public works construction; food processing. The currency is the Burundian franc (BIF).

Burundi is the poorest country in the world, in terms of GDP per capita: US$90 as of 2007. The economy is supported by foreign aid from Western Europe and other parts of the world. In 2000 this amount reached US$92.7 million. 68% of the population lived below the poverty line in 2002. The country's estimated gross domestic product (GDP) was US$700 million in 2001. According to the World Food Programme, the majority of children aged under 5 (56.8%) suffer from chronic malnutrition. [3]

[edit] Demographics

Template:Main As of July 2006, Burundi is projected to have an estimated population of 8,090,068, approximately half of whom are aged 14 or less. This estimate explicitly takes into account the effects of AIDS, which has a significant effect on the demographics of the country. Roughly 85% of the population are of Hutu ethnic origin; most of the remaining population are Tutsi, with a minority of Twa (Pygmy), and a few thousand Europeans and South Asians. The population density of around 315 people per square kilometre (753/sq mi) is the second highest in Sub-Saharan Africa, behind only Rwanda. The Twa are thought to be the original inhabitants of the area, with Hutu and then Tutsi settlers arriving in the 1300s and 1400s respectively.

The largest religion is Roman Catholicism (62%), followed by indigenous beliefs (23%) and a minority of Protestants (5%) and Muslims (10%). However, The Anglican Church of Burundi [4] claims over 10% of the population as members and recent reports indicate the Christian population may be as high as 90% with most of the remainder being Muslim. [5]. Care should therefore be taken with these statistics.

The official languages are Kirundi and French, although Swahili is spoken along the eastern border.

[edit] Culture

Template:Cleanup Template:Main Template:Seealso

and List of writers from Burundi

The culture of Burundi is related to that of neighboring countries and its prominence has been limited by the civil war. The Master Drummers of Burundi are the most famous performing group from the nation, and football (soccer) is the most popular sport.

Burundian people are generally thought to be quiet and reserved. It is often said that you can offend a Burundian or even cheat him and even if he knows you are cheating him, he will never tell you. In their traditional philosophy anyone talking too much is not considered to be intelligent.

Although Burundians are not traditionally involved in popular music, it is gaining popularity among the younger generation. Burundi is having one of the best drum beating in the world and many tourists enjoy that.

Burundians enjoy fish from lake Tanganyika. Umukeke is the favorite fish for both Burundians and tourists. They like eating bananas, cassava flour, etc. Most Burundians start the day with a cup of tea, then lunch which is followed by siesta and supper in the evening although some have more meals a day.

Some words like sexual parts of the body are not easy to talk for Burundians. They do not tolerate obscenity.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

  • Burundi: Ethnic Conflict and Genocide Reni Lemarchand and Lee H. Hamilton


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