Chapter 1 - Burundi’s Legacy of Large-Scale Human Rights Abuses

Summary

Burundi's post-colonial identity has to a large extent been shaped by diff erent cycles of violence. Violence has served as the most important instrument for obtaining, maintaining or exercising political power and, indirectly, for securing access to economic and financial wealth. This is a common theme of the five cycles of violence this chapter distinguishes.

THE 1965 EVENTS

On 13 October 1961, shortly before independence, Prince Louis Rwagasore, Prime Minister of Burundi, was killed. In the view of many observers and analysts, Burundian and foreign, this event has strongly marked Burundi’s post-colonial history of conflict and violence. Rwagasore was the son of Mwami (king) Mwambutsa IV and one of the founding fathers of the Uprona party (Unité et Progrès National, established in 1958). His death should be understood in light of the power struggles among Ganwa, descendants of Mwami Ntare Rugamba (1795–1850). Rwagasore belonged to the clan of Bezi princes, descendants of Mwami Mwezi Gisabo, Ntare's youngest son (who ruled from 1850 until 1908). Ntare's older sons and their descendants were known as the Batare clan, with Pierre Baranyanka as leading spokesperson. The Batare clan also was the main ally of (first) the German colonizer and (later) the Belgian mandatory and administering authorities. In the 1950’s, the old princely rivalries were, in the wake of electoral politics, transformed into an organised political competition through political parties and factions. The main parties were Uprona, representing the Bezi lineages and the monarchy, and the PDC (Parti Démocrate Chrétien), founded by Baranyanka's sons, representing the Batare lineages and strategically supported by the colonial administration. Contrary to the Rwandan situation around the time of independence, the political context in Burundi did not oppose Hutu and Tutsi, but reflected traditional Ganwa rivalries. The first elections, in November 1960, organised at the local level of the municipalities, were won by the PDC. Less than one year later, however, Uprona won the legislative elections of September 1961, winning around 80 of the votes and reflecting a common desire among Hutu and Tutsi to preserve the monarchy and to accelerate Burundi's independence. Rwagasore became prime minister designate. According to Lemarchand, his personal leadership constituted the most valuable asset of the Uprona party. He embodied the link between the Crown and, also because of his charisma, “he gave the party an enormous appeal among the peasantry”.