 |
|
Aug. 1, 1996:
Charlayne Hunter-Gault talks with Kofi Annon, Undersecretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations at the United Nations, about the options for international intervention.
July 23, 1996:
United States' UN Ambassador, Madeleine Albright warns that Burundi is on the brink of national suicide.
May 23, 1996:
Susan Rice, deputy National Security Advisor for Africa, discusses growing tensions in Burundi, a nation that shares a border, and similar ethnic make-up, with Rwanda.
March 28, 1996:
At a crucial moment in Burundi's history, Charlayne Hunter-Gault investigates whether tribal wars, with Rwanda-like genocide, are about to erupt.
Jan. 30, 1996:
Ambassador Albright's discusses the situation in Burundi.
Browse the NewsHour's Africa Files. |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
CHARLAYNE HUNTER-GAULT: Government troops are on high alert, and security  remains tight in this ethnically torn Central African state. Violence, which has subsided in the last few days, followed a military coup last week. The Hutu government was toppled, and Tutsi-backed Major Pierre Buyoya took charge. The coup stirred up new fears of violence and an exodus of refugees to neighboring countries.
Since the 1993 assassination of Burundi’s first elected president, a member of the majority Hutu tribe, the world has witnessed massacres and reprisals between the Hutus  and the minority Tutsis who dominate the army. This ethnic division is similar to the mix in neighboring Rwanda, where civil war claimed 500,000 lives in 1994. Three years of conflict in Burundi have left 150,000 mostly civilians dead. Since taking control, Burundi’s new leader has been trying to reassure the international community that his ousting of the legitimate government was necessary and, in fact, would halt further bloodshed.
 MAJOR PIERRE BUYOYA, Burundi Coup Leader: We are not expecting to stop violence immediately. In a situation like Burundi, it’s impossible. But we’ll do all we can to diminish and then to stop violence in the coming days and weeks.
CHARLAYNE HUNTER-GAULT: But African countries have denounced the coup, and the Organization of African Unity said it would not recognize Major Buyoya.
SPOKESMAN: The summit feels that this will deepen the conflict in Burundi and worsen the security and stability of the whole region.
CHARLAYNE HUNTER-GAULT: Yesterday, African leaders meeting in Tanzania agreed to a number of measures to force the Junta to return the country to civilian rule. One was a call to reinstate Burundi’s parliament and ban political parties. The leaders also want the new regime to resume peace negotiations and share power with the Hutus. But most importantly, they vowed to impose total sanctions on land-locked Burundi. This would especially cripple the coffee and tea industry, staples of the country’s economy. The ban may also extend to air and ferry travel.
|
|
