Burundi On The Brink of Civil War?: Restrictions On Information Making It Hard To Know

An announcement in April of President Nkurunziza’s intention to run for a third re-election–deemed unconstitutional by the opposition– resulted in an outbreak of protests and civil unrest in Burundi. The contentious election has led to violent protests and extrajudicial killings and has resulted in over 200 civilian deaths, according to United Nations High Commissioner for Human Refugees (UNHCR). The political atmosphere has further ignited fear in the civilians, causing 200,000 to flee from Burundi due to the hate speech from political leaders as well as arbitrary arrests, which constitute a human rights violations. According to human-rights organizations, the widespread displacement is also a result of negligence on the part of security services, who have been incapable of preventing the death toll from rising further. With the violence against the opposition escalating, death toll rising and refugees increasing in numbers, there is a perceived risk that these attacks will become widespread and systematic enough to be labeled as crimes against humanity.

With the crisis worsening, activists and news organizations fear that Burundi may be on the path to another genocide. Their fears are warranted; in 2006 Burundi ended a civil war between Hutu rebels and a Tutsi-led army that resulted in 30,000 deaths. Burundi also neighbors Rwanda, which witnessed a similar ethnic clash in 1994 that killed 800,000 people, also Hutus and Tutsis.

Furthermore, freedom of speech has become restricted because of the interior minister’s decision to suspend the activities of various groups, among which includes a hospital helping vulnerable children. This decision has harmed the civil society movement as well as the country’s private radio stations and independent media. This act has been condemned by human rights groups as well activists, mainly because it is making it difficult for the flow of information relating to the crimes being committed. There is also the danger that without such access to information, it will be impossible for the international community to respond should a genocide take place. It should also be noted that prior to the ban on mediums allowing for free expression, information related regarding the crimes led to appeals from the international community for Nkurunziza to finally enter into dialogue with the opposition.

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