THE GEOGRAPHY (Foreign Office UK)
Area: 27,830 sq km
Population: 6,054,714
Capital City: Bujumbura (286,299)
People: Hutu (Bantu) 85%, Tutsi
(Hamitic) 14%, Twa (Pygmy) 1%,
Europeans 3,000, South Asians 2,000.
Language(s): Kirundi (official), French
(official), Swahili (along Lake
Tanganjika and the Bujumbura area)
Religion(s): Christian 67% (Roman
Catholic 62%, Protestant 5%),
Indigenous beliefs 23%, Muslim 10%
Currency: Burundi franc = 100
centimes
Major political parties: Unity for
National Progress or UPRONA; Burundi
Democratic Front or FRODEBU. Note:
Burundi African Alliance for the
Salvation or ABASA; Rally for
Democracy and Economic and Social
Development or RADDES; Party for
National Redress or PARENA; People's
Reconciliation Party or PRP.
Government: Republic
THE HISTORY (Foreign Office UK)
Recent History
Despite a shared language, religion and
culture, Burundians have traditionally
been categorised as either Hutu or
Tutsi. The Tutsis have historically
formed the ruling class. Since
independence from Belgium in 1962,
there has been sporadic violence
between the two groups, including the
massacres of 1972 when
100,000-200,000 predominantly Hutu
were killed.
In 1987 Major Pierre Buyoya, a Tutsi,
took control following a coup and
initiated a 5 year transition to
democracy. This culminated in elections
in June 1993 in which Buyoya was
defeated by Mechoir Ndadaye, a Hutu.
The main Hutu party, the Front Pour la
Democratie au Burundi (FRODEBU)
took control of Parliament in the first
Hutu government in Burundi and
introduced policies to promote Hutus.
Elements of the Tutsi dominated army
attempted a coup in October 1993,
assassinating President Ndayaye. The
coup triggered massacres of over
30,000 people, both Hutu and Tutsi.
Under international pressure a civilian
government was reinstated under
President Ntaryamira, a FRODEBU
Hutu.
In April 1994, Ntaryamira was killed
when the aircraft in which he and
President Habyarimira of neighbouring
Rwanda were travelling was shot down
near Kigali. In Rwanda, the assassination
of Habyarimana triggered genocide
perpetrated by Hutu extremists killing
up to 1 million Tutsis and Hutu
moderates. Burundi avoided a new
round of bloodshed, but inter-ethnic
tensions increased. A new
power-sharing government was
formed in September 1994, led by
Sylvestre Ntibantunganya.
From early 1995 the mainly Hutu
Conseil National Pour la Defence de la
Democratie (CNDD), led by Leonard
Nyangoma, launched a guerrilla
campaign against the army. The CNDD
armed wing, the Front pour la Defence
de la Democratie (FDD) operated from
refugee camps in the then-Zaire and
(to a lesser extent) Tanzania. Other
Hutu groups, especially the Parti pour
la liberation des Peuples Hutu
(PALIPEHUTU), were also active. The
army and Tutsi youth gangs largely
eliminated Hutus from Bujumbura in
1994-95.
On 25 July 1996 mounting insecurity
culminated in a military coup that
brought Buyoya back to power.
Regional leaders reacted by imposing
economic sanctions on Burundi. Buyoya
tried to form an ethnically mixed
government, cracked down on the
youth gangs and announced a 3-year
transition to civil rule.
As a result of the 1996-97 civil war in
the then-Zaire, Hutu rebels lost their
sanctuary, tipping the balance of power
in favour of the Burundi army. The
rebels slowly recovered during 1997
but have since been weakened by splits
within their ranks. Rebel activity
remains strongest in the north-west,
around Bujumbura and in the far south.
Longer Historical Perspective
The roots of conflict lie in the abuse of
artificial ethnic distinctions. However,
the ethnic division between Hutu and
Tutsi has never been as stark as in
Rwanda. There, the word 'Tutsi'
meant a well-defined and socially
identifiable group who had already in
the colonial period, developed a
problematic relationship with the Hutus.
Whereas Burundians accept the
distinction between Hutu and Tutsi and
are engaged in a negotiation to build an
'inclusive' society that allows the
sharing of power along representative
lines. Rwanda has rejected ethnicity as
an artificial colonial construct that
serves no useful purpose and has
therefore chosen a non ethnic
approach to its domestic political
development.
Burundi has witnessed a slow
downward spiral of violence since the
murder of Prince Louis Rwagasore in
1961, immediately before independence.
Rwagasore, as the leader of UPRONA,
was the logical future Prime Minister.
'As a prominent member of the royal
lineage, an anti colonialist and married
to a Hutu, he embodied a trans ethnic
form of nationalism. UPRONA, the clear
majority party before independence
was constituted equally of Hutus and
Tutsis. After Rwagasore's murder,
the Tutsi cadres immediately set about
'Tutsifying' the party and
thereafter, political parties became
divided on ethnic lines and ethnicity was
used as the main determinant of
power.
The next four decades witnessed the
following:
Political parties became organised on
ethnic lines and extremist parties
emerged amongst both Hutu and Tutsi
groups
Power was generally transferred by
force
A cycle of violence developed where
Hutu attempts to gain power met with
devastating reprisals and massive
numbers of deaths. (The 1972 genocide
wiped out a whole generation of
educated Hutus)
For decades, violence was not subject
to international sanction or criticism
and thus becomes legitimised.
The main structures and institutions of
society become largely controlled and
dominated by the Tutsi population.
Specifically the Tutsi population
controlled the military, the judiciary,
the administration and services such as
education and health. (Only 10% of
teachers are Hutu)
The army developed into a
predominantly Tutsi force (estimated
over 90% all ranks)
Strong mechanisms of state control
developed. The army and security
apparatus became largely
unaccountable and maintained the
separate right of intervention and
control.
THE ECONOMY (Foreign Office UK)
Basic Economic Facts (2000 estimates)
GDP: franc Burundais (bn) 489
Real GDP Growth: -0.9%
Inflation: 24.3%
Major Exports: Coffee, tea
Major Trading Partners: Exports – UK
(38.3%), Switzerland (22.1%), Germany
(16%), US (13.2%). Imports – France,
Zambia, Kenya, Tanzania.
Exchange Rate: Franc Burundais 857 =
US$1 (Jan 2002)
Trade Partners UK Country Profile:
Burundi
The mainstay of the Burundian
economy is agriculture, accounting for
46% of GDP in 1999. Agriculture
supports more than 90% of the labour
force, the majority of whom are
subsistence farmers. Although Burundi
is potentially self-sufficient in food
production, the ongoing civil war,
overpopulation, and soil erosion have
contributed to the contraction of the
subsistence economy by 25% in recent
years. Large numbers of internally
displaced persons have been unable to
produce their own food and are largely
dependent on international humanitarian
assistance.
The main cash crop is coffee, which
accounted for approximately 80% of
exports in 1999. This dependence on
coffee has increased Burundi's
vulnerability to seasonal yields and
international coffee prices. Coffee is
the largest state-owned enterprise. In
recent years, the government has
tried to attract private investment to
this sector, with some success.
Efforts to privatise other publicly held
enterprises have stalled. Other
principal exports include tea and raw
cotton.
Little industry exists except the
processing of agricultural exports.
Although potential wealth in petroleum,
nickel, copper, and other natural
resources is being explored, the
uncertain security situation has
prevented meaningful investor interest.
Industrial development also is hampered
by Burundi's distance from the sea and
high transport costs. Lake Tanganyika
remains an important trading point. The
trade embargo, lifted in 1999,
negatively impacted trade and industry.
There has not been a significant
improvement in the economy since the
suspension of sanctions in January
1999 – it is dependent on international
humanitarian assistance for food. Some
40% of government expenditure is on
the military. Burundi has ceased to
service its international debt. Economic
recovery is not likely until there is a
durable peace in Burundi.
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