wfn.org | Burundian Leader Tours U.S.

[RByler@afsc.org]

For Immediate Release
August 19, 1996

Contact:  J.Ron Byler (215/241-7060)
or Aishah Shahidah Simmons (215/241-7056)

Burundian Leader Calls for Burundian Solutions to Escalating Violence

PHILADELPHIA -- Burundian peace activist and Quaker pastor, David Niyonzima,
will visit 15 U.S. cities, September 15 - October 15, to ask for material
and moral support of those in his country who are working for peace and
reconciliation.  "Burundians live in constant fear and feel powerless as
they watch the deteriorating situation," says Niyonzima, who fled Burundi
with his family in June 1996 when his name appeared on a death list.  The
conflict between the majority Hutus and the ruling minority Tutsis has
already left thousands dead and displaced more than a quarter million people.
	Niyonzima will meet with a wide range of groups to talk about the rapidly
escalating violence in Burundi, suggest ways that people in the United
States might challenge government and others to work effectively for
reconciliation in Burundi, and encourage them to support peace efforts.
Niyonzima will discourage outside intervention in Burundi and will ask
nations to stop the flow of weapons to his country.  The tour is sponsored
by the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC).
	The general secretary of the Evangelical Friends Church in Burundi,
Niyonzima oversees 70 congregations with a membership of approximately
9,000.  His father was one of the first Quaker converts in Burundi.  In
1989, David became the pastor of the Friends Church in Gitega, where he
founded the Gitega House of Peace and the Gitega nursery and primary school
with a focus on peace education. 
	Niyonzima helped form an inter-ethnic Peace Committee in 1994 in Kibimba,
the site of a 1993 massacre and an area of continuing political turmoil and
killing.  He helped establish a team of North American volunteers in Kibimba
that currently serve as a catalyst for peacemaking dialogue and conflict
resolution.  
	After the assassination in 1993 of the first democratically elected Hutu
president, Niyonzima felt personally called to engage in reconciliation
efforts between Hutus and Tutsis.  As a Hutu married to a Tutsi, he believes
that dialogue across ethnic lines is an essential factor in helping to break
the cycle of violence, revenge, and discrimination.
	In 1993, David Niyonzima narrowly escaped death when troops came to his
training center and killed eight students.  "We decided not to report the
people who brought the soldiers," says Niyonzima, "because we knew it would
continue the cycle of revenge and killings.  We forgave them."  In 1994,
Niyonzima was instrumental in establishing crisis committees that
distributed relief aid to more than two thousand Tutsis in a displaced
persons camp set up by the army in his community.
	"The differences are not really physical, they are mental," says Niyonzima.
"Because of what has happened over the years, people have just created a gap
between themselves, and the anger is deeply rooted."  The root of the
problem dates back to the colonial rule of Belgium which designated the
Tutsis as the ruling class.  
	In February 1996, David Niyonzima spoke to participants in a Cross Africa
consultation sponsored by the AFSC in Mali, appealing for support of
Burundian efforts to promote reconciliation and restore dialogue, and work
to resolve the conflict in non-violent ways.  A Burundi Peace Fund has been
established by the AFSC to raise funds to translate peace and reconciliation
materials into Kirundi and Kinyarwanda, the primary languages of Burundi and
Rwanda.
	For more information, contact Ron Byler, AFSC director of media relations,
at 215/241-7060.
- 30 -

The American Friends Service Committee is a Quaker organization which
includes people of various faiths who are committed to social justice, peace
and humanitarian service.  Its work is based on the Quaker belief in the
worth of every person, and faith in the power of love to overcome violence
and injustice.

J.Ron Byler
Director of Media Relations
American Friends Service Committee
PH: 215/241-7060
FAX: 215/241-7275
E-MAIL: RByler@afsc.org
http://www.afsc.org