wfn.org | Episcopal Church in Burundi supporting fragile peace process

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2000-004

Episcopal Church in Burundi supporting fragile peace process

by James Solheim

     (ENS) A delegation from the Anglican Peace and Justice 
Network (APJN) returned from a late-November trip to Burundi 
sobered by the continuing violence but cautiously hopeful that 
the fragile peace process may have a chance.

     "We were eager to express our solidarity with members of the 
Episcopal Church in Burundi, to listen to their stories of faith 
and suffering, and to encourage their participation in peace 
efforts. But we also wanted to see the situation for ourselves," 
said the Rev. Brian Grieves, the Episcopal Church's director of 
peace and justice ministries. Bishop Pie Ntukamazina had issued 
an open invitation.

     Burundi gained its independence from Belgium in 1962 and 
struggled with democracy until 1966 when ethnic Tutsis dominated 
the government. That lasted until 1993 when a new democracy was 
established. The assassination of the new president after just 
three months in office unleashed an era of chaos and retributions 
by the ethnic Hutu factions. The genocide killed an estimated 
150,000 Tutsi and, since then, another 50,000-100,000 people have 
been killed in civil strife.

     A 1996 coup "had the effect of calming the chaos that had 
gripped the country since 1993," the delegation report said. 
"After a tense period, and with the helpful intervention of the 
Episcopal Church of Burundi and others, the elected National 
Assembly or parliament resumed its functions," forming a 
government of national unity.

     "Since that time a painfully slow peace process has been 
established with Julius Nyerere of Tanzania serving as mediator" 
in a process named for the Tanzanian city of Arusha where the 
meetings were held. The struggle has been to include those rebel 
groups who have engaged in armed conflict throughout the country. 

"A cease-fire to end the violence is not possible until these factions 
are brought into negotiations," the delegation concluded.

Atmosphere of distrust

     "There is enormous distrust among the various political 
groups," the report observed. "Civil society has a very low 
regard of politicians," regarding some of them as "perpetrators 
of the genocide." Yet there are signs of hope because "the 
government and political parties working within the country have 
made impressive strides in reaching agreement on a framework for 
peace and a new government."

     The agreements call for a transition period of five years 
and a period of "democratic consolidation" for another five 
years. And there is agreement on a Truth and Reconciliation 
Commission, modeled on the experience in South Africa. "The 
progress in developing these agreements is remarkable given the 
recent genocide," the report said. Yet the efforts have not been 
supported by the international community, provoking resentment in 
various parts of the government. 

     The death of Nyerere has threatened to halt the peace 
process, but Nelson Mandela, who retired recently as president of 
South Africa, will assume the role of mediator and "bring new 
impetus to the pursuit of a just peace."

     The delegation learned very quickly that the relations 
between Tutsis and Hutus are "very complicated," concluding that 
"it is simplistic and even racist stereotyping" to assume that 
each hates the other. "Certainly, there is no doubt that there 
are factions in both ethnic groups who exploit ethnic differences 
and fuel hatred and commit horrendous atrocities. But it is also 
obvious that most Hutus and Tutsis are prepared to live together 
as neighbors much as they have done for centuries prior to the 
arrival of the colonists."

     While it is easy for many in the international community to 
reduce the conflict to an ethnic one, the team observed that 
"many persons from the two ethnic groups, both in the church and 
the government, working together to overcome the chaos and 
discord created by the genocide.

     In reality, attempts to forge a peace agreement are 
complicated by divisions in the neighboring states of the area 
called the Great Lakes region. An accord that has attempted to 
end the conflict in the region "is extremely fragile and appears 
to be unraveling," warned the report. "The delegation was very 
disturbed by the extent to which the violence is perpetuated as a 
direct consequence of arms transfers."

A role for the church

     "The Episcopal Church of Burundi has provided significant 
leadership during the current conflict, encouraging the different 
groups to join together for the good of the nation and to forge 
ahead towards peace," the report concluded. In the wake of the 
1996 coup the church's role "may have prevented a further 
downward spiral of the violence and chaos," serving with other 
churches as facilitators between the elected officials who went 
into hiding and the leaders of the coup. "This facilitation 
process made possible the success of forming the present 
government of unity" by helping to keep the elected officials in 
the country.

     In its recommendations, the team called on the new mediator 
for the Arusha talks "to work urgently to bring all legitimate 
parties into the peace process, with the support of the present 
groups now in the talks, so that all voices can be heard." And it 
said that a cease-fire is "the highest priority," followed by the 
return of all those who have been displaced by the war. It also 
called on church partners throughout the Anglican Communion to 
send relief to the church in Burundi to alleviate the suffering 
in the refugee camps. 

     The APJN report called for an international inquiry into the 
arms trade in the area and supported a meeting of Anglican 
leaders in the Great Lakes area to discuss peace initiatives. 

     In its conclusion, the team said that it was leaving Burundi 
more hopeful than when it arrived and would not "underestimate 
the enormous task that lies ahead for the leadership of the 
country. But it did find both a faithful church and many men and 
women in the government who hold the promise and the key to 
success. The churches role in reconciliation, justice and truth 
will be crucial to the implementation of any peace agreements," 
it said.

-James Solheim is director of the Church's Office of News and 
Information.