Burundi

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Burundi Summary

Burundi

Burundi is a small landlocked country in Central Africa, sharing borders with Tanzania on the east, the Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaire) in the west, and Rwanda in the north. With a population of about 7.1 million in 2002 living in a land of just 27,000 square kilometers (10,425 square miles), Burundi has the second highest population density in Africa. The population of Burundi comprises three ethnic groups: the Hutu (85%), the Tutsi (14%), and the Twa (1%). Scarcity of arable land (estimated at 0.13 hectare per person) constitutes an impediment to agricultural production.

Burundi is one of the poorest countries in the world, with a per capita income of $600 in 2003 (in purchasing power parity international dollar). Its economy depends heavily on agriculture, which accounts for about half of national output, compared to 18 percent for industry and 8 percent for the manufacturing sector. The country is heavily burdened by external debt. In 2002, the government spent $3 per capita on health care, but it paid $5 per capita on servicing debt owed to official creditors alone.

Unlike other African countries, the nation of Burundi is not a creation of colonialism. Before the colonial era, Burundi was a monarchy headed by a dynasty of kings, or abami (umwami; singular). Burundi was colonized by Belgium, which took over from Germany when the latter was defeated in World War I (1914–1918). The colonial administration forged a pact with the monarchy to control the population, capitalizing on the supreme powers that the king enjoyed by tradition. The country gained independence in July 1962, but the royal dynasty continued to rule the country until November 1966 when it was overthrown by a military coup led by army captain Michel Micombero (1940–1983).

The 1976 military coup brought to power a new dynasty—the Tutsi military and civilian elite from the southern province of Bururi—thus setting in motion a process of polarization of the political system along ethnic and regional lines. In November 1976, Micombero was overthrown by his cousin, army colonel Jean Baptiste Bagaza (b. 1946), who in turn was ousted in September 1987 by army major Pierre Buyoya (b. 1949), who also hailed from the same commune of Rutovu in the Bururi province. Under the postindependence military regimes, the country experienced recurrent conflicts that are attributable to the politization of ethnicity by leaders seeking to monopolize power.

(MAP BY MARYLAND CARTOGRAPHICS/THE GALE GROUP)

These military regimes accumulated a deplorable record in the areas of human rights and political liberties. Mistreatment of political prisoners, including torture, disappearances, and out-right extrajudicial executions, were common practices under the military regimes. Under the one-party state, all powers lay in the hands of the executive branch of the government. The judiciary and legal institutions served the interests of the ruling elite, which perpetuated the culture of impunity.

In March 1992, a new constitution was adopted, establishing a multiparty system and allowing for the country's first democratic presidential elections, in June 1993. Melchior Ndadaye (1953–1993) became the country's first democratically elected president; notably, Ndadaye, a civilian, was neither a Tutsi nor from the south. Only three months later, however, the new president was assassinated by the military, plunging the country into a civil war.

In February 1994, Cyprien Ntaryamira (1955–1994) was nominated by the ruling party, FRODEBU (Front for Democracy in Burundi), as the new president. In April 1994, President Ntaryamira died in the same plane crash that killed Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana. Sylvestre Ntibantunganya (b. 1956) took over the presidency until July 1996, when he was overthrown by former president Pierre Buyoya. Pressure from the countries in the region forced the Buyoya regime to enter into negotiations with all political and armed entities. In August 2000, nineteen political parties signed the "Arusha Accord for Peace and Reconciliation in Burundi." This agreement led to the establishment of a transitional government comprising all the major political parties. The transitional government remained in power until democratic elections, originally scheduled for November 2004, but postponed until 2005, could be held.

As the country forges its postconflict political system, it confronts a number of major political problems that arise from the legacy of a polarized and predatory polity. One of the challenges is to overcome the tradition of exclusion on the basis of ethnic and regional origin. Another challenge is to establish a national defense force that is apolitical and not dominated by any of the ethnic or regional entities. In the immediate postconflict era, the country also faces the issue of resettlement of the large number of refugees that continue to arrive from neighboring countries. Whether the country achieves stability or reverts to chronic violence largely depends on whether it is able to engineer a political system that gives equal opportunities for social mobility to citizens from all ethnic groups and regions.