Burundian lawyer and human rights defender Armel Niyongere looks back on the 2015 political crisis in Burundi and the subsequent blind repression that continues to this day.
Episode 1/4
While the domestic situation in Burundi is causing growing concern due to an unprecedented crackdown on civic space, unlimited repression, and a considerable deterioration in economic conditions, Burundian voices are struggling to be heard. Against a backdrop of security tensions and armed conflict in the Great Lakes region, there is a high risk that the narrative on Burundi will be shaped by others.
As president of Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture in Burundi (ACAT-Burundi) and secretary-general of SOS Torture Burundi, Armel Niyongere has been working tirelessly, rigorously, and with commitment for decades to defend the fundamental rights of Burundians and ensure that victims have access to justice. In this first interview, he reflects on the 2015 political crisis and the subsequent repression that has fallen upon the country.
African Facts: Could you introduce your work to our readers who may not be familiar with you?
Armel Niyongere: I was initially a lawyer at the Burundi Bar before being disbarred because of my activism. I am part of a group of lawyers who have formed a collective to represent victims and civil parties. We have submitted over 2000 cases to the International Criminal Court. I am also involved in civil society, being the president of a long-standing and dynamic Burundian association called ACAT-Burundi, which specialises in monitoring prison conditions. I am also part of SOS Torture Burundi, which monitors human rights violations in the country. We have established networks of invisible observers in Burundi to continue producing information about the serious violations committed there. These roles enable me to continue my fight from abroad after I fled the country in 2015.
— What are the consequences for your personal situation?
— All of this puts me in danger because the state has always considered me and my colleagues to be “enemies of the country” and has issued an international arrest warrant for me. However, that hasn’t scared us or stopped us from continuing our fight. We still collaborate with the Human Rights Council and participate in United Nations working groups.
Although we are targeted by the Burundian authorities as “enemies of the state”, we are not involved in politics. We focus solely on respect for human rights and continue to advocate, as lawyers, for an objective justice, as well as for all perpetrators of violations to be prosecuted by the Burundian justice system or by international courts and mechanisms. We are going to these regional and international mechanisms because the Burundian justice system either lacks the willingness to act or is being manipulated by those in power.
— Let’s go back to when you left Burundi. Pierre Nkurunziza was running for a third term as President. This plunged the country into a serious political crisis. Could you summarise for our readers what happened?
— Yes. In 2015, the president wanted to stand for a third term, which was in violation of both the constitution and the Arusha agreement for peace and reconciliation [signed in 2000 between the regime in power at the time and the political opposition Ed.]. This agreement had been an instrument of unity for Burundians, bringing them together to share power. And Pierre Nkurunziza wanted to violate this agreement. In response, civil society and political parties — including members of the ruling party, the CNDD-FDD [Conseil national pour la défense de la démocratie — Forces de défense de la démocratie, a reactionary and racist party in power in Burundi since 2005, Ed.] — rose up to demand respect for the constitution and the Arusha Agreement. We wrote to President Nkurunziza challenging him and asking him not to run for a third term, warning him that if he did, there would be demonstrations. Thus, the government was forewarned.
We organised these peaceful demonstrations. The police used excessive force to repress them. They killed people. They used weapons against unarmed civilians. Then there were many targeted assassinations of people involved in the movement. We, the leaders of civil society, were prosecuted for organising the demonstrations.
— In the wake of the 2015 demonstrations, there was still an attempted coup…
— We had planned peaceful and legal demonstrations. However, there were military personnel who wanted to seize power by force by hiding behind these demonstrations. We were not involved and our objectives were different. We did not hold any joint meetings. For our part, our aim was to prevent the president from standing for re-election in a peaceful and non-violent manner.
— There was no coordination between civil society and the military?
— Never. Never. Instead, opposition political parties joined forces with each other and certain members of the presidential party to oppose Pierre Nkurunziza’s third term. Afterwards, the ruling power tried to lump together politicians, civil society and these military personnel. They wanted to be able to say: “You wanted to overthrow the government, so you should be prosecuted!” But there was never any collusion between civil society and the military.
— At what point did civic space in Burundi close decisively, according to you?
— After the coup attempt. On the day the government uncovered the plot and regained control through repression. It was the coup attempt that opened the door to unlimited repression and suppression.
The authorities took advantage of this by sending large numbers of soldiers to attack the so-called “protesting” neighbourhoods of Bujumbura and kill their inhabitants, most of whom were Tutsi. They cracked down on them with bloodshed. In the following days, they continued by kidnapping and killing soldiers from the former army — the Tutsi soldiers. Hutus who did not want to be associated with the CNDD-FDD agenda were also kidnapped and killed.
Subsequently, Pacal Barandagiye, the then Minister of the Interior, banned several civil society organisations, including ACAT-Burundi, the Ligue iteka [the country’s oldest human rights association, Ed.], APRODH [the Association pour la protection des droits humains et des personnes détenues, Ed.] and FOCODE [the Forum pour la conscience et le développement, Ed.]. The bank accounts of these organisations and some of their leaders were frozen, including mine. Then, international arrest warrants were issued for us. It was also at this point that the media were shut down. The military burned down popular private radio stations, including RPA [Radio Publique Africaine, a major private radio station, Ed.] and Radiotélévision Renaissance. They wanted to prevent the population from listening to the credible and balanced news that these stations broadcast.
— From 2015 onwards, a parastatal organisation began to grow in importance and play a dominant role in the country. Could you briefly explain what the Imbonerakure are?
— The Imbonerakure [“those who see far” in Kirundi, Ed.] were initially the youth movement of the ruling party, but have now completely broken away from that category. They have been heavily armed since 2015. Sometimes they even wear army or police uniforms. They are protected by the authorities and have a great deal of power, an exorbitant amount of power actually. They have even been able to arrest and kill soldiers from the former army. Some Imbonerakure even give instructions to administrative officials. They are the ones who rule the hills and communes.
The Imbonerakure existed before. Previously, they were sent with Burundian soldiers to undergo paramilitary training in eastern Congo or to accompany them on peacekeeping missions. They were also used in killing operations. However, after 2015, they truly became a force playing a paramilitary role: a militia wearing uniforms, carrying weapons and killing at will, above the law.
— The social movement of 2015 failed, as did the attempted coup by a faction of the army. However, the repression did not stop there…
— The massacre continued after 2015 because the state’s leaders and military had concentrated all power in their hands. They wanted to eliminate all opponents, including CNDD-FDD activists who did not support their agenda. They supplied the Imbonerakure with weapons to help them kill people in the hills. Armed with weapons, the Imbonerakure killed whoever they wanted. All opponents were in their sights. Members of the FNL [Forces de libération nationale, a former armed group with the same ideological roots as the CNDD-FDD but opposed to it, Ed.], which became the CNL [Congrès national pour la liberté, the main opposition party led by Agathon Rwasa, Ed.], were severely mistreated by the Imbonerakure.
Public paramilitary training sessions and parades were organised to intimidate the population. There were many enforced disappearances and summary executions. Women were also subjected to a great deal of violence, including sexual violence and rape. The Imbonerakure even proclaimed in songs that they were going to sleep with Tutsi women to “impregnate” them and ensure that they would give birth to Imbonerakure.
This was all part of the ongoing repression of the population, but this time at the grassroots level, in the hills. Many cases of human rights violations were documented at this time. And it continues today. Anyone who does not support the ruling party is often threatened and killed with impunity.
— What leads you to believe that the actions of the Imbonerakure were encouraged or even organised by the state? What evidence makes you conclude that these are not isolated abuses, but rather a systematic policy?
In fact, we see that all the perpetrators of these violations are protected. For example, if an Inbonerakure arrests someone, rapes her if she is a woman and then kills the victim, they are not prosecuted. Even if there are many complaints about the same individual for this type of crime, they are not prosecuted. Very few people are arrested. And even when this happens, the individual is released a few hours later.
Let me give you another example. When a criminal investigating officer reports that a person in prison has been mistreated or even tortured by the Imbonerakure, who inflicted multiple injuries, the police cannot summon the perpetrators of these abuses for questioning or prosecution. This suggests that the Imbonerakure are protected. This suggests complicity.
— Are enforced disappearances and arbitrary detentions continuing?
— Yes, they are. However, they have changed their strategy. Now, they are targeting individuals one by one. A person is abducted by a car with tinted windows and is never seen again. We continue to document many violations of this type.
For all these reasons, we produce reports and have referred the matter to United Nations mechanisms, including the International Criminal Court. What happened in 2015 should not go unnoticed or be forgotten.
To be continued…
