Analysis of Conflict in Burundi

Class

Institution Affiliation

Introduction

According to Smith & Smock (2008), conflict can be defined as a deference in ideologies between two parties. Apparently, conflict is a common phenomenon among nations and tribes against each other. Burundi has not been exceptional. It has faced a series of internal conflict between the government and the opposition. This essay aims at elaborating instances of conflict that Burundi has faced.

Actors

Burundi’s civil war has its roots back in the 20th century after gaining independence from Belgium. The main reason for emerged conflict was ethnic divisions between the Hutu and the Tutsi. The Tutsi maintained dominion over the Hutu even after independence despite being the minority at about 13% of the total population. In 1972, the Hutu rebelled and considering the Tutsi had the advantage of control over top government positions and military, the then president, Michel Micombero, ordered mass killing of the Hutu community. Between 80,000 and 100,000 people lost their lives while much more fled to neighboring countries. This was Burundi’s first genocide (Crocker et al., 1999). The government used the military to achieve its goals of suppressing the Hutu. In 1988, Pierre Buyoya adjourned the Constitution and made the country a single party democracy.  The conflict in Burundi is purely ethnic for in 1993, after an election was held and a Hutu won, a few months later Melchior Ndadaye was assassinated by the Tutsi.

Root Cause

Since the re-election of Pierre Nkurunziza in 2015, the country had been through a series of unlawful acts ranging from killings, disappearances, illegal arrests to violation of human rights especially women. Women were sexually harassed in their homes after their male counterparts were killed; this consisted to the largest conflict. Throughout the wars and conflicts over the years, the civilians had suffered the most with reports indicating the death of over 300,000 people. The government, led by Nkurunziza had an upper hand in the war, as compared to the opposition. It could control the military and the courts. It also got direct funding from the EU a privilege that has since been withdrawn pending reviews (Amnesty Report of 2016/2017).

Power and resources

Since Burundi attained independence the two communities had not been able to co-exist peacefully until 2005 when a new constitution was put in place. The sitting president was influencing the change of the new constitution to ensure his stay in government and maintain the privileges. His objective was to maintain his status, and most importantly, to discount protesters. A report by the National Report for Inter-Burundian Dialogue stated that there had been a proposal to amend the constitution to remove term limits

Issues and stage

Pierre Nkurunziza frustrated the efforts from the regional and international community to settle the dispute. An article from The Washington Post, 2016, gives an instance where the president rejected a proposal by the A.U to protect citizens under imminent threat and where necessary, disarm the militia and other persons in possession of arms forcefully under its laws. NGOs have also been party to this mission in what is referred to as parallel diplomacy. The attempts have not been so successful because the NGOs involved had a different analysis on the conflict’s major...