Amnesty International Report 2003 - Burundi

Covering events from January - December 2002

REPUBLIC OF BURUNDI
Head of state and government: Pierre Buyoya
Death penalty: retentionist
International Criminal Court: signed

Conflict raged countrywide for most of 2002. Human rights abuses, in particular the extrajudicial execution of unarmed civilians by government armed forces, escalated alarmingly. Armed political groups committed widespread abuses against the civilian population, including unlawful killings. All parties looted and destroyed property. Politically motivated or arbitrary arrests, torture and "disappearances" by state security forces were reported. Thousands of people remained in prolonged detention without trial. At least 52 death sentences were passed. Hundreds of thousands of people were internally displaced, some without humanitarian assistance. Thousands more fled to neighbouring countries. Conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continued to affect the political and human rights situation in Burundi.

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Background

Implementation of the August 2000 Peace and Reconciliation Agreement continued, albeit haltingly, despite the escalating conflict and political divisions within the Transitional Government and its institutions. There was some progress towards the implementation of human rights provisions, particularly with regard to impunity and justice. Several exiled political leaders and politicians returned. New legislation on the registering of political parties was passed.

The conflict escalated further during 2002, and grave violations of international humanitarian law were committed by all parties. These abuses included deliberate killings of unarmed civilians and other non-combatants, which constituted war crimes.

Cease-fire agreements between the Transitional Government and dissident wings of the two main armed political groups were signed in October 2002, but had little impact on the conflict. However, in early December 2002, a cease-fire agreement was signed with the Conseil national pour la défense de la démocratie-Forces pour la défense de la démocratie (CNDD-FDD), National Council for the Defence of Democracy-Forces for the Defence of Democracy, which also outlined a number of outstanding military and political points to negotiate, as well as some implementation issues. The CNDD-FDD is not a signatory to the Peace and Reconciliation Agreement. The other main armed political group, the Parti pour la libération du peuple hutu-Forces nationales de libération (PALIPEHUTU-FNL), Party for the Liberation of the Hutu People-National Liberation Force, stated its intention to continue hostilities.

The economic crisis deepened. Tens of thousands of people suffered severe malnutrition. As health care was increasingly privatized, scores of people were detained by private hospitals for failing to pay medical bills.

Killings of civilians by government forces

Indiscriminate killings of unarmed Hutu civilians by government armed forces increased significantly, often in reprisal for operations by armed political groups. More than 500 civilians were extrajudicially executed, including scores of children, many under the age of 10. Killings appeared to increase following a statement by the army spokesperson, broadcast on national radio, that civilians in conflict zones would be treated as "rebels". The Transitional Government did not condemn most of the killings.

• In July and August, 23 children were among more than 30 unarmed civilians extrajudicially executed by government forces in Rutegama and Kiganda communes, Muramvya province. The victims were relatives of three men suspected of belonging to the CNDD-FDD. No one was arrested in connection with these killings.
• On 9 September, at least 174, and possibly as many as 267, unarmed civilians were killed by government forces in Itaba commune, Gitega province. Many were shot at point-blank range. The government and armed forces admitted responsibility but claimed, falsely, that it was an isolated incident. Two officers were arrested. At the end of 2002 they were in detention but had not been charged.

Abuses by armed political groups

Serious human rights abuses were carried out by both PALIPEHUTU-FNL and the CNDD-FDD, including unlawful killings of unarmed civilians, government officials and suspected collaborators. CNDD-FDD combatants indiscriminately shelled the capital, Bujumbura, on several occasions. Scores of unarmed civilians were killed in ambushes on public transport vehicles. An already impoverished population was repeatedly looted and forced to hand over money and other contributions. Both groups continued to use children, some as porters, shepherds and cooks, and others as active combatants. Numerous girls were reportedly raped by combatants.

In May, several PALIPEHUTU-FNL combatants and officers were killed, in some cases after torture, following an alleged plot to assassinate Agathon Rwasa, the leader of PALIPEHUTU-FNL, involving senior members of the government and the Hutu-dominated political party, the Front pour la démocratie au Burundi (FRODEBU), Front for Democracy in Burundi. Killings of people suspected by PALIPEHUTU-FNL of collaboration with the government also increased. Further punishment beatings, and sometimes killings, were reported as local PALIPEHUTU-FNL commanders intervened in disputes and other affairs normally treated by low-level officials or the courts.

Scores of civilians were taken hostage by CNDD-FDD combatants, sometimes after being forced to act as porters. The majority were released after payment. In May, CNDD-FDD combatants abducted the Bishop of Ruyigi as he travelled to Bujumbura, claiming it was for his protection. They killed his driver. The Bishop was released unharmed after five days.

More than 20 low-level local government officials were unlawfully killed by both armed political groups, including at least 12 in Bubanza province (in which both the CNDD-FDD and PALIPEHUTU-FNL operate). In September, the head of the Kamenge district of Bujumbura was killed by armed men believed to be from PALIPEHUTU-FNL.

'Disappearances'

Several people reportedly "disappeared" after their arrest and were feared dead.

• On 4 September, Dieudonné Nzisabira, Rénovat Mvuyekure and Léopold Bucumi were arrested by soldiers from Kamesa military position, Nyabiraba commune, Rural Bujumbura, and accused of being members of an armed political group. They were reportedly transferred to a nearby military position in Gisovu, but were not seen thereafter.

Torture and ill-treatment

At least two people died in detention as a result of torture.

• In July, Sergeant Paterne Mpfukamensabe was beaten to death in Ngagara military barracks, Bujumbura, after being arrested following a dispute with another soldier. The barracks commander initially claimed that the officer had died from a severe stomach upset. However, the body showed injuries to the face, head and back. A military judicial investigation was opened but had not progressed by the end of 2002.

Scores of people were tortured or ill-treated after arrest. In January, 13 people were arrested in Songa commune, Bururi province, on suspicion of links with an armed political group. At least four of those arrested were ill-treated at a military position, including two elderly women who were beaten on their hands with an iron bar.

Rape was widespread. Members of government forces and armed political groups were widely accused of raping women. One woman died in April in Gihanga, Bubanza province, after being repeatedly raped by soldiers. Very young girls were also raped, often by civilians, but few prosecutions took place.

Administration of justice

Scores of people were arrested on suspicion of belonging to armed political groups, or of threatening state security. Some arrests appeared motivated by corruption and extortion by local authorities, police or magistrates. Several political opponents and critics of the transitional process were arrested and detained.

• In November, former President Jean-Baptiste Bagaza, who returned from exile in July, was accused of plotting to assassinate President Buyoya and placed under house arrest. More than 10 members and supporters of his Parti pour le redressement national (PARENA), Party for National Recovery, were arrested and detained incommunicado on suspicion of involvement in the plot and other destabilizing activities, including violence in Bujumbura. At least one of those arrested was badly ill-treated. PARENA itself was suspended for six months. At the end of 2002, seven suspects remained in detention without charge.

Prolonged detention without trial

More than 4,500 people out of a prison population of approximately 8,300 were awaiting trial. Some had been detained since 1994, mainly on suspicion of involvement in the 1993 massacres of Tutsi civilians which followed the assassination of Burundi's only democratically elected president. Others were held for offences including belonging to armed political groups.

Scores of soldiers and several civilians detained on suspicion of involvement in coup attempts in April and July 2001 had not been charged by the end of 2002. One suspect was killed in disputed circumstances in Ngozi prison.

Six people were charged in October with the November 2001 murder of Burundi's representative to the World Health Organization (WHO). One of the defendants, an expatriate WHO colleague, had left the country. The remaining five had been held without charge for nearly a year. At least one of the suspects was tortured during interrogation by the National Intelligence Agency. None had been brought to trial by the end of 2002.

• In June, six people were acquitted of involvement in an attack attributed to PALIPEHUTU-FNL on an international civilian passenger aircraft as it came in to land in Bujumbura. Most of the defendants had been in detention since January 2001. Several suspects were tortured in the early stages of the investigation, and one reportedly "disappeared". There were no investigations into the torture allegations.

Children

Children were killed, tortured, and arbitrarily detained by government forces. Other children were killed by armed political groups, mainly in ambushes.

Children formed a minority of detainees, but were spared none of the abuses inflicted on adult detainees. Under Burundian law, no child under the age of 13 should be detained.

• Gilbert Ndabarushimana, aged 11, was detained for nearly two months after being arrested in January by a government militia. Alexandre Nzeyimana, reportedly aged 12, was arrested in April and was still detained at the end of 2002.

Freedom of expression

Freedom of expression came under attack once again. Journalists were subjected to ill-treatment and intimidation by the security forces and authorities. One journalist was called in for questioning and another ill-treated after reporting on a demonstration. In May, the Minister of Defence forbade journalists to broadcast interviews with members of armed political groups. Human rights defenders, who continued to monitor and condemn human rights abuses, faced grave risks.

Population displacement

Conflict forced some families to leave their homes and crops repeatedly. There were an estimated 450,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Burundi, some displaced since 1993. Approximately 200,000 children were living in IDP camps and thousands of others were living away from their homes but not in camps.

Chronic insecurity limited access to some displaced populations, aggravating the humanitarian crisis. Some IDP camps were looted and attacked by armed political groups. There were persistent reports that some displaced populations were being prevented from returning to their land by corrupt local officials or army commanders demanding money.

At least 40,000 refugees reportedly returned from Tanzania, but significant numbers of refugees continued to flee the country. Over 20,000 people fled to Tanzania during 2002, joining approximately 550,000 Burundian refugees.

Congolese refugees in Burundi

Conflict in the DRC caused thousands of Congolese to flee to Burundi. A refugee camp in the northern border province of Cibitoke was closed in June after a new camp was opened further from the Congolese border. However, Congolese Banyamulenge refugees in Cibitoke and Bujumbura refused to move there, citing security concerns. Several hundred chose to return to the DRC.

Forcible return

The Burundian authorities arrested and forcibly returned at least 13 Congolese Banyamulenge refugees to the Rwandese-controlled zone of eastern DRC in January, and eight in July and August. All remained in detention without charge in the DRC and some were ill-treated. Other Banyamulenge, including refugees, were briefly detained and some beaten in Bujumbura.

Over 300 Burundian refugees, some of whom had lived in the DRC for nearly 30 years, were forcibly returned to Burundi in January. Little humanitarian assistance was provided to them on their arrival in Rumonge, southern Burundi.

Death penalty

At least 450 people were under sentence of death, the majority after unfair trials. No executions took place. At least 50 death sentences were passed after trials by the Appeal Courts and at least two death sentences were passed by military courts. The only recourse for those sentenced to death by the Appeal Courts is a plea to the Cassation Chamber of the Supreme Court on procedural issues. This contravenes the right to appeal.

• Zamda Bagurikunda, a businesswoman suspected of links with the CNDD-FDD, and Dieudonné Niyonsaba, a member of the armed forces, were sentenced to death by a military court after being convicted of passing stolen army ammunition to the CNDD-FDD. Three other defendants received lesser sentences. None of the defendants received legal assistance. Zamda Bagurikunda appealed to the Military Court of Appeal. Her appeal had not been heard by the end of 2002.

AI country visits

AI delegates visited Burundi in March to undertake research. In September AI's Secretary General was among a delegation that met the President of the Republic, government ministers, human rights and refugee groups, and launched a report on juvenile justice in Burundi.