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Burundi: hope and fear
Received from Amnesty International
and relayed by ANB-BIA, Brussels
Paolo
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AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE
22 March 2001
AI Index AFR 16/011/2001 - News Service Nr. 48
Burundi: Between hope and fear
In a report published today, Amnesty International appealed to all parties
in Burundi's civil war to immediately halt deliberate killings of unarmed
civilians and to act responsibly to prevent a slide into human rights
catastrophe.
Amnesty International's report, Burundi: Between fear and hope, paints a
deeply disturbing picture of the inexorable rise in killings of unarmed
civilians, "disappearances", torture, arbitrary arrests and massive
population displacement. The report also looks at the legal protection the
peace agreement should provide, and argues that "without justice, there can
be no future accountability, and no long term security."
Since the signing of the Arusha peace agreement on August 28 2000, violence
has escalated leaving hundreds of civilians killed. "Signature of the peace
agreement has in no way changed patterns of human rights abuse in Burundi,"
the organization said. "However, whatever its shortcomings, the peace
agreement represents a key moment in Burundi's political history which
could serve as an opportunity to break decades of violence and impunity."
The peace agreement, which is yet to come into force, represents the best
opportunity in recent years to ensure better respect for human rights in
Burundi. It provides a framework to acknowledge and investigate past human
rights abuses and to reform and strengthen institutions such as the
judiciary and armed forces.
"The alternative of continued and escalating conflict, of generalized
violence and further human rights crisis, must be avoided at all costs",
said Amnesty International. "The hundreds of incidents of human rights
abuses and violence since August underline the desperate need to find a
solution to Burundi's precarious situation."
Recommendations
The Amnesty International report calls on all parties in the conflict to:
- take immediate action to prevent further unlawful killings of unarmed
civilians;
- investigate allegations of human rights abuses made by the security
forces and armed opposition groups, and bring the perpetrators to justice;
- stop recruiting children or forcing them to perform work in support of
the military or armed opposition operations;
- undertake reforms to ensure a functioning and impartial legal system;
- protect the rights of internally displaced persons and refugees;
- guarantee that employees of humanitarian and human rights organizations
are not threatened, arrested or killed, and can freely carry out their work.
The report also calls on the international community to use their political
influence and financial resources to support programs to promote and
protect human rights in Burundi. "The ability of the Government of Burundi
and inter-governmental agencies to implement these recommendations will be
seriously diminished without the support of key donor agencies," Amnesty
International added. "We also urge the international community to recognize
and support the key role which national human rights groups play in
defending human rights."
\ENDS
public document
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Note to editors
The audio-visual media team at Amnesty International has a short video on
Burundi available for broadcast use in English and French. "Caught in the
Crossfire: The Struggle for Human Rights in Burundi" covers the following
issues: population displacement, prison conditions, deaths in custody,
'disappearances' and torture.
Please, note that certain copyright conditions apply. To order copies,
please contact World Images:
Tel: 00 44 117 930 4099
Fax:00 44 117 930 4088
e-mail: world.images@worldtelevision.com
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For more information please call Amnesty International's press office in
London, UK, on +44 20 7413 5566
Amnesty International, 1 Easton St., London WC1X 0DW web :
http://www.amnesty.org
\ENDS
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x - Un homme meurt chaque fois que l'un d'entre nous se tait devant la
tyrannie (Wole Soyinka, Prix Nobel litterature) - Everytime somebody keep
silent when faced with tyranny, someone else dies (Wole Syinka, Nobel Prize
for Literature)
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