BY: Peter Qeko Jere
On the 30th of May 2008, I was privileged to attend the 4th Robert Sobukwe Memorial Lecture here at the University of Fort Hare where the former President of Burundi, His Excellency Pierre Buyoya was the main Guest Speaker. In his Robert Sobukwe Memorial lecturer, His Excellency Buyoya presents the Arusha Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation in Burundi: Ten Years on the Path Toward Peace
Briefly, the Robert Sobukwe memorial Lecture is a yearly event here at the University of Fort Hare where prominent Sons of Africa are invited to give a lecture to commemorate and celebrate the life and political struggles of Robert Sobukwe who in 1959 founded the Pan African Congress (PAC) in South Africa and was also a graduate of his great University. The tripartite alliance, the Steven Biko Foundation, the Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Trust and the University of Fort Hare were the main organizer of this function. Present at this memorial lecture were prominent people like the Eastern Cape Premier , the University of Fort Hare Vice Chancellor, Dr Mvuyo Tom who gave the vote of thank, Robert Sobukwe and Steven Biko’s sons, Dini and Nkosinati while the Director of ceremony was Prof. Buthelezi.
In this article, I will briefly comment on the Arusha Peace Treaty and its role in Making Burundi an admirable model in solving tribalism and ethnic conflicts in Africa. Secondly I will say some things that other retired Presidents in Africa need to do so as to emulate the good work Pierre Buyoya is doing across Africa. Finally I will show how Burundi dealt with the problem of ethnicity the kind of steps that can so beneficial to Malawi if emulated from.
As former President Buyoya was presenting his lecture, I sat at the back of the auditorium and paid attention as I listened to every word that he spoke. I was attentive because I realized that this was the same man who came into Malawi years back and I had no opportunity to hear and see him at close range apart from watching on Television. This time the President was right on campus and presenting his lecturer about what he basically did to bring about peace in his country. I admired him because he was doing the exact thing that former head of states need to be performing, help equip young people as they also get prepared to be leaders tomorrow.
To begin with, President Buyoya gave us a brief historical background of Burundi and said that this is a small country in the heart of Africa which boarders Tanzania in the south east, DRC in the west and Rwanda in the north. It is 28,000 square kilometers with 7.5 Million people. Burundi is one of the oldest nations in the Great Lakes region and was once a German colony from 1896 until 1918 before it was given to Belgium until 1 July 1962, when it gained independence. Though there had been some ethnic conflicts in Burundi, it was after the assassination of the President elect, Melchior Ndadaye on 21 October, 1993 that the country descended into a civil war that lasted 12 years. This civil war was basically between the majority Hutu and Tutsis.
As regard the main cause of this civil war, president Buyoya pointed two key major causes of this conflict. These were Bad governance after independence period and politicians abuse of ethnic division. He said that after independence, leaders continued to discriminate base on ethnic background and this was happening in schools, civil service and many other areas. He said the majority Hutus were victim of this discrimination and this helped make ethnic identify more entrenched and rooted in the national consciousness. As Pierre Buyoya mentioned this, I adjusted my chair and looked into my situation at home in Malawi where my people suffered discrimination of all form during both Dr. Banda and Bakili Muluzi’s rule. It killed me inside because I could relate the Burundi discrimination to what my people went through and the pain that people from the northern region of the country have gone through. I quickly remembered 1989 when discrimination came to its climax when all teachers including my uncle were chased from central and southern region and dispatched to their homeland in the north. I realized that many suffered in silence and many have even died in this pain. The only sin and crime they committed was that they come from the north. We don’t have to mention how qualified sons and daughters from the north could not get promotions in the private sector also. During Muluzi’s reign things were even worse because no major developments took place in the north and worse still it was alleged that the money meant for the construction of the road to Chitipa was diverged to the construction of the road in Mangochi or somewhere in the south.
The second Buyoya mentioned that politicians were abusing ethnic division in the country during campaigns. Of course in Malawi we have tribalism and regionalism that politicians have greatly abused. As Pierre Buyoya was speaking, I realized that this happens almost across Africa and has been the major cause of politician conflict. In Malawi politicians take advantage of regionalism since political party formation has been along regional lines. For instance, John Tembo considers the central region as his stronghold among his tribal men, the Chewa people while Muluzi has Machinga, mangochi, part of Balaka and some few districts in the southern region among his Yao people.
President Buyoya also put in place some attempts in trying to solve the ethnic tension and conflict in Burundi. Key to this he said was recognizing the fact that ethnicity was a problem to society’s progress. He also said that in Burundi, they introduce power sharing mechanism in government, civil service based on the fifty-fifty representation between Hutu and Tutsi. He added that they have two vice presidents from different ethnic groups. He said that appointment of Court Judges and others are based on ethnic representation. Looking into this critically, we realize that African governments need to realize and recognize the fact that tribalism and ethnic divisions are real. We need to accept that we face the results of this as a problem in society every day. We don’t have to pretend that societies are at peace when the power of tribalism hits and terrorize some of them on a daily basis. There is tribal resentment in African politics today that many tribes tend to support candidates who belong to their tribe. You can only begin to solve the problem when you accept that it exists.
In Burundi conflict, the Alusha Peace Treaty accommodates all key tribes in the administration of the country as a way of solving the problem. Thus African countries need to emulate the Burundi way of solving ethnic conflict where each tribe is represented at a higher level. In Africa naturally people feel good when one of their sons or daughter is part of the administration of the nation. It’s a proud thing for the entire tribe when they are represented in the administration of the country. At the same time, people automatically resent any administration where they are not represented which at the end creates conflicts. So African political problems are to a larger extend caused by a situation where people see no need of supporting a government when they are not represented at a higher level. Thus a situation where all major appointments are ethnically balanced, tend to unity the country unlike when one group of people, tribe and region or province monopolize the administration of a country.
In this regard, African Union, SADC, UNO, EU and the world at large, should know that the root cause of African problems is ethnicity and tribalism and the only solution to such situation is to follow the Burundi way of solving the situations. AU, SADC, UNO and EU should not rush at condemning African systems but should in the first place identify the key root of the problem and realize that it exist and then begin to solve them. In this vain, the Burundi model could help bring peace in Somalia, Sudan, Chad, Central African Republic, the DRC and Zimbabwe. The Burundi model could help because in all these conflicts, the major cry of the people is that they are not represented in the administration of these countries hence they resolve to take up arms to solve the problem. The key purpose of taking arms is that they should fight so that they at the end directly get involved in the administration of these countries.
Briefly, the Robert Sobukwe memorial Lecture is a yearly event here at the University of Fort Hare where prominent Sons of Africa are invited to give a lecture to commemorate and celebrate the life and political struggles of Robert Sobukwe who in 1959 founded the Pan African Congress (PAC) in South Africa and was also a graduate of his great University. The tripartite alliance, the Steven Biko Foundation, the Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Trust and the University of Fort Hare were the main organizer of this function. Present at this memorial lecture were prominent people like the Eastern Cape Premier , the University of Fort Hare Vice Chancellor, Dr Mvuyo Tom who gave the vote of thank, Robert Sobukwe and Steven Biko’s sons, Dini and Nkosinati while the Director of ceremony was Prof. Buthelezi.
In this article, I will briefly comment on the Arusha Peace Treaty and its role in Making Burundi an admirable model in solving tribalism and ethnic conflicts in Africa. Secondly I will say some things that other retired Presidents in Africa need to do so as to emulate the good work Pierre Buyoya is doing across Africa. Finally I will show how Burundi dealt with the problem of ethnicity the kind of steps that can so beneficial to Malawi if emulated from.
As former President Buyoya was presenting his lecture, I sat at the back of the auditorium and paid attention as I listened to every word that he spoke. I was attentive because I realized that this was the same man who came into Malawi years back and I had no opportunity to hear and see him at close range apart from watching on Television. This time the President was right on campus and presenting his lecturer about what he basically did to bring about peace in his country. I admired him because he was doing the exact thing that former head of states need to be performing, help equip young people as they also get prepared to be leaders tomorrow.
To begin with, President Buyoya gave us a brief historical background of Burundi and said that this is a small country in the heart of Africa which boarders Tanzania in the south east, DRC in the west and Rwanda in the north. It is 28,000 square kilometers with 7.5 Million people. Burundi is one of the oldest nations in the Great Lakes region and was once a German colony from 1896 until 1918 before it was given to Belgium until 1 July 1962, when it gained independence. Though there had been some ethnic conflicts in Burundi, it was after the assassination of the President elect, Melchior Ndadaye on 21 October, 1993 that the country descended into a civil war that lasted 12 years. This civil war was basically between the majority Hutu and Tutsis.
As regard the main cause of this civil war, president Buyoya pointed two key major causes of this conflict. These were Bad governance after independence period and politicians abuse of ethnic division. He said that after independence, leaders continued to discriminate base on ethnic background and this was happening in schools, civil service and many other areas. He said the majority Hutus were victim of this discrimination and this helped make ethnic identify more entrenched and rooted in the national consciousness. As Pierre Buyoya mentioned this, I adjusted my chair and looked into my situation at home in Malawi where my people suffered discrimination of all form during both Dr. Banda and Bakili Muluzi’s rule. It killed me inside because I could relate the Burundi discrimination to what my people went through and the pain that people from the northern region of the country have gone through. I quickly remembered 1989 when discrimination came to its climax when all teachers including my uncle were chased from central and southern region and dispatched to their homeland in the north. I realized that many suffered in silence and many have even died in this pain. The only sin and crime they committed was that they come from the north. We don’t have to mention how qualified sons and daughters from the north could not get promotions in the private sector also. During Muluzi’s reign things were even worse because no major developments took place in the north and worse still it was alleged that the money meant for the construction of the road to Chitipa was diverged to the construction of the road in Mangochi or somewhere in the south.
The second Buyoya mentioned that politicians were abusing ethnic division in the country during campaigns. Of course in Malawi we have tribalism and regionalism that politicians have greatly abused. As Pierre Buyoya was speaking, I realized that this happens almost across Africa and has been the major cause of politician conflict. In Malawi politicians take advantage of regionalism since political party formation has been along regional lines. For instance, John Tembo considers the central region as his stronghold among his tribal men, the Chewa people while Muluzi has Machinga, mangochi, part of Balaka and some few districts in the southern region among his Yao people.
President Buyoya also put in place some attempts in trying to solve the ethnic tension and conflict in Burundi. Key to this he said was recognizing the fact that ethnicity was a problem to society’s progress. He also said that in Burundi, they introduce power sharing mechanism in government, civil service based on the fifty-fifty representation between Hutu and Tutsi. He added that they have two vice presidents from different ethnic groups. He said that appointment of Court Judges and others are based on ethnic representation. Looking into this critically, we realize that African governments need to realize and recognize the fact that tribalism and ethnic divisions are real. We need to accept that we face the results of this as a problem in society every day. We don’t have to pretend that societies are at peace when the power of tribalism hits and terrorize some of them on a daily basis. There is tribal resentment in African politics today that many tribes tend to support candidates who belong to their tribe. You can only begin to solve the problem when you accept that it exists.
In Burundi conflict, the Alusha Peace Treaty accommodates all key tribes in the administration of the country as a way of solving the problem. Thus African countries need to emulate the Burundi way of solving ethnic conflict where each tribe is represented at a higher level. In Africa naturally people feel good when one of their sons or daughter is part of the administration of the nation. It’s a proud thing for the entire tribe when they are represented in the administration of the country. At the same time, people automatically resent any administration where they are not represented which at the end creates conflicts. So African political problems are to a larger extend caused by a situation where people see no need of supporting a government when they are not represented at a higher level. Thus a situation where all major appointments are ethnically balanced, tend to unity the country unlike when one group of people, tribe and region or province monopolize the administration of a country.
In this regard, African Union, SADC, UNO, EU and the world at large, should know that the root cause of African problems is ethnicity and tribalism and the only solution to such situation is to follow the Burundi way of solving the situations. AU, SADC, UNO and EU should not rush at condemning African systems but should in the first place identify the key root of the problem and realize that it exist and then begin to solve them. In this vain, the Burundi model could help bring peace in Somalia, Sudan, Chad, Central African Republic, the DRC and Zimbabwe. The Burundi model could help because in all these conflicts, the major cry of the people is that they are not represented in the administration of these countries hence they resolve to take up arms to solve the problem. The key purpose of taking arms is that they should fight so that they at the end directly get involved in the administration of these countries.
No comments:
Post a Comment