KIGALI, Rwanda
A recent letter written by Burundian
refugees, addressed to the Burundian leader Maj. Gen Evariste Ndayishimiye,
petitioning his government to engage the Rwandan government to facilitate their
return, could have been engineered by the Government of Burundi.President Ndayishimiye introduces the new Governor of Kirundo Province Albert Hatungimana on Thursday last week.
Reliable
sources have revealed to KT Press that the
letter, which was dated July 26, signed by 331 refugees, which was followed by
pronouncements by the Burundian leader, termed as ‘provocative’, could have
actually originated from Bujumbura.
Further
details indicate that the 331 signatories contain names of dead people,
refugees who have already returned home through unofficial arrangements and
others who found their names on the list but did not actually sign the
petition.
“This is
a well-orchestrated scheme which started in Bujumbura, with a sole aim of
tainting the Government of Rwanda. The petition was planned by Burundian
security officials and anti-Rwandan elements, to create a scenario that Rwanda
was holding the refugees against their will,” the source privy to the development
told KT
Press.
“It was a well-planned move. The refugees had a briefing and
all the actions that followed the letter were all planned beforehand. From the
Police Spokesperson’s comments to the President’s speech in Kirundo Province,
the plan was to create an impression that the Rwandan government was blocking
the repatriation of refugees,” the source in Bujumbura said on condition of
anonymity.
In an inflammatory speech on Thursday 6, in Busoni, Kirundo
Province, which borders Rwanda, President Ndayishimiye ‘acknowledged receiving
the letter’ from refugees in Mahama Camp, in Rwanda’s Eastern Province and said
that they are aware that some neighbouring countries hosting refugees are
holding them hostage.
“Call
your relatives, tell them to return home,” he told residents of the province,
adding “We know very well that most of them are suffering and these countries
are refusing them the right to return home,”
“If any
of the countries stops you from returning home -because we see that some of
these countries are holding you hostage, just get up and move, nobody will stop
you from enjoying your right to return home. We are ready to receive you,”
President Ndayishimiye said.
“They are
treating you as hostages, as prisoners. That country should release you,” the
Burundian leader added, in a video which was shared by Ntare Rushatsi House on
Twitter, directly referring to the letter from Mahama Camp.
His
comments came after Rwanda’s Ministry of Emergency Management has issued a
statement saying that the Government of Rwanda was ready to facilitate refugees
who want to voluntarily repatriate, a position which was reinforced by the
United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).
The UN
refugee agency said it was ready to support the process if the two countries
agree on the repatriation process.
In a
sequence of events, on August 8, the Burundian Government Spokesperson Prosper
Ntahorwamiye issued a statement dubbed as ‘arrogant’, making strong
allegations, including claims that some of the refugees who signed the petition
were threatened.
In the
statement, Ntahorwamiye, who is also the government secretary general, said on
August 5, 2020, that five of the refugees who signed the letter reported
threats by acclaimed activist Barankitse Marguerite, who is also a refugee and
serves as the head of “Maison Shalom”, a Non-Profit Organization which supports
refugees.
Barankitse,
commonly known as Maggie, is a globally acclaimed activist who is remembered
for vehemently opposing former President Pierre Nkurunziza’s move to seek a
third term in 2015, a manoeuvre which plunged the country into one of its worst
political crises.
Barankitse
and other leading figures had to flee the country along with close to half a
million others as violence gripped Burundi. Key opposition figures, activists
and independent Journalists were targeted.
In his
speech, the Burundian leader blamed the ‘neighbouring country’ for not handing
over ‘the misbehaving children’ so that they can be punished, openly
proclaiming that the government would still be interested in pursuing those it
considers enemies.
Analysts
say that Ndayishimiye’s comment indicate that the current Burundian government
is still hell bent on pursuing all key figures who opposed President
Nkurunziza’s continued rule, despite his pronouncements during his swearing-in
earlier in June that his government was looking to turn a new page and welcome
back all its citizens who fled in 2015 because peace returned.
One of
the prominent exiled figures, Journalist Bob Rugurika, the Director of Radio
Publique Africaine – RPA (African Public Radio), a Burundian private radio
station which widely covered human rights violations by government forces in
2015, says that Ndayishimiye’s regime is still keen on going after those it
perceives as its enemies.
“One can
tell from the rhetoric, nothing much has changed. The mentality is still the
same, the politics of hate have continued and they remain keen on eliminating
anyone they consider an enemy. They have continued attacking neighbours
relentlessly,”
“Rwanda
has handled itself in a manner worth applauding, by refusing to play into
Bujumbura’s shenanigans. This goes to show political and diplomatic maturity.
It is high time that people figured out that the Burundian government is the
provocateur yet at the same time it plays the victim,” Rugurika told KT
Press in a phone interview.
Rugurika
says that some of the comments and actions of Burundian leaders should be taken
seriously by Rwanda and the International community, calling on the UNHCR to
closely follow the issues of refugees to ensure that they are not used by the
Burundian government in its schemes, which are in total violation of
international conventions that protect refugees.
The
Government of Rwanda is yet to directly address the recent comments by
Burundian officials but the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Dr
Vincent Biruta is set to address a press conference on Wednesday, in which
Burundi is likely to feature prominently.
President
Paul Kagame recently said that Rwanda is willing to hold talks with the
Burundian government in a bid to restore relations which have been broken since
2015 but President Ndayishimiye said that his government is not interested in
pursuing friendship with a ‘dishonest’ neighbour.
According
to UNHCR figures, by the end of June 2020, there were more than 430,000
Burundian refugees scattered in the region.
Tanzania
hosts the highest number with 164,87, DR Congo hosts 103,690, Rwanda 72,007,
Uganda 48,275, Kenya 13,800, Mozambique 7,800, Malawi 8,300, South Africa 9,200
and Zambia home to 6,000.
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