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Location and Population. Burundi is located in the east central part of Africa and is counted as one of the nations of Africa's Great Lakes Region.
Rwanda lies to the north, the Democratic Republic of Congo to the west, and Tanzania to the southeast. Burundi has an area of 27, 400 square kilometers and a population of 5.5 million. It is overpopulated relative to its size and its resources.
Historical Background. From earliest times, Burundi was a kingdom. It achieved independence in 1962 and became a republic in 1966. There were successive coups up to 1993, when democratic institutions were introduced and the nation had its first democratically elected president. Unfortunately, he was assassinated in October of 1993, after just three months in office. Burundi has been in political chaos since the assassination. In July 1996, the former president, Pierre Buyoyl, took power by force, in order to bring security and order to the country.
The Economic Situation. Burundi is classified as one of the seven poorest countries in the world. Most of the people live by subsistence farming - what they grow in their gardens. Land ownership is becoming one of the country's major problems. When Buyoya regained power in 1996, neighboring countries imposed sanctions on Burundi. For more than two years, these sanctions affected the lives of many people on the grassroots level. Thank God the sanctions were suspended last January. We take this opportunity to extend our thanks and appreciation for the help our partners and sister churches offered to us in responding to our call. Some prayed and sent words of encouragement to us, others pleaded with their respective governments on our behalf.
Political Situation. As mentioned above, Burundi has been in crisis of all kinds since 1993, when more than 500,000 people were killed. The UN Security Council has recognized this sad event as genocide. The situation was worsened by the coup of 1996, which was seen as destroying the nation's new democratic institutions and returning to military rule.
The political regime is now initiating both internal and external dialogues in order to establish a transitional government. There is already an understanding between the government and the parliament on the kind of transitional leadership needed to prepare for the next general elections.
In regard to continuing civil conflicts, people are still dying. Rebels from Tanzania attack in the eastern and southern parts of Burundi. The problem of refugees and displaced people remains a very big issue. Statistics show that there are still 600,000 displaced persons and 320,000 refugees. Mwalimu Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, who is now the facilitator of the Arusha talks, has promised that negotiation should end by June of 1999.
This is very important to all of us in Burundi, because we expect to have a complete cease fire by that time and refugees would be able to return to their homes.
Concern about Neighbors. Conflict and lack of security caused by rebels in Uganda, Tanzania, Sudan, Rwanda, Somalia, Congo, DR of Congo Angola, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Zambia, Namibia, Chad, Ethiopia, and Eritrea are perpetuated by lack of vision from political leadership. Poverty, corruption, mistrust, tribalism, and the struggle for survival also contribute to the general unrest. Young people and children are frequently targeted. The missions of OAU and the UN need to be reviewed in regards to security and power sharing in Africa, especially in the Great Lakes Region.
The Role of the Church.The Anglican Church of Burundi is ranked as the third largest church after the Roman Catholic and the Pentecostal churches. It has some 500,000 members. BurundiÕs political crisis has brought and strengthened good relationships among church leaders, especially Anglicans with Roman Catholics. We are speaking with one voice when it comes to making an appeal to the government for change. With the intervention of the church as one of the facilitators in Burundi, the government and the parliament are working together for peace in the country. We have also worked on persuading our partners and sister churches overseas to put pressure on neighboring countries to discourage economic sanctions. We are pleading now for cease- fire in order to stop the killing of innocent people.
Requests to the APJN Network.
- The Anglican Church of Burundi is requesting, once again, a pastoral visit to Burundi for encouragement and support.
- Landmines and arms transfer should be discouraged in the Great Lakes Region.
- The Anglican Church of Burundi is appealing for help with resources to bring about the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the uprooted and marginalized people of our society, especially of people who were the direct victims of the country's political and social crisis.
- We ask our partners and sister churches to support the Church in Burundi in discouraging the so called 'justified war,' because it polarizes more violence and hatred in people, and creates even more division.
More training and seminars in the area of human rights are very much needed so that people might be better able to work toward lasting peace and justice in our country.
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