To All Living Things
Last Week's Column

Amnesty Action:
Extrajudicial Executions and Fear for Safety in Burundi
Kathy Gay

his week’s action from Amnesty International concerns the extrajudicial execution of twelve people in Bujumbura Rural province on July 7 by members of the Burundi armed forces. The soldiers are reported to have shot or bayoneted the victims to death. The victims include seven children ranging in age from 1 month to 15 years. At least four other people, including two children, sustained serious wounds during the attacks. The killings may have been in retaliation against the civilian population after a mine explosion the day before hit a military truck containing beer, injuring two soldiers.

Attacks against local civilians by the Burundi military continued over the next two days. Many houses are reported to have been burned, displacing hundreds of people. Amnesty International is investigating reports that additional extrajudicial executions may have occurred and fears there could be more reprisals against civilians.

Background Information

The Tutsi-dominated Burundi security forces have a 30-year history of carrying out human rights violations, often against the civilian population. In the current civil war, attacks against Hutu members of the civilian population are often conducted in retaliation for actions by Hutu-dominated armed groups, who also are responsible for human rights abuses, including killings of civilians.

During counter-insurgency operations, little or no effort is made by the armed forces in Burundi to distinguish between combatants and non-combatants. Most of the killings of civilians during such operations appear to be deliberate and targeted, and scores of children who could not possibly be suspected of being members of armed groups are reported to have been killed in massacres.

Although Major Pierre Buyoya promised to end human rights violations when he came to power after a coup d'etat in July 1996, Amnesty International has documented thousands of cases of extrajudicial execution, "disappearance," arbitrary arrest and torture since that date. Critics and opponents of the government have also been harassed, arrested and tortured in a pattern of attacks on political opponents aimed at eliminating effective political opposition.

More than 6,500 civilians, mostly Hutu, including at least 2,600 accused of involvement in massacres in Burundi, are held in various prisons and detention centers around the country. The majority are held without charge or trial. Torture by members of the security forces is reported to be carried out systematically and with impunity. Deaths in custody are often reported.

Amnesty International has repeatedly called on the Burundi authorities to investigate human rights violations, including extrajudicial execution, "disappearance," torture, ill-treatment and arbitrary arrest committed by members of the Burundi security forces who continue to act with complete impunity.

How you can help

Currently no mail is getting into Burundi. Please send a letter to Burundi's Ambassador to the United States (or, if you are not American, to Burundi's ambassador to your country) as soon as possible, but no later than August 27, 1997. You may use the sample letter linked below or use it as a model to write your own letter. If you choose to use the sample letter, please cut off or delete all website information at the very top of the letter. If you choose to write your own letter, make sure that it is politely worded, non-partisan (i.e., not used as a vehicle for political expression) and written with respect for the recipient. Be sure to include both your name and address, as well as the date, on your letter.

Questions?

If you have any questions, just post a message to me (Kathy Gay) on the Pub, and I will respond as soon as I can. I greatly appreciate your interest and support.

To see the sample letter for this action, click here.

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Kathy Gay is a vegan, and has been a member of Amnesty International for nearly 10 years, where she has worked on numerous campaigns. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and is a business analyst for a leading California bank.

Kathy's column, To All Living Things, is a regular feature of VegSource On-Line Magazine.