Interview with Human Rights Minister Eugene Nindorera

Burundi's human rights situation is far from satisfactory, and will worsen as long as the current civil war continues, Constitutional Affairs and Human Rights Minister Eugene Nindorera said on Monday. Following are excerpts of an interview he granted IRIN. QUESTION: Minister in charge of human rights, soon we shall have a transitional government. What is your general view of the human situation in Burundi? ANSWER: The human rights situation is far from satisfactory because the country is at war. The war is the cause of most human rights violations, notably those against the sanctity of life. As long as the war continues, human rights violations will increase. There are other human rights violations unrelated to the war. We are organising ourselves so as to reduce them. Globally, there is now a better sensitisation of the population on human rights issues. However, the general context [of war] remains a problem. A new government will be formed on 1 November. It will face the same problems as the current government because it will operate under the same context of war. This is because negotiation of the cease-fire with rebel groups has not taken place. This constitutes the most serious weakness, which unfortunately will persist. This is another challenge facing the government to be set up. Q: There have been reports of people being jailed while there is hope for the release of prisoners. Please comment. A: We believe that today, and this is unavoidable, a person who commits an offense should be arrested and put in jail. However, we should try him as soon as possible in accordance with the law. Sometimes this is done at a slow pace, other times there are arbitrary arrests. However, in general that is the principle which should be followed. Many people have been making claims and calling for the release of political prisoners within the framework of the [peace] process. This claim is unfounded and premature. There is controversy over the notion of political prisoners. A joint commission composed of eight foreign experts and eight Burundians was set up to study in depth the issue and come up with the definition of who is a political prisoner and see how some of them could be released. The commission is expected in November. Q: The FNL [Forces Nationales pour la Liberation] has called for the release of political prisoners before it can hold peace talks with the government. Does this mean there will never be a cease-fire? A: If that is their precondition, then it means they do not want to negotiate. The government's answer to that concern was to set up the commission. People who killed innocent people cannot be called political prisoners. By claiming that there are 10,000 to 11,000 political prisoners, they mean that all the people incarcerated in Burundi jails today are political prisoners. Everybody is aware of the fact that serious crimes were committed in Burundi, including genocide. All the innocent people who died were not killed for political reasons. There can be no political justification for such odious crimes. By creating the joint international commission, we will allow foreigners to establish the distinction between real and fake political prisoners and that argument won't be valid anymore. Q: Concerning the issue of provisional immunity for leaders of the transitional government, for how long will the immunity last? Do you think it will help in the restoration of peace in Burundi or will it worsen the already existing situation? A: Concerning the provisional immunity, we set up a commission which should define the question. We, in the government, drafted a law that we plan to table in the national assembly. The provisional amnesty will only be applied to the political leaders returning home from exile and who will be appointed to various institutions.... The provisional immunity clearly states that it is limited in time.... Sometime in the future those who committed crimes, especially those who committed the most serious crimes, will have to answer for their deeds. The idea of provisional immunity is an idea which is not accepted by everybody: some accept it easily and others less so.... I personally believe the provisional immunity is a reasonable opportunity which takes into account the need for the search for peace while not hindering the course of justice and the fight against impunity. It is a provisional immunity, not an amnesty. However, if one is not careful, a provisional immunity could be transformed into an amnesty. The current situation at least allows us to avoid the amnesty. An amnesty for criminals in the current [peace process] phase would be a big blow for the future of this country. Q: A transitional government will be set up on 1 November and three years later there will be [democratic] elections. Taking into account the 1993 genocide, should we start with rendering justice to genocide victims and proceed with elections or vice-versa? A: This is a very important issue. But democracy is not limited to holding elections only. Justice is important in a democratic country as well.... According to the Arusha agreement and with regard to what happened in the past, we shall set up two commissions: an international judicial commission and a national truth and reconciliation commission which will study what happened and try to understand, a bit, the ethnic divisions which occurred in the history of Burundi.