Interview with Senate President Libere Bararunyeretse

The following IRIN interview took place in Bujumbura on 12 April with Burundi Senate President Libere Bararunyeretse. Five months ago in Burundi, on 1 November 2001, a transitional national government was inaugurated in which the majority Hutu ethnic group would share power with the minority Tutsi, who have dominated politics for most of the country's 39 years of independence from Belgium. IRIN asked Senate President Bararunyeretse about the role of the Senate in moving the country away from years of civil war towards peace and stability. Also discussed was the ongoing repatriation of Burundi refugees from camps in western Tanzania, as part of a tripartite agreement between the UN agency and the governments of both countries. QUESTION: This is the second time that Burundi has a Senate. The first time was in the 1960s. Compared to that of the 60s, the current Senate is working in a very different environment, characterised by war. What is the role of the Burundi Senate in the current environment? ANSWER: The Senate in its form today is first and foremost an institution geared towards working for national reconciliation. There are two reasons for this. First, its role is reflected in its membership and way of functioning. There are all possible balances in the Burundi Senate. With regard to ethnic balance, there is parity in the Senate's ethnic membership. The Senate consists of a strictly equally balanced number of Hutus and Tutsis. There is also a regional balance. Each province has at least two senators, a Hutu and a Tutsi. That means all the 17 provinces have a minimal representation in the Senate. Second, there is the issue of political balance. The two main groupings, namely the G7 [group of seven Hutu political parties] and G8 [group of eight Tutsi political parties] have an equal number of senators. Furthermore, to show that no ethnic group has been excluded, there are three Twa [pygmy] senators. Finally, 20 percent of the seats are reserved for women. Therefore, this is an institution where everybody is represented. In its functioning, there is a requirement for a two-thirds majority in decision-making, to make sure no group imposes its wishes or interests on the other. In reality, we opted for the system of permanent negotiations: if a group wants to defend a point, it will be obliged to negotiate with the other side to have it voted [on]. The Senate has three categories of visions. First of all, the Senate, together with the National Assembly, plays a legislative role. A link was created between the National Assembly and the Senate, both at the level of basic or ordinary laws, so that at the end, laws to be published would have been agreed upon by the two chambers. We play an important regulatory role so that texts which have been debated in the National Assembly go through another round of discussions in the Senate, which, as you can see, represents all the categories of the Burundi people better than the National Assembly. The other mission is to follow up and control government activities by putting special emphasis on the follow-up of the Arusha agreement on peace and reconciliation in Burundi. This is the Senate's special mission, which is also exercised by the follow-up committee on the implementation of the Arusha agreement. Lastly, our third important mission is to approve appointments in senior government posts for sectors in which Burundians show special interest, namely, heads of defence and security bodies, the territorial administrators such as provincial governors and communal administrators. We also approve nominations in the judiciary. Q: Former President Sylvestre Ntibantunganya says former heads of state have a special place in the Senate. What is that place? What will happen since he has refused to take his seat in the Senate? Will he be expelled, or is something being done to meet his demands? A: According to the constitution, former heads of state are automatically Senate members, including presidents Ntibantunganya and Bagaza. They become members as long as they express the wish for it, which they have not yet done. However, we shall welcome them with open arms as soon as they express the desire for it. There is no special status for them in the Senate - they are senators. Senate organs are well known, and the mode of setting them up also has its rules. No such rules were set up for this special category [of senators]. Their status as former presidents is not our concern. Q: Former President [Jean-Baptiste] Bagaza says there would be no security for him in Burundi. He was said recently to be negotiating with the government about the matter. Are you doing something to encourage him to return home and occupy his [Senate] seat? A: Once again, let me repeat it, it is up to the former heads of state to take up their seats in the Senate. If they present themselves, we shall let them occupy their seats in accordance with the law. The government has already solved the problem of security. Any returning leader who expresses fear for security is provided with protection from either Burundi defence and security forces or the South African contingent. Each one of them can make a choice between the two bodies. Therefore, there is no security problem for anybody. Q: However, he may have suggested a third way: to bring with him Ugandan army protection elements. Have there been discussions on the matter? A: The question does not concern me as Senate president. The security issue is usually discussed between the concerned person and relevant government bodies. However, generally one should know that there had to be an agreement between the governments of Burundi and South Africa prior to the arrival of South African troops in the country. To my knowledge, Uganda has never had such a plan, and it has never made any such suggestion to the Burundi government. That is all I can say. Q: There are encouraging signs in the country, such as the repatriation of refugees. However, there are other discouraging signs, such as the refusal by the rebels to hold discussions [on the ceasefire]. In your view, where is Burundi heading? Are we about to have peace, or see the continuation of the war? A: In [the] long term, armed groups will have no choice apart from presenting themselves at the negotiating table. There are two main reasons for this. First, today they have no pretext to continue waging the war. The Arusha agreement on peace and reconciliation provided answers to all the claims they used to justify the war. Today, power is shared among all categories of the Burundi population - it has become a war without a cause. Any unjustified war is lost from the start. Peace should be restored in the country in the near future. The other element which shows that we are progressing positively is the spontaneous return of refugees. We have witnessed a massive return of exiled politicians in order to enter the new [government] institutions. Many former refugees are currently occupying important government posts. The ministers of justice and territorial development are former refugees. Frodebu's [Front pour la democratie au Burundi] president, who is also the National Assembly Speaker [and] the second National Assembly vice-president and PP [Parti du peuple] president are former refugees. The Senate vice-president is a former refugee. In addition to the politicians, so many people are returning home, to the extent of causing concern among armed groups. I understand them, because once refugees return home - like a fish in running waters - they [armed groups] will not be able to breathe, they will have nowhere to recruit. There are even politicians who have been criticising the repatriation of refugees. In reality, they are disappointed by the rebels' incapacity to pursue the war due to the repatriation. I believe that the voluntary repatriation should be encouraged. I think, in the near future, there will be substantial progress towards peace.