Statement attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General on Burundi (14.07.2016)

UN Burundi

NEW YORK, United States of America, July 14, 2016 -The Secretary-General condemns the assassination of Hafsa Mossi, former Burundian Minister for East African Community Affairs and Member of the East African Legislative Assembly, in Bujumbura this morning. He extends his deepest condolences to Ms. Mossi’s family. This despicable act of violence only serves to promote divisions, entrench mistrust, and destabilize the country.

The Secretary-General reiterates the need to intensify efforts to find a negotiated settlement to the crisis in Burundi and calls on all parties concerned to engage fully and in good faith in the peace process led by the East African Community (EAC). The United Nations will continue to provide assistance to the EAC-led dialogue process and its Facilitator, former President of the United Republic of Tanzania H.E. Mr. Benjamin Mkapa.

MSD Communique “MSD – main opposition party to Nkurunziza, was excluded from peace talks. It denounces mediation team” (11.07.2016)

Burundi 11.07.2016 Letter Dialogue

Talks on Course – Burundi Amabassador (Youtube-Clip)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzQ58wBXIhA

“Now Burundi celebrated its 54thindependence anniversary on Friday, in a low key event attended by representatives of several African countries. The venue for this year’s celebrations was semi-deserted as the public failed to turn up due to heightened insecurity in some parts of the capital, Bujumbura. In Kampala, the celebrations went as planned. Isabella Tugume, spoke to the Burundian Ambassador to Uganda Jean Bosco Barege about the current situation in Burundi and the progress of the peace talks” (NBS TV Uganda, 2016)

Burundi: UN experts call for concrete steps to end crisis (17.06.2016)

UN Burundi

GENEVA, Switzerland, June 17, 2016/At the end of their second visit to Burundi, the three human rights experts of the United Nations Independent Investigation on Burundi (UNIIB) called for concrete steps to be taken to end the crisis in the country.

“One of the most significant developments since the beginning of the year has been the significant drop in the number of executions. This is extremely welcome and we reiterate our call on all parties to stop the use of violence as a political tool, “ said Christof Heyns, one of the three experts and the Head of UNIIB.

“However this relative calm should not be confused with long term stability. Serious human rights concerns remain and there are no signs that disappearances and torture have subsided,” said Pablo de Greiff. “Impunity for serious present and past violations remains the order of the day.”

The experts also noted that many political prisoners remain in jail and that a new pattern of mass arrests has emerged recently, mostly affecting ordinary people, including children. “In various parts of the country, school children have been arrested or suspended from school because their books had scribbles on pictures of the Head of State. Some of them face the prospect of spending five to 10 years in jail. We will continue to closely follow these cases, including the actions taken by the National Human Rights Commission on them,” said Heyns.

“It has been particularly disconcerting to see the state of disarray of civil society in Burundi, and the continuously shrinking space for what remains of it. Many NGOs remain suspended and those that continue to function operate in a climate of fear and intimidation. I was particularly struck by the fact that some of the NGO representatives  we met during our last visit in March have fled or are now too scared to talk to us,” said Maya Sahli-Fadel.

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“For Burundi to move away from violence and conflict, it needs a truly inclusive political dialogue that will address the roots of the political crisis. The talks which recently started in Arusha and Brussels are a positive step forward but should be broadened to ensure that all actors of the crisis are included,” said Heyns. “Real progress in power sharing will be crucial to achieving sustainable peace.”

“These are preliminary observations, and we look forward to working further with Burundian authorities and society to take the protection of human rights forward,” he added.

During their mission, the experts met with national authorities and other political actors, members of civil society, victims of human rights violations, as well as with humanitarian organisations, including UN agencies, and international and regional partners operating in Burundi. They also visited the Mpimba prison in Bujumbura.

The UNIIB is composed of Mr. Christof Heyns (South Africa), the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions; Ms. Maya Sahli-Fadel (Algeria), the African Union Special Rapporteur on Refugees, Asylum Seekers, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons; and Mr. Pablo de Greiff (Colombia), the UN Special Rapporteur on the Promotion of Truth, Justice, Reparation and Guarantees of Non-Recurrence.

The Independent Investigation recently deployed human rights monitors to Burundi, with the aim of helping the three human rights experts gather information on human rights violations and abuses committed in the country since April 2015. They are scheduled to submit their final report to the Human Rights Council in September 2016.

Rwezururu Kingdom threatens to take government to court over Kasese killings (Youtube-Clip)

The Obusinga bwa Rwenzururu is considering taking court action against the central government for what it alleges is the continued attack on its subjects by government security agencies. Noah Nzaghale, the kingdom premier told NTV in Kasese town that the ongoing dialogue between government and the cultural institution had called for a ceasefire by all security agencies. The warning comes on the backdrop of the killing last weekend, of one of the royal guards as police moved in to arrest people who had locked themselves up in a house under unclear circumstances” (NTV Uganda, 2016)

Cradle Of Kenya’s History : Inside the house where President Uhuru was conceived (Youtube-Clip)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DM2tB1YXgr0

As Kenyans marked 53 years of internal self rule, a humble house in Samburu which hosted Kenya’s founding first family months before independence was also celebrating its place in the history of the country. The late Mzee Jomo Kenyatta is said to have been transfered to the house by the colonial masters to cool down political temperatures ahead of the country’s attainment of internal self rule in 1963. The colonial masters had built the house for their own administrative matters” (K24TV, 2016).

Rwanda – Another Term for Paul Kagame (Youtube-Clip)

“The government of Rwanda says its citizens want long-serving president Paul Kagame to be able to serve another term” (TV2 Africa, 2016).

Statement from Dr. Denis Mukwege: After Beni Massacres, “peace cannot be achieved at the expense of justice” (17.05.2016)

Denis Muwege 17.05.2016

BENi 2016 Panzi

Kayihura warns the Opposition that the Demonstrations will not be like in 2011; and they will stand down until the country is “safe” in the “new” government!

Kayihura Kasese Bundibugyo 24.03.2016

As we could predicate like clockwork is that the Police Force would enforce the banning and interim orders of the Constitutional Court from Deputy Justice Stephen Kavuma yesterday. So since the clock is ticking… the IGP Kayihura had to speak his peace, and his Peace is not peace for anybody else then the NRM regime and the NRM cronies. As proven with his rhetoric today. Take a look yourself!

Kale Kayihura says this today:

“We were able to have peaceful elections contrary to what had been anticipated by many people. It was a big achievement and something you cannot take lightly because had we not done it, it would now be a different story” (…)”We can’t allow something similar to what happened in 2011 during the swearing in ceremony. Our main mission (of securing elections) was done but we can’t stand down until the country is safe and secure with the new government” (…)”There were predictions of violence before, during and after elections but thanks to the security forces that ensured this did not happen. The future of our country is very bright as people live in peace and happiness” (Kazibwe, 2016).

Besigye 2011 W2W Arrest

This is might what he is afraid of:

“Cheers of excitement turned to eerie silence as the police fired tear gas to disperse the crowds. Protesters scattered and made their way to a soccer field, where they held a mock swearing-in of Mr. Besigye” (…)”But in recent weeks, the protests’ narrative and political momentum have built as the government has mounted a brutal and at times fatal response, making many Ugandans rethink the extent of the nation’s democracy” (…)”On Tuesday, the police used water cannons to disperse a group of six people, some of them political leaders, who were huddled against a building. Another opposition leader was whisked away in a police van” (…)”Lots of this anger is being vented at Museveni as he is sworn in, both because of widespread belief of fraud in the election and because of the way the government has handled Besigye,” said Elliott Green, a specialist on Uganda at the London School of Economics. “The next question is where things might go from here.” (Kron, 2011).

But last time it was the Police who came with brutality and used all force, dispersed and detained the opposition. Therefore Dr. Kizza Besigye had to go to hospital in Kenya before arriving back in Uganda. The Post-Election violence was massive in the last go-around.

Bukwo FDC Campaign Trail 060116 P3

This just had to happen the day after the Deputy Justice Stephen Kavuma who made the Interim Order of banning the Defiance Campaign. So that he comes with warnings is just a sensational as the sunrise every morning. It just have to occur; the issue is with the favour and extent he goes in. As he claims that the FDC and their campaign is to destroy the peace and the happiness of the country. That says that in his mind only NRM can bring peace, and if other disobey then they creating havoc and chaos. Initially saying so, but the words of non-violence during, under and after the elections of 2016 is a lie. He must have forgotten the pre-election violence of Rukungiri, Jinja and other. During the Campaign trail of Bukwo district, Ntungamo and the state of the violence before the Makerere Rally in February; then after that there been steady violence in the country. Something that IGP Kayihura knows as the army has been deployed in Kasese and Rwenzori. The Bundibugyo and Kapchorwa killings combined with the Kasese and Rwenzururu Kingdom killings proves the levels of blood that have been taken after the election. So a real it is not.

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Combined with the connection of the Police Force enforcing preventative arrests, detaining, stopping demonstrations, applying detaining for unlawful behaviour even when they just trying to do party work. The other is the monitoring and spying on the opposition even when they have to comply for their actions to the Police as the POMA act says. And the Parties have obliges with that, even when he ruling party together with the Police have used all force to oppress them.

So I have trouble with the simplistic view of the acts of his Police Force towards fellow country-men and how he target fellow citizens who happens to be Opposition as enemies and with Anti-Riot Police Force. So the Peace he speaks is a forced peace. A Peace that is forced by fear and by tear-gas and detaining the opposition, not creating a space for dialogue or real peace in the country; because the Police Force does not hesitate to act upon the men and woman who might counter to the NRM, as they did to the people who closed their shops as a demonstration to the rigged election.

Jinja Police 10915 P1

So his precaution of the 2011 Walk To Work is the statement as he has moved certain men who was involved like Andrew Felix Kaweesi and I am sure others are moved to the Kampala Metropolitan. Because they want to be sure that they can dissolve any demonstration as they want the perfect day for the 7th Term of President Museveni and his NRM that the Police Force is loyal too!

So we can be assured that the Police Force is ready to follow the words of the interim orders of the judge of 29th April 2016. Because he will use any excuse to extend the Police State of NRM and their thieving of power. Since the legitimate leader is not in the NRM, if it was so then they would not need to threaten the public. The Legitimacy is certainly bubbled down and cracked, therefore the silence and non-celebration except for the people of Uganda Media Centre who is paid men of the Ruling Party. So long behold the Swearing-In at Kololo Independence Ground on the 12th May. The reality is that the Police Force will use force on the 5th May, but if the Opposition able to mobilize as they did during campaign and Nomination day of the November 2015. Something I hope, and pray for, because if so the Police Force will be a small minority who should not hurt that big of a crowd and certainly that amount of people would monitor and share footage of the havoc so the media of the world would condemn the violent actions of the Police as they harass the Opposition with a steady pace. Peace.

Reference:

Kazibwe, Kenneth – ‘Gen. Kayihura Warns FDC on Inauguration Demo’ (30.04.2016) link: http://www.chimpreports.com/kayihura-speaks-out-on-fdc-inauguration-demo/

Kron, Josh – ‘Protests Overshadow Inauguration in Uganda’ (12.05.2011) link: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/13/world/africa/13uganda.html?_r=0

Besigye to ‘defy’ justice Steven Kavuma decision on defiance campaign (Youtube-Clip)

Former Presidential Candidate of Forum For Democratic Change Party Dr. Kizza Besigye has said that Justice Steven Kavuma’s ruling is unjust and lopsided. Addressing a news conference at his home in Kasangati, Besigye said the the Constitutional Court order blocking all defiance campaigns is one of the things he will defy. This came after Justice Steven Kavuma on Friday evening ordered the stay of all defiance activities including talk-shows on TV and Radio. Dr. Besigye says that Article 43 of the constitution only limits one from enjoying his rights if it is in public interest” (NTV Uganda, 2016).