Politics And Violence In Burundi PDF Download

"Scores of people have been killed in politically motivated attacks in Burundi since the end of 2010. Political violence escalated in 2011 with a string of targeted assassinations and reprisals. State security forces, intelligence services, members of the ruling party, and members of opposition groups have used violence against their perceived opponents. The victims have included members and former members of political parties, their relatives, other individuals targeted because of their presumed political sympathies, demobilized rebel combatants, and men and women with no known political affiliation. The most deadly attack took place in Gatumba, in September 2011, when at least 37 people were killed in a crowded bar. But there were numerous other cases in which individuals were singled out and murdered simply because of their perceived political sympathies, or because they refused to 'change sides.' Not only did the state fail to ensure security for its citizens, but it did not fulfill its duty to take all reasonable measures to prevent and prosecute these types of crimes. Very few of the perpetrators of political killings have been brought to justice. In one of the rare cases, the Gatumba attack, where prosecutions took place relatively quickly, the trial was seriously flawed, with several defendants claiming they had been tortured. Based on extensive field research in 2011 and early 2012, this report documents patterns and cases of political killings in late 2010 and 2011 in Burundi, as well as the response of government and judicial authorities. It also describes the intimidation of journalists and civil society activists whom the government accused of siding with the opposition"--Cover, p. [4].