In
Burundi, As
Nkurunziza to
Run, US
Speaks,
What'll UN's
Ban Say?
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, April
25
-- Amid
reports that
Pierre
Nkurunziza has
been "nominated
to run" for a
third terms as
President in
seeming
violation of
the Arusha
Peace Accord,
what will the
UN of Ban
Ki-moon have
to say about
it, and when?
It was the US
which spoke
first, below.
Perhaps as Ban
does more and
more, he will
"outsource"
the UN
reaction to
Geneva, while
he for example
cavorts with
those who,
like in
Burundi, go
after
independent
journalists.
Ban's office
has yet to
confirm
getting a
letter from
civil society
in Burundi,
below, just as
it hasn't
confirmed a
letter from parties in
Yemen
Inner City
Press asked
about on April
24. Perhaps
both are "lost
in the mail"
on the 38th
floor.
Here
is the US'
statement on Burundi,
just issued:
"The
United States
deeply regrets
the decision
by Burundi’s
ruling party,
the National
Council for
the Defense of
Democracy–Forces
for the
Defense of
Democracy
(CNDD-FDD), to
disregard the
term-limit
provisions of
the Arusha
Agreement by
naming
President
Pierre
Nkurunziza as
its candidate
for a third
presidential
term.
With this
decision,
Burundi is
losing an
historic
opportunity to
strengthen its
democracy by
establishing a
tradition of
peaceful
democratic
transition.
The United
States
continues to
support the
Burundian
people's
peaceful
pursuit of
their
democratic
rights and
freedoms.
We regret this
significant
missed
opportunity,
but the hard
work of
building
democratic
practices and
institutions
must
continue.
In that
spirit, we
urge all
parties to
participate in
the
legislative
and national
elections and
ensure these
electoral
processes are
inclusive,
transparent,
credible, free
and conducted
in an
environment
without
threats,
intimidation,
or violence.
We
specifically
call on the
Burundian
government to
respect the
rights of all
peaceful
political
parties and
their
candidates to
campaign, hold
meetings and
rallies, and
express their
views.
We also call
on the
Burundian
government to
respect the
right of the
media to
report freely
on the
electoral
process and
campaigns.
We further
urge the
government to
cooperate
fully with the
UN Electoral
Observer
Mission
(MENUB) and
all
international
and domestic
electoral
observers
throughout the
entire
electoral
process, as
well as on the
election
days.
The United
States calls
on all parties
in Burundi to
abide by the
non-violence
charter signed
March 9 and
refrain from
any violent
acts,
including hate
speech or
other
provocations,
that could
feed the
climate of
fear and
instability.
We renew our
calls on all
candidates,
their
supporters,
and Burundian
citizens to
reject all
forms of
violence, and
on the
national
police, the
Burundian
military, and
all security
force
personnel to
provide
security in an
impartial
manner
throughout the
electoral
processes.
We commend the
neighboring
countries for
their efforts
to receive the
almost 15,000
Burundians who
have fled the
country over
the past
month, and
encourage
their
continued
close
coordination
with UNHCR and
support to
provide asylum
to those
fleeing
political
violence and
persecution.
We urge all
regional
actors to
refrain from
any acts that
could
contribute to
the climate of
instability in
Burundi.
The United
States will
continue to
monitor the
situation in
Burundi
closely and
take targeted
measures,
including,
where
appropriate,
by denying
U.S. visas, to
hold
accountable
those
individuals
who
participate
in, plan, or
order violence
against the
civilian
population.
Violence has
no place in
democratic
elections, and
perpetrators
of such
violence will
not be welcome
to travel to
the United
States and
risk being
held
accountable in
a court of law
for any crimes
for which they
are
responsible."
When
you go to the
UN's 38th
floor these
days, you
might meet a
government
official who
justified the
killing of
unarmed
civilians,
having a photo
op with
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon.
So
it was on
April 14, when
Burundi's
Minister of
the Interior
Edouard
Nduwimana held
a meeting with
Ban, his chief
of staff and
Department of
Political
Affairs
officials.
Inner City
Press went to
the photo op
and
tweeted out a
photo.
Moments
later Inner
City Press was
made aware
that Nduwimana
in March 2013
visited the
Businde hill
where police
had just
killed nine
people, mostly
women and
child. On
video - YouTube here, from Minute
1:41 -
Nduwimana told
the mourners
and survivors,
Now you have
the martyrs
you wanted.
On April 15,
Inner City
Press asked
Ban's
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric why
no read-out of
the meeting
had been
given.
Dujarric said
he had
expected one
and would try.
Finally past 5
pm, more than
24 hours after
the meeting,
this:
"The
Secretary-General
met on 14
April 2015
with the
Minister of
Interior of
Burundi, H.E.
Mr. Edouard
Nduwimana. The
Secretary-General
noted that
Burundi owes
its progress
to the spirit
of Arusha and
the
determination
of Burundians
to build a
peaceful,
democratic and
prosperous
nation. They
discussed
recent
developments
ahead of the
general
elections to
be held
between May
and August
this year.
"The
Secretary-General
expressed his
concern about
the rising
political
tensions in
the country
and encouraged
Burundians to
resolve their
political
differences
through
dialogue and
without
resorting to
violence. He
called on the
Government to
ensure that
the security
services
manage
potential
security
incidents with
the utmost
professionalism.
He also
encouraged the
Government to
ensure that
all political
actors are
able to
participate
fully and
freely in the
electoral
process. 'This
would
contribute to
credible
elections and
reduce further
tensions,' the
Secretary-General
said."
Meanwhile,
Dujarric would
not confirm to
Inner City
Press that Ban
has received
this letter,
in French,
from civil
society in
Burundi:
Les
organisations
membres de la
Campagne "
Halte au 3ème
Mandat du
Président
NKURUNZIZA"
ont écrit une
lettre au
Secrétaire
Général des
Nations Unies
et au
Président du
Conseil de
Sécurité pour
leur demander
avec une
grande
insistance de
voter une
résolution sur
le Burundi
pour :
-
Instruire à
l'Armée
burundaise de
désarmer la
milice
IMBONERAKURE
du Parti
au Pouvoir
CNDD-FDD
-
Instruire
l'identification
et
l'arrestation
des chefs de
la milice
-
Instruire à
l'Armée
burundaise de
désarmer toute
autre personne
ou groupe
en possession
illégale
d'arme à feu
De
voter une
résolution
décidant
l'intervention
militaire des
Nations Unies
pour empêcher
la commission
des crimes
contre
l'humanité, du
nettoyage
politique
voire du
génocide
QUE
PERSONNE NE
DISE QU'IL N'A
PAS SU !
We'll
have more on
this.
Eighty minutes
before Ban's
meeting with
Nduwimana, he
met with
Amnesty
International.
Unlike some
other rights
groups who
crave access,
Amnesty
authorized
Inner City
Press, when it
asked, to
report that
the topics
covered were
"the Human
Rights Up
Front
Initiative,
regarding
which several
country
situations
were
discussed, and
the Post-2015
agenda." It is
appreciated.
While Inner
City Press was
asked if
having a
"criminal" in
the UN is
rare, the
reality is
that, for
example, Sri
Lanka's
Shavendra
Silva, named
in Ban's own
report on war
crimes in that
country, was
allowed to
become a UN
Senior Adviser
on
Peacekeeping
Operations,
run by Herve
Ladsous.
Later
on April 14, a
mere 95
minutes later
to be exact,
Ban was to
raise a
champagne or
Prosecco toast
to the UN
Censorship
Alliance,
which hosts
Shavendra
Silva's and
Palitha
Kohona's
screening of
their
government's
war crimes
denial film,
"Lies Agreed
To."
The then
and now
president of
UNCA had been
Kohona's
landlord in
the past.
When Inner
City Press in
writing called
this a
conflict of
interest,
first the move
was to try to
get Inner City
Press thown
out of UNCA --
it quit and
co-founded the
new Free
UN Coalition
for Access,
FUNCA -- then
out of the UN
as a whole.
This is
today's UN,
and its
Censorship
Alliance.
, 
