In Burundi, an atmosphere of terror. “We knocked on the door of houses, we targeted”, Maggy Barankitse

December 16, 2015December 18, 2015 Nicolas Gros Verheyde

(B2)" On Fridays we knocked on the doors of the houses, we targeted the houses, we knew the houses. And we even targeted the houses of Tutsis. (...) We can't kill our children. These pictures are a scandal! (...) This is very serious. When killing them they said 'call the European Union', 'call the United States', 'call Kagame'. (...) How a head of state can murder in full view of everyone. What arrogance! »

The speaker is Maggy Barankitse, interviewed by our colleagues from the RTBF. A charismatic personality! The "mom" of Burundi. In particular, she took in Hutu and Tutsi orphans during the civil war that hit Burundi in 1993. She was believed to be almost untouchable as she is famous in Rwanda. She fled today, taking refuge in Belgium. And the shalom house that it created saw its activities stopped.

The Brain: the president Nkurunziza

Maggy Barankitse doesn't hesitate, she doesn't mince her words. " The Brain is Nkurunziza. President. He is the sponsor. The International Criminal Court had to react today before it was too late. We have to stop him. (...) They say, we don't know where to start. Because the country is sovereign. So you accept that we kill our children, that we are killed that we are exiled. We come here to beg. While we could live in conviviality. »

Burundi is very small A politico-ethnic genocide

“It is a politico-ethnic genocide. He will choose all those who have refused a third term. And to apostrophize the international community in particular Europe for its inaction. "Didn't you go to Syria?" Didn't you go to Libya? Why don't you go to Burundi? Burundi is very small. There is no oil. But there are your brothers and sisters, your children. There is the greatest wealth that humanity has: it is the human person. It's not the oil, it's not the diamonds. There is more than the diamond, there is more than that, there is more than that...”.

Europe looks the other way

Listen here, listen again! Because Maggy is not wrong. Inaction seems the rule. Europe – which has other things to do – looks away and relies on the UN, which relies on the African Union, which waits for resources or a green light. EU foreign ministers met on Monday. They have not even managed to officially put this issue on the agenda, to strongly condemn what is happening in Burundi. They contented themselves with calling for political dialogue (read on B2 pro: Europe encourages Burundi to engage in political dialogue. A bit short ?). Incredible cowardice.

Burundi is too small

Maggy Barankitse is right. The " Burundi is very small ". He's not threatening anyone. That its inhabitants die, it is not very serious in a certain way. In any case, much less than a boat drowning off the European coast... If the European Union, meeting at the highest level these days, does not find a way, on the one hand, to address a firm, unequivocal condemnation, on the other hand, of reacting with anything other than three words, it is that there is no point in talking about human rights, role in the world, security strategy, naving peacekeeping capacities to react in the event of a crisis (see box)... It is useless if we are not even a little capable of acting on Burundi.

(Nicolas Gros-Verheyde)

The European battlegroup: a toy to make it beautiful!

It is currently the French and the Belgians who ensure the permanence of the European rapid reaction force until the end of December. It is understandable that there are technical-political considerations that prevent the deployment of this battlegroup. Overdose of commitment for the French, politico-historical constraints for the Belgians with a dramatic memory of Rwanda for both. But the next battlegroup could unfold. He is ready, at least theoretically. This is the battlegroup of Visegrad, the V4 (Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia). You know those countries that speak loud and clear when it comes to Ukraine, refugees, the Euro Zone, others who don't respect the rules. Then who come to whine in the lap of NATO or that of Europe to have tanks, men, anti-aircraft batteries, planes to reinforce their defenses and thus play muscle with the Russians. Countries that are no longer seen in general when it comes to acting! When it comes to solidarity! For them, the battlegroup is a toy, intended to look good!