ADRESS BY THE RIGHT HONOURABLE EMMANUEL SINZOHAGERA ON THE CLOSING OF THE TESTIMONY AND REFLECTION CONFERENCES ORGANIZED ON THE THEME: “REMEMBER AND PROPERLY QUALIFY THE EVENTS OF 1972 IN BURUNDI”

    GITEGA, JUNE 25, 2021

Your Excellency Vice-President of the Republic of Burundi,

Honourable First Deputy Speaker of the Senate,

Honourable Second Deputy Speaker of the Senate,

Honourable Senators,

Excellencies Ministers,

Mister President of the Supreme Court,

Mister President of the Constitutional Court,

Mister President of the Audit Court,

Mister Attorney General of the Republic,

Dear Presidents of the various National Commissions,

Mister Governor of the Province of Gitega,

Your Excellencies Ambassadors and Representatives of the Diplomatic and Consular Corps accredited to Burundi,

Dear Representatives of International Organizations in Burundi,

Dear Heads of the Defense and Security corps,

Dear journalists,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

1. First of all, let us  thank God who continues to protect our country and who          allowed us to see this day. I ask you to please acclaim the Lord as a token of      thanks.

2. Today, on June 25, 2021, we are honoured to welcome you in this hemicycle,      where the Senate solemnly closes the conferences inaugurated on April 28 of      this year.

3. These conferences were organized around the theme: “remember and properly      qualify the events of 1972 in Burundi”. We would like to reiterate to you our      sincere thanks for having enhanced these ceremonies with your presence      despite your multiple occupations.

4. When the Senate thought of organizing these conferences, it wanted to      achieve the following main objectives:

a) Give time to any Burundian who wishes to say something about the      crimes committed in Burundi in 1972 so as to know the truth and thus      reconcile Burundians;

b) Give an opportunity to all those who have something to say, whether      for or against, the alleged perpetrators or victims of these crimes, in      order to help the Senate to collect testimonies and reflections that      could make it possible to reach the truth about the nature of the crimes      committed in 1972.

c) Collect ideas in order to assess whether everything necessary has      already been done for the Senate to apply article 289 of the      Constitution of the Republic of Burundi which stipulates that “a period      of five years is granted to the Senate to assess in order to end or extend      the ethnic quota system in the Executive, Legislative and Judiciary      after the establishment of the institutions provided for by the      Constitution”. In a country bereaved by ethnic conflicts, this article      cannot be applied if our ethnic divisions are not properly qualified and      if we do not know the step already taken by Burundi in the       reconciliation of Burundian victims of these conflicts, especially the       events of 1972.

5.  Since the beginning of these conferences, a lot of things were said. There are      people who frightened others by telling them “be vigilant, they are digging      up the past”.

6. The five conferences that we are closing today allowed us as Burundians to      reflect on our past, because, at the beginning of these conferences, there are      descendants of the perpetrators of the 1972 crimes who were scared to hear      the name of their parent pronounced. These conferences reassured them.      They heard with their own ears that no one is punished for a crime of which      they are not the author and that children do not inherit crimes committed by      their parents. We once again reassure these descendants that they should no      longer be frightened. They are not guilty of the dark period that Burundi went      through in 1972.

7. These conferences also enabled the descendants of the victims of the 1972      crimes to know the truth. They realized that it is not an ethnic group that       kills, but rather a bad system of governance.

8. The truth is the only way to reconciliation for Burundians. This is the only      surest way to build a new Burundi, which should be just, equitable and truly      reconciled.

9. The Senate warmly thanks many Burundians who testified during these       conferences. We therefore call on you, to sensitize all those who still have       doubts so that they overcome their fear in order to be able to testify what       they      know before the Truth Reconciliation Commission or when such           conferences      are organized again, without exaggeration, anger or lie, in        order to support      this noble work, which sole aim is a better future for our        country.

10. We have collected sensitive recommendations that you made towards        different institutions. In accordance with the laws governing its missions,        the Senate will analyze them in depth before submitting them to the        institutions concerned, which will in turn ensure their implementation.

  11. Before closing, we would like to appeal to Burundians to put an end to the         bad habits of globalization and stigmatization in order to achieve         sustainable development.

12. We thank once again all those who have contributed to making these        conferences successful. We reiterate our sincere thanks to the leaders of         political parties, media and religious denominations because, during these         conferences, they have shown that they are thirsty of a Burundi         characterized by peace and security.

13. We solemnly declare closed the work of these conferences which have just        lasted two months and which gathered Burundians from different sectors,        without forgetting our brothers and sisters living in different countries of the        world.

God bless you!