By H.E. Ms. Vestine Nahimana, Ambassador of the Republic of Burundi to the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
On the occasion of the lifting of sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran which effect, we all know, economically and politically asphyxiated the country, the Embassy of the Republic of Burundi in The Hague welcomes this decision and congratulates the Iranian people for the patience and the endurance which they displayed throughout the period of the international sanctions.
The pain endured by the Iranian people is the same pain that Burundians are currently unjustly facing. Some countries, in particular, the European Union countries and the United States of America have unfortunately relied on false information, and a misreading of the political and security situation in Burundi to impose unjust economic sanctions against the people of Burundi. The purpose of these sanctions, we know, are likely to weaken the national economy and that of the entire economic community which Burundi is one of the state parties.
The Embassy of the Republic of Burundi in The Hague also deplores the violent attitude of the radical Burundi opposition which organizes and uses terrorist attacks as a means of political expression. These terrorist attacks include the throwing of grenades against civilians in public places and conducting sporadic attacks on police and Military personnel and installations. In the same context, the Burundi Embassy in The Hague strongly condemns the attitude of some foreign media and international organizations that through the propagation of false reports manipulate and incite national and international public opinion against Burundi and breeds hatred and violence among the people of Burundi.
One example among many of the hateful culture of lies intended to manipulate international public opinion against Burundi and incite violence among its people is the recent widely televised video of a despicably violent attack against some civilians somewhere in West Africa by the French television channel France 3, portraying it to be a video of alleged violations perpetrated against civilian opposition members in Burundi. Pursuing this campaign of hate and lies against Burundi, Amnesty International, recently released a flawed and unscientific report alleging that its reading and analysis of it satellite images recorded over Burundi established the presence of mass graves in a predominantly agricultural area where soil and sand can be found. Any objective, independent and fair minded human rights investigator would have verified the satellite images through a site visit rather than make conclusory findings that insult, ignore and abuses the agricultural activities of the Burundian people under unjustified international sanctions.
The choice and the date of their publication clearly shows that the NGO wanted to influence the deliberations of the African Heads of States who met in Addis Ababa during the 26th African Union Summit to endorse the decision to send an African protection and prevention force to Burundi without the consent of the government and people of Burundi.
Fortunately, African Head of States like the Members of the UN Security Council relying on credible information available to them, have come to agree with the Government of Burundi which is convinced that the solution to Burundi’s political problems cannot and will never be military nor will come from unjust economic sanctions.
Burundi welcomes the fact that the international community is beginning to discover that the source of the insecurity afflicting Burundi is Rwanda. Information available to the government of Burundi and credible information from some media (France 24) and investigative reports by some International Experts, including UN Experts have confirmed that Rwanda which is a neighboring country to Burundi recruits, trains and arms Burundian citizens including minors in the MAHAMA Refugees Camp in Rwanda and sends them into to the territory of Burundi to commit armed attacks against civilians, security and military targets..
We know that some countries and some components of the international community have suspended or even stopped economic cooperation in order to force the democratically elected institutions by the sovereign people of Burundi and validated by the national and sub-regional judicial powers to submit and hand over power to anti-democratic Burundian forces. On the basis of credible information pointing to unprovoked acts of hostility and destabilization sponsored by Rwanda and executed by the violent opposition as the direct causes of the violence in Burundi, the Burundi Embassy in The Hague urges the countries which suspended economic cooperation with Burundi to review their positions. The Burundian Government is willing to conduct an open dialogue with its economic partners on all issues relevant to their bilateral cooperation.
Finally the Embassy of the Republic of Burundi in The Hague informs the international community that the leitmotiv of the Government of Burundi is dialogue. In this regard, the Embassy of the Republic of Burundi informs the international community that the inter-Burundian dialogue is ongoing in all provinces of Burundi. The ongoing Inter-Burundi dialogue will be extended to the members of Burundian diaspora for them to participate in this inclusive dialogue. Through this inter-Burundian dialogue, the people of Burundi hope to find a definite solution to the recurrent political problems that arise at the eve every election held in Burundi.
