Flag of Burundi
Location of Burundi
Burundi
, officially the
Republic of Burundi
is a
landlocked country
in the
Great Rift Valley
where the
African Great Lakes
region and
East Africa
converge. It is bordered by
Rwanda
to the north,
Tanzania
to the east and southeast, and the
Democratic Republic of the Congo
to the west;
Lake Tanganyika
lies along its southwestern border. The capital cities are
Gitega
and
Bujumbura
, which is also the largest city. The
Twa
,
Hutu
and
Tutsi
peoples have lived in Burundi for at least 500 years. For more than 200 of those years, Burundi was an independent
kingdom
, until the beginning of the 20th century, when
Germany
ruled the region. After the
First World War
and
Germany's defeat
, the
League of Nations
"mandated" the territory to Belgium. After the
Second World War
this transformed into a
United Nations
Trust Territory
. Both Germans and Belgians ruled Burundi and Rwanda as a European colony known as
Ruanda-Urundi
. Burundi gained independence in 1962.
- It is important to respect the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Burundi and to continue to negotiate with the Burundian government.
- Peace talks are urgently needed on Burundi. Until they come, the volcano will continue to swirl, with regular eruptions, such as last week, in the worst case increasingly fierce. Until the ultimate eruption becomes inevitable.
- Not surprisingly, relations between Burundi and Rwanda have soured in the meantime, while Rwanda openly presents itself as "the protector of the Burundian people against their murderous president" and regularly suggests that it might intervene with its neighbours.
- The key to defusing the Burundian time bomb therefore lies both in Bujumbura and in Kigali. And a little bit in Brussels, where some key figures of the opposition to Petero Nkurunziza and his party have withdrawn. Our country could also play a role in this, by mediating and building bridges. After all, the confidence in 'the Belgians' still remains with many Burundian top figures, despite some harsh words in recent months.
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