Why should Burundi continue providing peacekeeping troops?

Editor, RE: “Will AU deploy force to Burundi to stop killings?” (The New Times, December 18). African Union should deploy peacekeepers to Burundi to halt the ongoing genocide as a matter of giving back at least. Burundi is the second largest troop contributing country to the African Union’s Mission in Somalia (Amisom), which hosts five rotating Burundian battalions, equivalent to more than 5,000 troops on an all-around year basis. Participating in Amisom and recently in Minusca (Mali) has helped President Pierre Nkurunziza create a bloated private militia constituted of his own Imbonerakure and former genocidal Interahamwe that are killing (about 28% is deducted from the salary of each peacekeeper to finance the militia or corrupt high-ranking officers) anyone opposing his illegal third term. The financial influx and the training opportunities financed and organised by external partners constituted an opportunity for Nkurunziza to train and equip that criminal militia and to corrupt an otherwise very well trained and professional army that eventually became incapacitated to defend its own population while professionally defending populations elsewhere. Some of us wrongly thought that by becoming a troop-contributing country to peace operations, Burundi was to cast off its old identity of a conflict-doomed state to embrace a new, prestigious identity as a peacekeeper. Today, Burundi’s troops need to return home to maintain peace on its own soil. Alternatively, the UN and AU need to conduct an urgent comprehensive audit of the recruitment and composition of all current troops in peacekeeping missions and expel all the militia—including former Rwandan Interahamwe that have been incorporated in Burundi’s troops albeit in relatively small numbers. Most importantly, a mandatory background check of all new and future deployments should be imposed and supervised by donor’s partners or human rights organizations. In the meantime, the return of all deployed troops or most of them would unite the military again, deprive Nkurunziza with the financial incentives that have contributed to corrupting the army and the police and in fine demobilize the militia constituted of his own Imbonerakure and former Interahamwe from Rwanda. The recalled troops would lend support to the AU’s soon-to-be deployed troops and help create a conducive environment to resuscitate and re-discuss the post-mortem Arusha Accord that will include a mandatory clause of alternation in major institutions, including the presidency since the 50/50 military quota initially thought to be a rampart against genocide proved not to work, for now at least. Bela ************************** President Pierre Nkurunziza should pay the price for this burden put on our infant regional body still trying to build itself. All the cost of peacekeeping operations should be paid by Burundian government in one way or the other. It seems the only way to bring peace and security among Burundians is not only getting boots on the ground, but, more importantly, to put pressure on the so-called current president, who is the cause of all this mess, to step down. By knowing the symptom it is easy to find a cure. Dieudonne

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Why should Burundi continue providing peacekeeping troops?