Burundi’s fury over damning Human Rights Watch report

The Burundian government has denounced the 2011 report of Human Rights Watch (HRW), saying the “biased” report is nothing but “a declaration of war” to the Burundian people, the Burundian government said in a declaration on Saturday.“While HRW’s previous reports on Burundi were perceived as mere signs of provocation, the most recent report published on May 2 entitled ‘You will not have peace while you are living: The escalation of political violence in Burundi’ is a true declaration of war to the Burundian people,” said Burundian Government Spokesman Philippe Nzobonariba. According to Philippe Nzobonariba, the title of the report for 2011 invites the citizens to revolt against the country’s authorities who were elected during the previous polls of 2010 ‘if they want to stay alive.’ “This report tarnishes Burundi’s image while several countries nowadays appreciate the progress of the country notably in the sectors of good governance and human rights,” the Burundian government spokesman said. Nzobonariba also torched opposition parties, some civil society organizations and some media houses for being the providers of data and information to Human Rights Watch. On Wednesday, Burundian Home Affairs Minister Edouard Nduwimana declined to authorize Human Rights Watch to convene a press conference on presenting the 2011 report in Bujumbura, arguing that the report should be discussed with Burundian authorities before it is published. The report described killings of members and former members of the opposition by state agents and ruling party members, as well as killings of members of ruling party by armed people from the opposition.