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Burundi: HRW World Report 1999 Africa Division
HRW Condemns Reported Threat Against Journalists In Burundi
Expresses Concern about Rising Violence in Burundi

(New York, September 10, 1999)—Human Rights Watch today strongly condemned the reported statement of the Burundian Minister of Defense directing that journalists should be considered enemies and legitimate military targets if they entered zones of conflict in Burundi.


"This reported threat to journalists calls into question the commitment of the Burundian military authorities to observance of the laws of war, and their willingness to allow investigations of massacres. All parties to the conflict in Burundi must respect the protected status of non-combatants, including civilians, journalists, human rights investigators, and humanitarian workers."

Peter Takirambudde
Executive Director for Africa of Human Rights Watch

"This reported threat to journalists calls into question the commitment of the Burundian military authorities to observance of the laws of war, and their willingness to allow investigations of massacres," said Peter Takirambudde, Executive Director of the Africa Division of Human Rights Watch. "All parties to the conflict in Burundi must respect the protected status of non-combatants, including civilians, journalists, human rights investigators, and humanitarian workers."

According to media reports, Burundian Defense Minister Colonel Alfred Nkurunziza attacked journalists in a September 9 speech to army commanders broadcast on national radio. The Defense Minister reportedly singled out Radio France International for its report that the main road in Burundi had been closed by combat. The minister is said to have stated that the report proved journalists were openly supporting the rebels. "When you see journalists here, consider them as enemies, as rebels," the minister was quoted as saying. The minister then reportedly threatened that journalists would be considered legitimate targets if they entered areas of conflict such as the province of Bujumbura Rural.

Under international humanitarian law, journalists are considered civilians who enjoy the fundamental guarantees of common article 3 of the Geneva Conventions. Combatants are prohibited under common article 3 from carrying out attacks targeting civilians, including journalists, who do not take an active part in the hostilities.

Combatants on all sides, however, have continued to disregard this most basic principle of the law of war, charged Human Rights Watch. Humanitarian workers and journalists have been targeted in the conflict which has so far cost more than 100,000 civilian lives since October 1993. In April 1995, a South African television producer was killed in an ambush outside the capital Bujumbura. In June 1996, three delegates of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) were killed when their clearly identified vehicle was ambushed while delivering aid. Independent investigations have not yet established responsibility for these crimes.

Human Rights Watch deplored the increase in attacks against civilians in recent weeks in Burundi. Hundreds were reportedly massacred by the Burundian army in early August after rebel forces attacked a market place outside the capital Bujumbura. Hutu rebels attacked Tutsi neighborhoods on the night of August 28, killing more than thirty people, including many children. In response, Tutsi militias have reportedly begun reorganizing in the capital. The Tutsi militias were responsible for many serious abuses against Hutu inhabitants of the capital in the past.

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