Two journalists arrested in Burundi for airing a brief interview with a rebel spokesman should be released promptly, Human Rights Watch said today. The Burundi government arrested the journalists after they broadcast a one-minute segment in which the rebel spokesman answered questions about relations between rival rebel groups and about conditions set by the rebels for peace talks.
"With these arrests, Burundi has broken with its relative openness to freedom of the press and is infringing on the right of the people to know what is happening in this war," said Peter Takirambudde, Executive Director of the Africa Division of Human Rights Watch. "What's more, it makes no sense to punish journalists for talking with the rebels when representatives of the government themselves are apparently doing the same."
Abbas Mbazumutima, journalist for Radio Bonesha, arrested yesterday, is charged with violating Article 44 of the Burundian press law. This article prohibits disseminating "information inciting civil disobedience or serving as propaganda for enemies of the Burundian nation during a time of war." Gabriel Nikundana, also of Radio Bonesha, was detained on March 12 and held for forty-eight hours before being charged with a "press offense."
Last week the two journalists aired an interview with Anicet Ntawuhiganayo, a spokesman for the rebel group, the Forces Nationales pour la Libération (FNL). Journalists from other stations who broadcast similar programs or who are known to be in touch with rebel groups have also been threatened with arrest by authorities this week.
Burundi has been involved in a seven-year long civil war that pits rebel groups of the majority Hutu group against a government and army dominated by the minority Tutsi group. In early February the FNL attacked the capital of Bujumbura and held an outlying portion of the city for nearly two weeks before being repelled.
According to government figures, some two hundred combatants and soldiers died in the fighting. Unlike many previous military operations in Burundi, neither side has been charged with widespread killing of civilians in this attack.
A peace accord between the government and opposition political groups was signed in August 2000 but did not include the two major rebel groups, the FNL and the Forces pour la Défense de la Démocratie (FDD). Recently the government of Burundi has reportedly been engaged in secret talks with one or both groups.
"Private radio stations play an important role in providing unbiased reporting to Burundians," said Takirambudde. "We call on the government of Burundi to allow that freedom of information to continue. It is fundamental to developing the more open and inclusive society necessary for peace in Burundi."
