allAfrica.com: Burundi: Govt Determined to Consolidate Peace and Rebuild Burundi

Burundi: Govt Determined to Consolidate Peace and Rebuild Burundi - Foreign Minister

Burundi's socio-political history has been a complex mix of power, domination and marginalization. It has experienced bouts of armed conflicts and massacres between Hutus and Tutsis, much like its neighbor, Rwanda. A landmark peace deal signed in August 2000 and a series of ceasefire agreements between the army and various armed groups laid out a path to peace and reconciliation, the latest achievement being the May 2005 ceasefire agreement between the army and the Palipehutu-FNL. Continued fighting has been reported in some areas of the country. The peace process involved a series of local and national polls, culminating in the election of Pierre Nkurinziza, a Hutu, as president. He was sworn in on August 26, 2005.

Burundi's Minister of External Relations and International Cooperation, Antoinette Batumubwira, was in Washington,DC last week and spoke with AllAfrica about Burundi's post-conflict challenges and efforts.

What is the purpose of your visit to Washington, DC?

I came to Washington, DC with my president who was the head of the delegation of Burundi. We came here mainly to meet with the president of the World Bank, the director general of the IMF, the director of USAID and we also had an opportunity to meet the national security advisor of President Bush.

Before we came to Washington we were in New York where we had many meetings and our president made a statement at the UN General Assembly and also at the high level summit on the Millennium Development Goals. This first trip out of the country since the new government was set up is to make our country known as a country of peace and a country that is ready to rebuild and develop its economy.

We came to make sure people understand that Burundi is ready to start development and show an example of a country that is able to come from 12 years of war and get ready for development, because we went through a process of negotiations and elections that went very well. Now we are on the right track to start the development of the country.

Post-conflict challenges generally involve rehabilitation, reconstruction, and reconciliation. What is currently being done in Burundi in this regard?

We are really prepared for the big challenges ahead and they are big. But as I told you, we are very determined and our partners have understood the issues that we are going to face. We are confident that they will support us as much as they supported us during the negotiations and during the transition. All the contacts we've had, all the discussions have been really fruitful. They are ready to help us in terms of funding the programs that we're starting for education, for health, for agriculture and also for reconciliation. The president had discussions with the Secretary General of the United Nations in New York and they have talked about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Judiciary Commission that will help Burundians to reconcile completely with themselves. We are really confident that this trip and subsequent ones will help us show how we are determined and how our programs are really based on the real needs of the population, a population that has chosen the program that we are going to implement. We are very confident. The challenges are big, but we will work on that and I am sure that we will achieve them.

Let us take one program. Your government has announced that it is introducing free basic education. There were reports that as a result, Burundi's education system has been overwhelmed, especially in regards to human resources and infrastructure. What is the purpose of this free basic education program, and what are you planning to do to address the issue of insufficient resources?

For this first year, it is true. It is going to be, and it is really a big challenge. But it is a very important program that we are starting and the political will and the will of the president to start this program of free education is very important for the people.

If you can imagine that almost 300,000 children couldn't go to school, then you can understand how we were overwhelmed by the numbers. We didn't know that they were so many, but we will try to make sure that all of them get at least the minimum. This year will not be perfect, that's true, but we have to start somewhere. We can't wait and wait until everything is set up. We will use whatever facilities we can get, whatever resources we can get, so that we try at least to cater for all these children. They will go to school in churches, wherever there will be an available facility.

We have discussed with our partners and they are ready to fund this program as soon as possible. We have talked to Unicef, and they have a program they call - I think - mobile school or something like that, and they are ready to help as soon as possible and make sure that this year, even if it's not perfect, we will start with this program and next year will be better. Permanent schools will be built very soon with the funding that we are going to have. We are confident. We're not saying that every child will have a desk, a chair and plenty of copy books. That's not possible. Even in other countries where they have good schools, they don't have all the facilities for all the children the first year. So we think that we have to start. It's important for people to understand that they can send their children to school without paying. It will be a challenge for a while, but we have to start somewhere.

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