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Since independence in
1961 Burundi has been plagued by tension between the dominant Tutsi
minority and the Hutu majority. In 1993
Burundi seemed poised to enter a new era when, in their first democratic
elections, Burundians chose their first Hutu head of state, Melchior
Ndadaye, and a parliament dominated by the Hutu Front for Democracy in
Burundi (Frodebu) party.
But within months Ndadaye had been
assassinated, setting the scene for years of Hutu-Tutsi violence, in
which at least 200,000 people have been killed.
In early 1994 parliament elected another Hutu,
Cyprien Ntaryamira, as president. However, he was killed in a plane
crash in April - the same incident that killed the president of
neighbouring Rwanda. After talks between
the main parties, another Hutu, Sylvestre Ntibantunganya, was appointed
president in October 1994. But within months, the mainly Tutsi Union for
National Progress (Uprona) party withdrew from the government and
parliament, sparking off a new wave of ethnic violence.
In July 1996 Pierre Buyoya seized power in a coup.
Although he has co-opted Frodebu into the government, successive rounds
of talks among the Burundian political parties, mediated first by former
Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere and then by Nelson Mandela, have
failed to agree on crucial issues. These
include the role of the Burundian army, and the dismantling of "regroupment
camps", which are said to hold more than 800,000 Hutu civilians - 12% of
the population.
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BURUNDI FACTS |
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Population: 6.8 million (UN,
2003) |
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Capital: Bujumbura
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Major languages: Kirundi
(official), French (official), Swahili |
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Major religions: Christianity,
indigenous beliefs |
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Life expectancy: 40 years
(men), 41 years (women) (UN) |
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Monetary unit: 1 Burundi franc
= 100 centimes |
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Main exports: coffee, tea,
sugar, cotton, hides |
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Average annual income: US $100
(World Bank, 2001) |
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Internet domain: .bi |
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International dialling code:
+257 |
President: Domitien Ndayizeye
Domitien Ndayizeye, a Hutu, succeeded Pierre
Buyoya, a Tutsi, as head of Burundi's three-year transitional government
on 30 April 2003.
President Domitien Ndayizeye
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The government was set up in
November 2001 as part of efforts to end eight years of civil war. It
provided for power to be shared between the Tutsi minority which has
traditionally ruled the country and the Hutu majority. Mr Ndayizeye
served as vice-president during Pierre Buyoya's 18-month term in office.
Mr Ndayizeye, a senior figure in the
largest Hutu party Frodebu, faced the formidable challenge of
maintaining good relations with Burundi's Tutsi-led government army
while persuading Hutu rebels to stop fighting.
Burundi's three previous Hutu presidents were all
overthrown by the military.
Vice-president: Alphonse Marie Kadage
Although the media operate under
significant self-censorship and periodic government censorship, diverse
political views are sometimes aired, and the opposition press does
function albeit sporadically. Newspapers
are sometimes forced to close, then reappear again.
The government runs the main radio station as well as
the only newspaper that publishes regularly.
BBC World Service and Radio France Internationale are
available on FM in Bujumbura.
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