The National Commission for Truth and Reconciliation-CVR has met politicians and security forces’ officers to discuss the risk of memories’ manipulation that causes cyclical crises.
Participants in the meeting organized by CVR were leaders of political parties and security forces’ agents
The chairman of CVR says Burundians need to overcome the cyclical crises that have erupted since 1972 and restore peace and unity among them.
He says politicians and security forces are linked by what happened in the country. “The different Burundi crises are often caused by politicians. Security forces are called on to help end them”, says Bishop Nahimana.
CVR Chairman says the three-day meeting will allow them to have face to face interactions and become aware of their responsibilities. “We need to go forward and find solutions to what happened in Burundi during different cyclical crises,” he says, before adding that the wrong management of past crises has given rise to the current political situation.
Freddy Nkurikiye, officer at the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue specialized in the prevention, mitigation and resolution of armed conflicts through dialogue and mediation, says Burundians still fear to talk about what happened in the country. “We really need to know where to start and find solutions to the Burundian crises,” he says.
Agathon Rwasa, one of the participants says that the mismanagement of memories must have a negative effect and adds that parents have a great responsibility for what youths do nowadays. “Revenge will not save Burundi. We must tell the truth to our children. Mutual understanding is also of paramount importance. The tragedy that Burundi has gone through affects everyone,” he says.
Col. Zénon Rivuzimana, another participant appeals to politicians to resume dialogue with the external opposition to achieve tangible results. “It’s high time we overcame such situations and moved forward with development projects”, he says.
In order to achieve all these goals, Pierre Bazan, Special advisor on the transitional justice at the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue says Burundians must demonstrate resilience to end such cyclical crises.
“Resilience is always seen as a positive step towards making the process a success. Therefore, Burundians must be resilient and face what happened in the past years”, he says.
The workshop was organized under the theme “Injured memories towards a common dream: Synergy between political parties and agents of security forces in the capacity building of the population resilience.”
The suggestions and recommendations from this three-day meeting will allow the National Commission for Truth and Reconciliation to set up a national program for reconciliation.
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