{Brussels, October 13, 2012}
Press Release
Fifty years ago, Prince Louis Rwagasore, leader of the Burundian Nationalist party was savagely assassinated on 13 October 1961. Being the elder son of King Mwambutsa IV, he could have been satisfied with the easy life that his rank could afford him. Instead, he worked for the sovereignty of Burundi, then occupied by foreigners. The dignity of his people was so important to him that he put his life at risk in order to liberate his country. Despite multiple imprisonments, he succeeded in
organizing the people, one by one, rallied the masses to his action and his party Unity for National Progress (UPRONA) won the legislative elections of September 18, 1961. This was the cornerstone of the independence of Burundi. Prince Louis Rwagasore marked his country by his efforts to improve its economic situation, mainly via the creation of farming and commercial associations. In his speech of September 19, after the victory of his party, he declared:
{In any competition whatsoever, be it political, there is a winner and a looser, and UPRONA, through your free will, is the winner of the legislative elections. Therefore, it will therefore form the First ever Government of Burundi as an autonomous country. But the winner and the looser are both Burundian, members of the same national family, children of the same Mwami. Burundi needs them all, whatever political party they belong to. That is why, my dear countrymen, today’s the electoral victory is not for one party but that of triumph of order, discipline, peace and public tranquility.}
He ended the same speech with this sentence : {” You will judge us on our actions and your contentment will be our pride “}, which still echoes in the minds of the Burundi people, and which we hope will prompt today’s leaders in Burundi and elsewhere to assume their responsibilities fully. The life, thought, and action of this visionary prince, a fine politician who became a national hero are acutely relevant, at a time when Africa is seeking the path to her renaissance.
UNITY IS OUR AIM, VICTORY IS OUR DESTINY.
{Tumaini Kana}
<img5588|left>For Afrocentricity International Belgium- Tel: +32488077621- Email: [email protected] – www.afrocentricityinternational.org
