YouSaid · the spoken record

Nsanze

lines on the record: 159
first: 1996-04-23
most recent: 2010-12-09
sittings or episodes: 10
sources: un-security-council

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“My delegation takes this opportunity to commend the remarkable efforts made by the international community to assist the Angolan people in putting an end to the fratricidal warfare that has divided and devastated it for over 20 years. In this regard, the main players - the States members of the Organization of African Unity, its Organ on Politics, Defence and Security, and the United Nations, with the firm support of its many agencies, non-governmental organizations and the various donors - deserve special tribute for their tireless efforts. Burundi wishes to underscore the special importance of the Lusaka Protocol of 20 November 1994, the result of the very productive mediation of the United Nations in close cooperation with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Angolan political leaders primarily involved.”
1996-10-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3702 (1996) · source
“Mr. Nsanze (Burundi) (interpretation from Spanish): My delegation congratulates you, Sir, on your assumption of the presidency of the Security Council. My delegation hopes that your term will be a successful one. (spoke in French) During the month of September, Ambassador Alfredo Lopes Cabral presided over the Security Council and with outstanding brio. My delegation wishes to congratulate him for the manner in which he carried out his tasks. Despite the grave crisis my country has been experiencing for almost three years, the Republic of Burundi, which my delegation has the privilege of representing here, has carefully followed developments in the political situation in the fraternal and friendly country of Angola.”
1996-10-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3702 (1996) · source
“What emerges from this state of affairs is that the Security Council resolution may, from the moment of its adoption, be destined to be hamstrung because of these serious factors. We are counting on the assistance of the Security Council to bypass or remove the stumbling- blocks I have enumerated.”
1996-08-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3695 (1996) · source
“Indeed, geographically land-locked, diplomatically encircled and economically strangled, Burundi finds it impossible to meet fully and quickly all the conditions imposed by the resolution. This colossal stumbling-block placed in front of the new regime leads me to point out the major defects of the resolution. The first is the absence of express condemnation of the economic blockade decreed against Burundi. The second is the at least temporary refusal to establish an ad hoc commission to be dispatched to the Great Lakes region to gather objective and legitimate facts related to all the problems of the region. The last is the sword of Damocles in the form of threats against erroneous targets, especially the threat of an arms embargo: one cannot penalize the new regime, much less the people of Burundi, for crimes perpetrated by outlaws.”
1996-08-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3695 (1996) · source
“Finally, the Burundi Government will apply itself and commit itself to a relentless fight against the armed bands and militias of all stripes, to put an end to the cycle of violence and scorched- earth politics, whoever the perpetrators might be. This is a necessary condition for the new regime to eradicate all the causes of the national tragedy. This Herculean task cannot be accomplished quickly. In this context, the current authorities in Burundi are counting on the patience and indulgence of the Security Council, as this gigantic enterprise will no doubt be marked by a series of obstacles. The arbitrary economic sanctions imposed on Burundi are an enormous stumbling- block in the way of the general national stabilization programme of the Government.”
1996-08-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3695 (1996) · source
“Those measures include, in particular, the initiation of a democratic process adapted to national needs and talks with all groups that agree to participate in the patriotic task required to save the people of Burundi from another genocide and to ensure the safety not of just one ethnic group but of the nation of Burundi as a whole. Our colleague, Ambassador Ladsous just referred to multi- ethnicity. In fact, that concept has been artificially created by mediocre politicians because the very high degree of human integration achieved by the nation of Burundi has been shattered by the work of politicians who, instead of using their personal and professional skills for political objectives, use ethnicity as a way to attain selfish goals.”
1996-08-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3695 (1996) · source
“The clearly realistic position of the European Union and 14 other European countries, as reflected in the statement made by the representative of Ireland is deeply appreciated by my country and my Government. The new regime not only is receptive to the very well-founded appeals of the Security Council, but it is prepared to initiate a set of measures aimed at implementing the provisions of this resolution which are compatible - and I emphasize compatible - with the sacred and supreme interests of Burundi as a nation and in keeping with the Organization of African Unity (OAU) Charter and the United Nations Charter.”
1996-08-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3695 (1996) · source
“On behalf of my Government, it is my duty to convey to the honourable President of the Security Council and to all the eminent members of this body the gratitude they deserve for the continuous concern they have displayed for three years now for the cause of my beloved country. Special recognition is deserved by Ambassador Juan Somavia and his delegation, as the architects of the main foundation of the resolution just adopted. All his colleagues representing the Non-Aligned Movement in the Security Council have distinguished themselves by their sense of responsibility and by their openness to concessions, and thanks to their openness to compromise, a reasonable outcome has been achieved.”
1996-08-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3695 (1996) · source
“Mr. Nsanze (Burundi)(interpretation from French): I can assure the Security Council in advance that I will not tax its patience or abuse its generosity, but when a delegation requests to speak, it is because it knows better than anyone what the problem is. The Security Council's fervent attachment to saving Burundi calls for its people and its Government to pay a stirring tribute to the Council. Nevertheless, the stakes for Burundi are immeasurably immense. For these fundamental reasons, it is incumbent on my delegation to work closely and at all levels with the honourable members of this learned body. The efforts made by the Security Council in favour of Burundi are edifying.”
1996-08-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3695 (1996) · source
“It fully intended to follow that imperative. Finally, we might invoke a concept of a celebrated philosopher, Hegel, who was a compatriot of yours, Mr. President. He said - and I quote this without the text, but I think I quote it correctly - that "history teaches us that man learns nothing from history". This quote is addressed to certain colleagues and certain speakers who spoke somewhat critically. possibly in a way rather disproportionate to the real state of affairs and without, perhaps, taking into account the history of their own countries. But as we have had occasion to point it out, Burundi will certainly be able to resume the true and authentic democratic process.”
1996-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3692 (1996) · source
“Indeed, it intends to ensure lasting respect for human rights, integrity and the safety of all human beings in Burundi. I wish to communicate this to the Council now, before officially passing the document to you, Mr. President, or to your successor, the Ambassador of Guinea-Bissau. Regarding the mission entrusted to former President Nyerere, eminent colleagues are often concerned with defending certain ideas. However, we had also stressed from the outset, before any external political intervention, that the new regime urged President Nyerere to reactivate the talks and bring together all the groups and parties involved in the conflict. In this connection as well, I would like to assure the Security Council and the international community that the present regime did not succumb to begging or" to force.”
1996-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3692 (1996) · source
“In this regard, on Friday, 23 August, the Government published a statement in which it invites the entire international community, starting with Amnesty International, to immediately begin investigations of this monstrous allegation by the representative of Amnesty International in Burundi. Today I received a copy of a message sent by the Government of Burundi to the Secretary-General and to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, inviting them to increase the number of human rights observers, since the current Government, "in the face of the lethal acts of violence of all kinds which have been perpetrated for three years against the innocent civilian population", is firmly resolved to take all appropriate preventive and repressive measures to end the cycle of violence as soon as possible.”
1996-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3692 (1996) · source
“Mr. Nsanze (Burundi) (interpretation from French): I am fully aware that the hour is late, and consequently my statement will be brief. I simply wish to assure the Security Council that the Burundi regime is fully prepared to enter into a dialogue with all those groups and factions that are claiming any rights whatsoever. The Security Council should thus take account of this solemn pledge by the new regime. Secondly, it should be pointed out that the report of the Secretary-General, which on the whole does reflect the unfortunate reality, tends to concentrate on the situation that prevailed before 25 July last. This report would have been much more useful if it had been updated so as to include mention of the massacres. Today, the situation is far from being as alarming as it was presented and described by a fair number of speakers.”
1996-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3692 (1996) · source
“One adores the god that one immolated the day before. One day in the courtyard of the Temple Jesus was surrounded by an enormous crowd. The scribes and the Pharisees, wanting to show their zeal for socio-religious puritanism, brought before Jesus Christ a woman who had been accused of adultery, claiming that such women in such a situation should be stoned, according to the Law of Moses. They wanted to set a trap for Jesus so that they could then bring accusations against him on the basis of this travesty. After deep reflection, and with his unfailing honesty, he made the following clear-cut statement. "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." (The Holy Bible, Saint John the Apostle 8:7)”
1996-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3692 (1996) · source
“At this stage the question arises as to whether Burundi, either today or in the future, will be able to reciprocate by taking coercive measures against any of those States if certain democratic principles or practices are dispensed with there. In conclusion, in the name of certain noble doctrines or ideals, some champions of this devastating embargo against the people of Burundi have publicly and energetically come out against similar measures adopted or announced by Powers outside of Africa. Some Africans that in the past have condemned the sponsors of economic sanctions from the West are today the most zealous advocates of the same evil that before they denounced. Some Western States, if they join in decreeing this crushing embargo, might even find themselves the target of the anger of the champions of the embargo.”
1996-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3692 (1996) · source
“The democratic ideal has an abundance of flaws, in form and substance in the world, in Africa and in our region, in both practice and in principle. None the less, out of total respect for the democratic choices that have been made in other countries and for the sacrosanct sovereignty of States, Burundi strictly refrains from expressing any criticism of them whatsoever. By virtue of this code of conduct, which is inspired specifically by democracy and by international law as reflected in the Charter of the United Nations and that of the Organization of African Unity, my country refrains from interfering in the internal affairs of other Governments and from taking upon itself the right to threaten or to impose on them any type of sanctions on any pretext or on the basis of some unsolicited and one- sided quixotic spirit.”
1996-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3692 (1996) · source
“Even if all those treaties were non-existent, the Security Council would have to establish ad hoc mechanisms and solutions if it were not to be held responsible before history for endorsing this Steamroller that is in the process of crushing the people of Burundi. Many of the States members of the Security Council have distinguished themselves as champions of humanitarian ideals. Would they be crowned with glory if they were to endorse or allow the gratuitous immolation of the entire people of Burundi? The accession to power of the new regime through special channels and because of national imperatives was required because of the need for a historic act of patriotism to save a people about to vanish into the darkness. The path taken by Burundi in endorsing this change of regime to lead the State is not a unique exception to democracy.”
1996-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3692 (1996) · source
“In the face of this paralysing economic strangulation, decreed unilaterally by our neighbours, which should be cultivating natural human solidarity more than ever with a Burundi immersed in a state of distress, we are once again threatened with genocide, the causes of which everyone is seeking to eradicate, but which could re-emerge owing to those measures that run counter to legal and humanitarian principles. In this statement I have underscored the clear way in which these economic sanctions violate the Charter of the United Nations, the Charter of the Organization of African Unity, the African Charter of Human Rights, the Convention on the Law of the Sea and traditional international law.”
1996-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3692 (1996) · source
“A statement was made by the national doctors' association the day before yesterday to the effect that deadly illnesses are imminent because it is impossible to obtain medical supplies or instruments or to use operating rooms for the seriously ill. Thirdly, there is also a dangerous aggravation of an economy already severely tried by a crisis that has persisted for three years now. Fourthly, we are faced with the disastrous consequences for hundreds of thousands of displaced and repatriated persons. Finally, there exist the combined deadly effects of being land-locked and having economic sanctions imposed on the population.”
1996-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3692 (1996) · source
“Yesterday, the prevention of genocide was the priority objective of those States and other main actors. What we are talking about is the difference between genocide by firearms and hand-to-hand weapons and possible genocide by Draconian economic sanctions. If we underscore the cumulative factors and the multiplication of effects, the Security Council and the international community will be able to gauge the immense gravity of the economic blockade. Firstly, coffee is Burundi's main export product. The great majority of farmers produce only coffee. The embargo makes it impossible for them to distribute their only income-generating product abroad. It is the rural farming population that is affected, not the Government. Secondly, there is the impending health crisis.”
1996-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3692 (1996) · source
“That same Convention also stipulates, in part X, articles 124 through 132, the right of land-locked States to access to and from the sea and freedom of transit. Fifthly, and lastly, we have the cruel consequences of the economic blockade on the entire people of Burundi. Before the new regime came to power, many political and humanitarian initiatives were being taken in our region at the governmental level, as well as by facilitators, in order to save the people of Burundi from the disaster of genocide. Since the assumption of power by a Government that is infinitely more able to work towards saving the nation, and therefore to dispel the sense of impending danger, those same actors in the region have been joining together to decree collective death for the Burundi people. How can we understand this colossal and alarming paradox?”
1996-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3692 (1996) · source
“It is up to the Security Council, if it is not to fail in its role, to fully exercise the responsibility assigned to it under Article 24, paragraph 1, of the Charter, that of the "maintenance of international peace and security". By virtue of legal logic, and under the terms of international law, the measures contained in Article 41 of the Charter should be reversed, because they are, on the contrary, deserved by the countries having initiated the blockade against a State that is innocent from every point of view, according to the spirit and the letter of Article 39 of the Charter. The Convention on the Law of the Sea has also been violated, since it stipulates the right of States to passage through the territorial waters of coastal States.”
1996-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3692 (1996) · source
“Such a vision is as sound as it is rational, for these brothers and neighbours should have been the first to show their eagerness to care for and their solidarity with a full-fledged member of their regional family - in short, to try to bind the wounds of Burundi in such trying times. If the situation were reversed, Burundi would find it eternally repugnant to take advantage of the misfortunes and trials of a brotherly African people, whether near or far, to declare economic war. There are many factors to support the thesis that the economic embargo against Burundi can be described only as economic aggression. A grave attack on peace, as specified in Article 39 of the Charter, is in evidence.”
1996-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3692 (1996) · source
“But as Burundi was not yet a sovereign State during the Second World War, it was not an enemy to any signatory of the Charter. Fourthly, as regards the pervasive disillusionment over the well-foundedness of neighbourliness and natural solidarity, under the pretext that these sanctions are decreed by Africans, and thus by brothers and neighbours of Burundi to boot, some States are tempted either to resign themselves to a fait accompli or to take a wait-and-see approach. Either position is a failure to live up to the responsibilities devolved to the Security Council. The omnipresent thesis that this economic blockade is all the more outrageous, disturbing and unforgivable because it comes from Africans, brothers and neighbours, is eminently plausible.”
1996-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3692 (1996) · source
“The breaking of economic relations and the interruption of various forms of communication by virtue of Article 41 of the Charter are in no way justified in the case of our country, since it has not attacked any other State or threatened the peace anywhere in the region that has saddled it with sanctions. Even supposing that a country deserved the economic sanctions recommended in Article 41 of the Charter, their imposition requires prior authorization by the Security Council, under the terms of Article 53 of the Charter. I quote: "no enforcement action shall be taken under regional arrangements or by regional agencies without the authorization of the Security Council". An exception is made in the case of a State that was an enemy of the signatories of the Charter.”
1996-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3692 (1996) · source
“Yet Burundi has not committed such a crime, as I will prove in a moment by referring to the Charters of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and of the United Nations. As will be shown, the Charter of the United Nations is gravely violated by the ordering of economic sanctions against Burundi. Indeed, judging by their nature and their excessive gravity, they are identical to those stipulated in Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter. Under the terms of Article 39 of the Charter, such sanctions can be imposed on a Member State of the Organization only when such a State has been guilty of a grave threat to the peace, a breach of peace or an act of aggression.”
1996-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3692 (1996) · source
“It states, "In fact, this measure is politically laughable." This embargo is politically laughable, according to Professor Eric David, a specialist in international law at the Universite Libre of Brussels, since it is being imposed on Burundi because Burundi has not been democratic since three weeks ago. From a legal standpoint, this embargo is a form of intervention in Burundi's internal affairs, a type of intervention that has been prohibited since the 1970s by the United Nations. The Professor explains that the United Nations could transgress this prohibition if the country targeted by intervention had been officially classified as a threat to international peace and security.”
1996-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3692 (1996) · source
“According to this thesis, no State is legally authorized to block or to reroute cargo or merchandise from and/or to third States. In application of this rule of international law, while they are not obliged to do business or to communicate with our country, Burundi's neighbours are in no way authorized to confiscate or to intercept its merchandise ordered by or destined for other countries. They do so at the risk of committing interference in its internal affairs, in flagrant violation of inter-State conventions and treaties. At this point, may I cite an article by a professor at Brussels University that appeared in Libre Belgique today, 28 August.”
1996-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3692 (1996) · source
“In this case, the obligation to prove that the regime currently in place is not really aiming for a general improvement of the socio-political landscape falls to the authors of the economic embargo against Burundi. Thirdly, as regards the clear illegality and immorality of the economic blockade against Burundi, an utterly specious interpretation tends to support the thesis according to which each State is authorized to exercise the discretionary right to decree measures such as those that have now been decided upon against Burundi. Such an idea confuses the ability to accept or refuse economic relations between States with the right to inflict on third States arbitrary coercive measures. International law explicitly and strongly prohibits giving one State the right to determine the life or death of another.”
1996-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3692 (1996) · source
“Even if the actors involved in our region had doubts as to the true intentions of the new Burundian authorities, the negotiations required a minimum period of time devoted to specifying negotiable points, to approving an agenda, to determining practical modalities, to identifying negotiators and to the forming of the delegations of the various groups that are parties to the conflict. The result is that the true motives that inspired the initial and principal authors of this extreme punishment against Burundi have nothing to do with the well-being of Burundi's people. Onus probandi incumbit actori: the burden of proof rests on he who makes a legal or material allegation.”
1996-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3692 (1996) · source
“Is it therefore conceivable that the fact that it was impossible to resolve the conflict under the former Government is being blamed on a regime which is resolved and able to remedy the failings of the former governmental group? Is it logically and politically justifiable that the new regime be forced to atone for the sins committed by political leaders deposed for having failed at their national mandate? It is important for the Security Council to consider whether the hasty economic sanctions are well founded.”
1996-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3692 (1996) · source
“The facts having been provided by the source itself, it would be infinitely easier for the Security Council to provide solutions based on existing realities. There is a strange reasoning that upholds the economic blockade as a way to force the political actors to negotiate. This pretext cannot stand, since the new regime has, from the very beginning, publicly asked that dialogue be organized between all groups, including the armed factions, as long as they renounce the repugnant practices of violence, extermination and genocide. In spite of the standstill, and even setbacks, in the negotiations under the former Government, no embargo was imposed on it.”
1996-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3692 (1996) · source
“Such a development would place the population in the hands of armed terrorists of all types, who, skilled in lawlessness and in clandestine behaviour, would not submit to any prohibition on weapons. This measure would be a great boon for them, because it would make it impossible for the Government to equip itself for the benefit of all the people of Burundi. Burundi, however, proposes that the Security Council consider a more realistic, more constructive and more productive alternative. From this perspective, a diplomatic dynamic involving an ad hoc mission to the States of the Great Lakes region, including Burundi, would make it possible for the Security Council better to understand the ins and outs of the overall problem.”
1996-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3692 (1996) · source
“As for political parties, a new law and other mechanisms will be specifically studied and decided upon by that national assembly. Given this impressive series of measures taken in record time and aimed at preventing genocide and strengthening the chances of genuine pluralistic democracy, we can well wonder about the sense of these hasty coercive measures. Undoubtedly, under the influence of the economic blockade under way - which is already a nightmare for the nation of Burundi - certain actors are trying to level another mortal blow: a coup de grace intended to deprive Burundi by an arms embargo, of the shield normally provided by the national army, as though the economic blockade were not overwhelming enough.”
1996-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3692 (1996) · source
“It has begun talks even with the armed factions that are determined to lay down their weapons and to divorce themselves from Nazi ideologies of extermination and genocide. In keeping with this new political and democratic dynamic, consultations are already under way with a view to the establishment of a transitional national assembly. All the deputies of the former National Assembly will be members, together with certain representatives of civil society and of other socio-political sectors, with a view to adapting the Parliament to national realities. This new assembly will be convened in a regular session in the month of October. In the same context, the national debate that both Burundi and the Security Council have fervently called for is scheduled for the month of November.”
1996-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3692 (1996) · source
“In the governmental programme, President Pierre Buyoya has already solemnly and explicitly committed the new regime to putting an end to all forms of violence and criminality, working for peace and lasting security, eradicating impunity, spawning a new democratic process and confirming the mission conferred upon Mwalimu Julius Nyerere in his mediation aimed at bringing the different parties to the conflict together at the negotiating table. Towards that end, President Buyoya has personally carried out two visits in three weeks to President Nyerere in order to urge him to reactivate his mission. Along the same lines, Burundi has proposed the convening and holding of a regional summit devoted to the overall crisis.”
1996-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3692 (1996) · source
“Would it really have been sound to accommodate a Government doomed to reign over the ruins or the ashes of a nation? Secondly, there is the haste of coercive measures. At the moment, the motives of our neighbouring countries remain unknown and, at best, are open to interpretation. However stealthily they are concealed, the measures taken against Burundi have been dictated by unavowed objectives. A minimum of realism and political wisdom requires that we allow the new regime to succeed or fail in its own development towards elective democracy, as has been the case in countries of the region and throughout the world.”
1996-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3692 (1996) · source
“The Government before 25 July 1996 had not resulted from elections; it was merely the outcome of the Convention on Governance concluded by 12 political parties; it was called upon to govern the State of Burundi during a transitional period, since it was impossible for the victorious party to govern alone because of the genocide attributed to its members in 1993-1994, as can be seen from the report of the International Commission of Inquiry. Would it really have been politically wise to allow Burundi to succumb to total and definitive implosion under a democracy that had become but a shadow of its former self, or was it imperative to throw a life-line to the people of Burundi? The latter alternative proved necessary in order to avoid genocide and to provide a powerful springboard to a new democratic process.”
1996-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3692 (1996) · source
“The President having abdicated and his Prime Minister having been forced to follow in his wake, a headless State resulted. Here I refer again to page 4 of the report of the Secretary-General of 15 August. The emergence of the new regime responded to paramount national imperatives. Should the new and august assembly embrace the defenders of a regime that not only had failed but was unable to save an entire people in the pit of hell and implacably condemned to genocide? A legitimate and an inevitable question arose: is it reasonable and responsible to support a political system when a population is being decimated day by day? Is that system still a democracy?”
1996-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3692 (1996) · source
“In spite of this worldwide crusade, the country moved inexorably towards the feared apocalypse, and the former regime proved powerless to save a nation in peril. The daily massacres taking place under the very eyes of that paralysed power were testimony of this. If democracy can be understood as government for the well-being of the people, the former system had failed completely in its primary mission: to save the people from extermination. This sad reality was often evoked in a series of reports by the Secretary-General, including the most recent, S/1996/660 of 15 August 1996, which deals mainly with the state of affairs before the fateful date of 25 July 1996. In the face of a tragedy as explosive as ours, there was desperation in all quarters over the possibility of saving our shipwrecked nation.”
1996-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3692 (1996) · source
“First I shall outline the particulars of national imperatives favouring the changes that took place on 25 July 1996. Over the last three years, a coalition of global dimensions emerged with a view to averting a genocide in Burundi similar to or on the pattern of the one that befell Rwanda. In order to save Burundi from this disaster, the Security Council made enormous efforts. The Secretary- General envisaged various alternatives. The Organization of African Unity (OAU) and the European Union mobilized great human, diplomatic and financial resources. Non- governmental, intergovernmental and humanitarian organizations made efforts and provided means, and the international media kept world public opinion constantly alert to the apocalyptic danger to the survival of the people of Burundi.”
1996-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3692 (1996) · source
“After the new regime came to power, a summit held at Arusha by the countries of the Great Lakes region decreed general economic sanctions against Burundi. That is the main reason for the request addressed to the President of the Security Council on 25 August 1996 for the convening of an urgent meeting of the Security Council on this matter. The delegation of Burundi, for the purposes of the Security Council, must highlight the main factors militating against this overall strangulation, to the detriment of an innocent people. This statement will address four factors: first, the national imperatives in favour of a change in government; secondly, the haste to use coercive measures; thirdly, the clear illegality and immorality of the economic embargo; and, fourthly and lastly, the devastating consequences for the people of Burundi.”
1996-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3692 (1996) · source
“Mr. Nsanze (Burundi) (interpretation from French): A century will soon have passed since the opening of relations between Burundi and Germany. To this day, they have not been clouded in any way, and we are gratified by that. Even if a Persian proverb states that politeness benefits more the person who extends it than the person who receives it, your exquisite courtesy and your diplomatic professionalism warrant our admiration, and we are delighted to see you presiding over this organ. During the month of July, Ambassador Alain Dejammet presided over the work of the Security Council. Aware as I am of his great modesty, and as he is not here now, I welcome the opportunity to commend him and his delegation for the skilful and realistic way in which they carried out their mandate, reflecting the very intelligent policies of France.”
1996-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3692 (1996) · source
“Even better, many meetings should be held between the three Heads of State and the members of their Governments - notably the Prime Ministers, Ministers of Defence, Ministers for Foreign Affairs and Ministers of the Interior - and should have a generally reassuring impact, making them inevitably successful in the long run. Initiatives such as these would also contribute to settling other situations, smoothing things over, clearing up misunderstandings and allaying the suspicions, well founded or not, between leaders - in short, they would break the ice and rid the region of the dangers it faces.”
1996-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3656 (1996) · source
“It is imperative for the Security Council to arrest the persistent causes of this danger, which were foreseeable from more than one vantage point. Finally, given the fact that security is at the forefront of the principal agreements into which the member States of the Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries have entered, it is highly desirable that the current Chairman of that organization - made up of Burundi, Rwanda and Zaire - convene a special summit dedicated to urgently finding solutions in order to safeguard and consolidate the tripartite peace.”
1996-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3656 (1996) · source
“In conclusion, I would like to say, first, that the fact that the Great Lakes region is on the way to being flooded with weapons is unacceptable. It is imperative for the Security Council to decree binding and concrete measures - particularly economic sanctions - against countries and companies violating the embargo. The security of Rwanda cannot be separated from that of Burundi, in particular, or from that of the other States in the Great Lakes region, in general. The proliferation of weapons, war materiel and of armed terrorist groups could be exacerbated and lead to a twofold phenomenon of immeasurable consequences: the overarming of the region and the inevitable corollary of widespread insecurity and instability.”
1996-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3656 (1996) · source
“A number of groups opposing the central Government of Zaire - such as the troops of Gisenga, Mulele and Soumaliot - have long operated in Zaire's eastern region. Many members of these groups have attempted to seek refuge in Burundi or to launch incursions into Zaire from our territory; they have always been systematically and completely stopped in both types of endeavours. This constant policy of solidarity and good-neighbourliness is sacred and immutable to Burundi. Whenever the security or the sovereignty of Zaire may be threatened in the future along our common borders or from Burundi's soil by would-be perpetrators - especially by those intent on genocide - Burundi will automatically stand in solidarity with the legal Government of Zaire to disarm and neutralize them.”
1996-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3656 (1996) · source
“Likewise, the participation or the direct or indirect involvement of one of them through actions or omissions sooner or later has a boomerang effect. My delegation comes before this learned Council to argue for the agreed obligations, legal principles and political realism that the State of Burundi, under successive Governments, has scrupulously observed in its actions. A few salient facts will suffice to support this statement. When mercenaries entered Zaire under the command of the bitterly remembered Schramme, Burundi allied itself with the Government of Zaire and made available to it the international airport of Bujumbura. Burundi also protected its borders in order to prevent the passage of the invaders and to deliver them to the army of the brotherly country attacked.”
1996-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3656 (1996) · source
“Given political, historical, geographic and economic imperatives, the States members of the Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries - Burundi, Rwanda and Zaire - are obliged to show natural, active and constant solidarity. The primary raison d 'etre of this subregional organization is to prohibit acts of subversion in any of the Member countries against any of the others. Their tripartite security is a sine qua non condition for the very survival of the Economic Community. It would be superfluous to dwell at length on this overpowering reality. The destinies of these three countries and of their peoples are so closely interrelated that a cataclysm in one inevitably has repercussions in the others.”
1996-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3656 (1996) · source
“In addition to the principles and norms of international law codified in multilateral treaties, the commitments solemnly entered into before the world at large by all the Heads of State of the Great Lakes region at the Cairo and Tunis summits were intended to achieve a main threefold objective: to disarm the refugees, to prevent their military training in their host countries and, lastly, to create mechanisms and take measures likely to prohibit them from harming their countries of origin or even third countries. In this connection, we welcome the policy adopted recently by His Excellency Benjamin Mkapa, the new President of the United Republic of Tanzania, because it stands in solidarity with Burundi and Rwanda and represents a model of harmonious neighbourly relations, which bodes well for the future.”
1996-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3656 (1996) · source