YouSaid · the spoken record

Terence

lines on the record: 74
first: 1995-08-28
most recent: 1996-03-05
sittings or episodes: 3
sources: un-security-council

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“A technical mission is to hasten to Burundi to evaluate the risks to United Nations personnel and facilities. During the 28 months that this crisis has lasted, no United Nations personnel have been victims of lack of security, no office in the many buildings of the United Nations system in Burundi has been damaged. International opinion in general, and the Security Council in particular, are flooded with information about an imminent cataclysm in Burundi. As is clear from the introductory paragraph of the letter of 18 January 1996 communicating to the President of the Security Council the official position of my Government in answer to the three letters of the Secretary-General, of 29 December 1995, 3 January 1996 and 17 January 1996, the seriousness of the crisis is a reality.”
1996-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3623 (1996) · source
“In the crusade by the whole Government against the armed bands, President Sylvestre Ntibantunganya held a public meeting in the Province of Kirundo, in the north of the country, on Sunday, 28 January 1996. His message focused on "the immediate need for cooperation between the population, the Administration and the forces of law and order". He took this opportunity to reiterate his gratitude to the forces of law and order for their efforts in fighting the enemy in the area. He was accompanied by the President of the National Assembly and by the President of the Frodebu Party, the leader of the presidential movement. International opinion has been polarized regarding the dangers to the security of international humanitarian organizations.”
1996-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3623 (1996) · source
“This collective request at the commune level was officially made to the Government. For two weeks now the entire Government - that is, the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister and 25 Ministers, have been travelling through the country's 15 Provinces and 114 communes to rally the population to the side of the Administration and the security forces in their campaign against the violent fanatics. The most striking proof that security is guaranteed throughout the Republic is the fact that none of the hundreds of political, administrative and military authorities involved have been confronted by any of the armed bands. In short, no danger has been reported in their journey or during their public meetings throughout the 114 communes.”
1996-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3623 (1996) · source
“Hidden in two refugee camps in the north-east of the country, assailants have tried to sow terror by opening fire on the security forces, but the security forces within the camps in question have neutralized or put to flight the aggressors. This episode in the Burundian crisis has unfortunately resulted in a massive exodus of Rwandan refugees towards Tanzania. The commander of that military region and the representative of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have published a joint statement, attesting to their efforts to persuade the refugees to return to their camps. The leader of the armed groups, Nyangoma, is vociferously disavowed in his own commune, by his own associates, who urge radio and television to announce that they are no longer in solidarity with him.”
1996-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3623 (1996) · source
“Three groups of terrorists - armed Burundi bandits, former Rwandan troops and the Interahamwe, their secular arm in the macabre deeds of 1994 - had earlier converged near the Province of Cibitoke, bordering on Zaire. In recent weeks the Army has rendered impotent this devilish trio of troublemakers. These desperate individuals are now only capable of engaging in sporadic attacks - not in a gallant last stand, but merely to pillage in order to survive in certain areas where there are no forces to impose order. The population is strongly demanding a military presence, as a Minister who visited the Province last week reported.”
1996-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3623 (1996) · source
“In fact, while the general situation is indeed serious and cause for concern, the security situation has noticeably improved compared with previous months; there are many facts to support this conclusion. Formerly, grenades were being thrown at passers-by in the markets, not in defence of any political cause, but, rather, by people indulging in banditry. The forces of law of order put a stop to this several months ago. For a long time, armed bands terrorized several districts of the capital. On the orders of the Head of State and Government, the Army has smashed and routed these terrorists. The sanctuary of the armed bandits in the forest surrounding the capital, who habitually created havoc in the suburbs and killed travellers or held them to ransom, was assaulted and taken by the national Army.”
1996-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3623 (1996) · source
“(spoke in French) For almost two years now, the Security Council has been thinking long and hard about Burundi. Many reports have been submitted on my country. This is the first time that there has been a public debate about Burundi, and so I take this opportunity to give my Government's version of the facts. First, with regard to the draft resolution, I should like to say that the Government of Burundi has every right to find out from the sponsors exactly what that text means, and it appears to us that paragraph 8 (a) causes some confusion and is open to various interpretations. Before speaking in depth on the text, I would request members to prepare their responses during my statement, so that there is no room for doubt. I therefore leave the matter there for the moment.”
1996-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3623 (1996) · source
“First of all, it is my duty to acknowledge the special treatment you have shown me, Mr. President, during the many meetings I have had with you. This was traditional, refined British diplomacy: courtesy, civility and availability, which are the key qualities of any professional diplomat. I also recall my meetings with your predecessor, Ambassador Sergey Lavrov, to whom I am grateful for the same treatment, from which I benefited last month. Since this is the first time this year that I have addressed the Security Council formally, it is my pleasant duty to congratulate the new members: Chile, Egypt, Guinea-Bissau, Poland and the Republic of Korea. We believe that Egypt, the only Arabic-speaking member of the Council, can as usual be counted upon to speak Africa's political language.”
1996-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3623 (1996) · source
“The success of the work of the international judicial commission of inquiry will depend on close and steady cooperation with the Government of Burundi in general and with the security forces and the national judicial system in particular. The commission will have to resist any temptation to exceed the mandate and the field of action delineated in the terms of reference proposed by the Government of Burundi and set out in the draft resolution before the Council. This code of conduct is dictated by a concern to prevent any compromise of national sovereignty, any interference in the internal affairs of Burundi and any possible mingling of matters within the commission's mandate with subjects outside its area of competence.”
1995-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3571 (1995) · source
“Given the facts and the seriousness of the crimes I have catalogued, the international commission must identify the real perpetrators. Without prejudging the conclusions of the commission's inquiries, it is already clear that a political crime - the assassination of the President of our country - was committed and that crimes against humanity were committed, and continue with intensity through the systematic annihilation of social and human groupings on the basis of their ethnic affiliation, as with the Tutsis, or of their political allegiance, as with Hutus who struggle against the Nazi ideology that their fellow Hutus are spreading among the population of Burundi.”
1995-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3571 (1995) · source
“There is absolute proof that this movement has been furiously intensifying strategies that would lead to a genocide similar to that in Rwanda. The poisonous ideology spread by the so-called Radio Democracy, which is nothing more than an echo of the infamous Radio Mille Collines in Rwanda, the methods used and the unvarying targets all reveal that a new variant of nazism is being created in the heart of Africa at the end of the twentieth century. These neo-Nazi knights, under the command of the National Council for the Defence of Democracy, are focusing their mayhem on Tutsi refugee centres and on Tutsi civilians, whom they massacre and murder using the vilest methods. Hutus violently opposed to this Nazi doctrine and to "ethnic cleansing" suffer the same fate as their Tutsi compatriots.”
1995-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3571 (1995) · source
“Repeated requests by the Attorney-General of the Republic and by the Auditeur- Ge'ne'ral to repatriate these 15 fugitives have been met with sabotage and obstacles by the very circles that ostentatiously pretend to demand that the guilty be punished. The appalling attempt to exterminate the Tutsi national community and the numerous Hutus who advocate harmonious coexistence in Burundi was a precursor of the genocide in Rwanda, and could have attained comparable proportions. To carry out this planned genocide, the army criminals, the ironically named National Council for the Defence of Democracy and its armed civilian wing, the Forces for the Defence of Democracy, along with its precursor, the Palepihutu, are carrying out a scorched-earth policy.”
1995-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3571 (1995) · source
“Taking a stand against impunity, the army High Command has already handed over to the national commission of inquiry 85 soldiers for interrogation and 22 for detention. It has made numerous attempts to extradite 15 alleged perpetrators of the attempted putsch against the legal Government and of the assassination of the President of the Republic; these have fled to Zaire and Uganda. We run into a numbing paradox: the politicians who most vehemently accuse the army are carrying out clandestine manoeuvres to block procedures to extradite the 15 soldiers who have been summoned by the army High Command for the inquiries.”
1995-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3571 (1995) · source
“The memorandum from the Minister of National Defence to the Secretary-General sets out instructive facts and deserves quotation: "From the outset of the attempts at a putsch, the competent services of the armed forces were engaged in trying to thwart it, to make it fail and to reestablish constitutional legality. Subsequently, the military intelligence services carried out investigations to identify those responsible. On 23 October 1993 an initiative to exercise military jurisdiction with a View to apprehending the suspects was rejected by members of the Government themselves". The dogged determination of the military authorities to shed light on the two events is illustrated by specific, verifiable actions.”
1995-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3571 (1995) · source
“As the memorandum addressed by the Minister of National Defence to the Secretary-General during his recent visit to Burundi attests, supported by overwhelming proof, the army as an institution had nothing to do with the assassination of President Ndadaye and his four political colleagues, although, to be sure, a few soldiers committed this crime. A malicious campaign orchestrated by foes of the Burundian army aims at poisoning international opinion. It is vital to eliminate the evil hearsay that has been spread throughout the world: far from being perpetrators of or accomplices in the abortive coup or in the assassination of President Ndadaye, the military leaders united to foil the perpetrators of the putsch and to punish the murderers.”
1995-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3571 (1995) · source
“That is the understanding of the main parties to the Convention of Government: the 12 political parties that signed the Convention. Since the start of the tragedy, the various political and ethnic camps have been constantly making accusations against one another concerning the assassination of the Head of State and the massacring of tens of thousands of innocent victims. The result is a pointless globalization of guilt, whereby the guilty are confused with the innocent and vice versa. A crushing burden thus weighs upon the entire nation. The vast majority of the people of Burundi - of all national communities - certainly have the right to declare their innocence.”
1995-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3571 (1995) · source
“In application of the principle set forth in the Convention of Government, and following the joint and express endorsement of the presidential movement and the Burundi opposition, the President of the Republic and the Head of Government sent the Security Council, on 18 August 1995, through us, a statement of the motives and terms of reference designed to serve as guidelines for the establishment of the international commission of judicial inquiry. It clearly emerges, then, that the initiative for establishing this commission comes from the Burundi political actors in search of an impartial international arbiter. As we see it, an international judicial commission of inquiry would be charged with carrying out judicial inquiries.”
1995-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3571 (1995) · source
“The combined will of these two political groupings was formalized in article 36 of the Convention of Government, which stipulates that under the Convention - S/ 1995/ 190, annex - the Burundi parties have agreed to call genocide, without prejudice to the outcome of the independent national and international investigations, the massacres that followed the assassination of the President of Burundi on 21 October 1993.”
1995-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3571 (1995) · source
“The opposition objected, on the contrary, that the murdered dignitary had been elected Head of State of all the national groups, that he was mourned as such by the entire people of Burundi and that only the perpetrators of this heinous crime should be held accountable to the nation and the international community. Faced with these opposing positions, our country's political leaders resolved during arduous negotiations to turn to an international body to be entrusted with determining those guilty of murdering the Head of State and part of the population. Transcending their usual differences, the Burundi opposition and the presidential movement succeeded in crossing the Rubicon by reaching agreement on the establishment of an international judicial commission of inquiry.”
1995-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3571 (1995) · source
“In the wake of this dual catastrophe, the political parties that clung to the notion that the President had been assassinated because of his Hutu origins showed themselves to be avid proponents of "ethnic cleansing" aimed at the Tutsi, who were wrongly accused of being allied with the army. This view was firmly rejected by the opposition political parties, which favoured the belief that the putschists and the assassins of the President had not been under the orders of the army or the Tutsi population. Moreover, those parties opposed the strong tendency to present Mr. Melchior Ndadaye as President only of the Hutus, who were therefore intent on avenging him.”
1995-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3571 (1995) · source
“Starting on 21 October 1993, and continuing during the following days, the leaders of the Burundi opposition, then comprised of eight political parties, vigorously denounced both the putsch and the assassination of the President. They demanded the unconditional restoration of constitutional legality. On the pretext of responding to this political assassination carried out by a small group of soldiers, massacres on a terrifying scale were unleashed across the nation against one of the major national groups, the Tutsis, and against numerous Hutu members of the opposition.”
1995-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3571 (1995) · source
“Our special thanks go to the American delegation, which has shown particular dynamism and constancy in shepherding the draft resolution to the point at which it is now about to reach a successful conclusion. The genesis of the international judicial commission of inquiry is as follows. In October 1993 the President of the Republic was overthrown and assassinated by a handful of military officers who longed for a bygone era. Terrified as a result of this event, the leaders of the party in power went into hiding, showing a marked distrust of the army. On the other hand, the military high command made intensive efforts to re-establish the legitimate Government and solemnly and officially proclaimed its natural loyalty to that Government, rather than seizing power.”
1995-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3571 (1995) · source
“I should also like to take the opportunity to pay tribute to Indonesia for its leading role four decades ago in founding an international organization given the historic mission of steering a course halfway between the ideological blocs that at the time were competing perilously for global supremacy. Burundi would like to express its deep gratitude to all the eminent members of this prestigious body, for their positive roles vis-a-vis Burundi, and to the Secretary- General of the United Nations, His Excellency Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, represented in Burundi by Ambassador Abdallah, for the constant and praiseworthy efforts he has made on behalf of Burundi and his special devotion to the mission of his Special Representative to Burundi with the aim of reaching a satisfactory end to Burundi's crisis.”
1995-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3571 (1995) · source
“Mr. Terence (Burundi) (interpretation from French): During this slow period of the year, when everyone wants to rush off on well-deserved vacations, the Security Council, under your lucid guidance, Mr. President, is carrying out the responsibility entrusted to it under Article 24 of the United Nations Charter: that of diligently seeing to the maintenance of international peace and security. In that context, the Council is now addressing the question of establishing an international judicial commission of inquiry, thus acceding to the specific proposal of the Government of Burundi, with the support of the political parties from which it derives. For these various reasons, and on behalf of my Government, I should like to congratulate you warmly, Sir, on your accession to the presidency of the Security Council.”
1995-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3571 (1995) · source