The call by regional African leaders yesterday for economic sanctions against Burundi in response to last week's coup d'etat falls short of the military intervention supported by the same states on June 25th in protest against mounting killings and persecution of the majority Hutu population there. Given that the coup was probably mounted in order to preempt any such an intervention this is understandable, but regrettable. The summit's urgent call for a restoration of democratic dialogue in Burundi must serve as a grave warning to the international community that the pace and scope of events are frighteningly reminiscent of previous genocidal episodes there and in neighbouring Rwanda.
The summit statement recalled the assassination of Burundi's first Hutu president, Melchior Ndadaye, in October 1993 and traced much of the intervening bloodshed, in which some 150,000 people are reported to have died, to that act. The fear that recent killings could escalate exponentially led the ousted president, Mr Sylvestre Ntibantuganya and his prime minister, Antoine Nduwayo, to lend their support to a regional military intervention, prompting the army, dominated by the Tutsi elite, to organise last week's coup.
There is a danger in Burundi, as in Rwanda, of over simplifying these ethnic divisions in explaining the circumstances that give rise to such dreadful massacres. Power and wealth elites complicate them, but they do tend to follow such lines of division, especially when extreme elements from both communities are allowed to seize the initiative. Maj Gen Paul Kagame, Vice President of Rwanda, warned in Dublin yesterday that it is especially important that no one faction be allowed to assume control in Burundi. He underlined that those responsible for previous killings have not been brought to justice and that in his country the resources necessary to construct an acceptable system of justice have, not been made available by the international community.
The Tanaiste, Mr Spring, said that the situation in the Great Lakes area is a high priority for the Irish Presidency of the European Union. It will be necessary to work closely with those who organised yesterday's regional summit including Dr Julius Nyerere. So far there has been a pathetic response to the calls for an intervention force that could prevent an outbreak of mass killings and it will be an uphill task indeed to reverse the international community's indifference. But Ireland has an honourable record and considerable achievements in this area and the opportunity to, influence events, along with its European and United Nations partners. It is essential that this task be taken up with the greatest despatch.