BUJUMBURA, February 7th (ABP) – The presidential couple of the Republic of Burundi exchanged, on Friday 31 January 2025, in Bujumbura, the economic capital of Burundi, best wishes for the New Year 2025 with the diplomatic and consular corps accredited to Burundi.
In his opening remarks, the President of the Republic, Evariste Ndayishimiye, began by saying that after listening to various diplomats, he realised that many of them were unfamiliar with the realities of the country. He therefore seized the opportunity to help them understand the real situation and history of Burundi, so that they would have a common understanding of the country.
Given that Burundi has not yet enjoyed more than 10 years of stability, President Ndayishimiye pointed out that it is incomprehensible to compare Burundi with other countries in the region or with other African countries that have been stable for years. While the country is said to have started rebuilding itself in 2005, he recalled that the last rebel movement laid down its arms in 2008, while in 2015 the country suffered an attempted coup d’état that put the brakes on the country’s march towards development.
“If today Burundi is not as developed as we would all like, it is not because it did not receive from God what was necessary for the development of its people. That was due to the ups and downs of our history; the Burundi you see today is a resuscitated country, a country that has undergone many ups and downs that have had harmful consequences on life today”, he pointed out, based on the critical analyses made by certain diplomats in their discussion on Burundi.
The Burundian leader also revealed to the diplomatic and consular corps accredited to Burundi that before the arrival of the colonisers, Burundians lived in perfect harmony in their kingdom, speaking the same language and worshipping the same God (Imâna). The Burundians obeyed the same head of state (Umwami), who was the father of the Barundi, who formed a single family. The solidarity of the Burundians was manifested not only in the organisation of socio-economic activities such as the collective movement in agriculture known as “Ikibiri”, which mirrors the cooperatives of the modern world, but also in resistance in the face of an attack against Burundi, he added.
In those days, he continued, the enemy of the country was fought by all Burundians from all social strata. Burundians also resisted German colonisation for 7 years. That resistance was crowned with success thanks to the unity of Burundians around a single leader. Burundi already had a well-organised government and a well-organised army that could withstand any foreign attack,” he said.
With that in mind, he pointed out that even those Germans took power through negotiations that were sanctioned by the Treaty of Kiganda in 1903. During the colonial period, Burundians were divided into ethnic groups on the basis of caricatured clichés, deplored President Ndayishimiye, adding that according to his analysis, the colonisers had no choice but to divide that people, who were fighting and resisting foreign invasion, using weapons such as spears and arrows made by themselves.
“Any development plan that is not based on lessons drawn from the history, culture and even philosophy of the people is always doomed to failure. We deeply regret the time lost and the failures endured since colonisation until the end of the war in 2008,” the President of the Republic lamented, pointing out to the diplomats that in his messages to the nation, he never ceases to invite Burundians to build our country by referring to our history, our culture and the way of life of our forefathers, especially in moral, ethical, social and political terms.
After having enlightened the diplomatic and consular corps accredited to Burundi on the situation and history of the country, President Ndayishimiye wondered why African countries, which have significant economic potential, are still experiencing wars and terrorism with the complicity of certain Western countries. “Do you see what is happening here, very close to home? Why that silence? Doesn’t the international community see the consequences? he asked the diplomats, before revealing that if things continue as they are, there is a risk of widespread war in the region.
“If there is no peace in the east of the DRC, there will be no peace in the region either. If you let things deteriorate as they are, you should know that the consequences will be harmful, and each country will have to fend for itself,” added President Ndayishimiye, once again calling on the international community to take that issue seriously.
The ceremonies to exchange New Year’s greetings between the presidential couple and the diplomatic and consular corps accredited to Burundi took place in a relaxed atmosphere over a drink.