BUJUMBURA, November 12th (ABP) – The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (CVR) organized a press conference in Bujumbura on Friday, November 8, 2024, to launch the 2nd census of people murdered or disappeared during the cyclical crises that Burundi experienced from 1885 to 2008.
CVR Chairman Pierre Claver Ndayicariye said the census operation would last two weeks, starting on Monday November 11, 2024. The provinces concerned are Makamba, Rutana, Ruyigi, Karusi, Muyinga and Kirundo. He also recalled that the first operation took place in 2023 in the provinces of Cankuzo, Bururi and Rumonge. Underlining that that census is provided for by the law on the CVR’s missions and powers, Ndayicariye pointed out that its aim is to find out who has been murdered or disappeared during those crises, who the perpetrators were, who tried to protect others, who has already taken the path of asking others for forgiveness, and who has already granted forgiveness to neighbours.
“Through that census, we are going to try to name the victims and the presumed perpetrators,” said the CVR Chairman, indicating that that census is useful for the institutions that manage the Republic because, he explained, it is a census that gives data on the victims of those despicable acts or the perpetrators. “The truth that will come out of that census will reinforce the truth already spread out by the CVR. It’s a census that will enable us to know the responsibilities, missions and occupations of those assassinated, their ethnicity, the place and year of the assassination,” he pointed out, emphasizing that that census constitutes an important insight into the different periods of the crises.
As for the issue of land and other property, which is now within the remit of the CVR, Ndayicariye pointed out that he was in the process of drawing up a working methodology, but felt that the best way of dealing with that issue was not to consider only the letters sent to the CVR, because, he pointed out, letters do not provide sufficient information on the complexity of land conflicts arising from the cyclical crises that Burundi has experienced.
The best way to do that, he says, is to go out into the provinces and communes to listen to victims’ grievances. He added that the big news for that year is that, through that census, the CVR will do more to connect victims with the perpetrators, their property and the spoliators. Lastly, the CVR chairman pointed out that the commission’s mission is to establish the truth about the conflicts that have arisen from the various crises, without being a judicial mechanism.