The humanitarian impacts of economic sanctions on Burundi

the 1994 Convention <strong>of</strong> Government.
On July 23, 1996, President Ntibantunganya attended the
funeral in Gitega <strong>of</strong> some 300 Tutsi victims <strong>of</strong> a massacre several
days earlier. An angry crowd began throwing stones at the
president, who was quickly escorted back to Bujumbura, where he
sought refuge in the American ambassador’s residence and remained
until mid-1997. Other Hutu ministers and politicians,
including the speaker <strong>of</strong> the National Assembly and the foreign
minister, subsequently sought refuge in the German embassy.
Two days later, on July 25, the Burundian Minister <strong>of</strong> Defense
named Major Pierre Buyoya, Burundi’s leader from 1987-1993,
as the new president, dissolved the National Assembly, banned all
political parties, and suspended the country’s Constitution.
<strong>The</strong> response <strong>of</strong> the international community was swift and
critical. Regional governments took their condemnation one step
further by imposing comprehensive <strong>economic</strong> <strong>sanctions</strong> against
Burundi one week later, on July 31.
<strong>The</strong> Imposition <strong>of</strong> Sanctions
Hopes that Burundi would receive and accept foreign troops
to stem the country’s violence ended with the announcement <strong>of</strong> the
July 25 military coup. Stung by what seemed a betrayal <strong>of</strong> their
mediation efforts, neighboring countries were swift to declare
their opposition to Major Buyoya’s regime. On July 31, heads <strong>of</strong>
state or their representatives from Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda,
Rwanda, Ethiopia, Zaire, Cameroon (as OAU chair), and OAU
Secretary-General Salim Ahmed Salim, met in Arusha to discuss
recent events in Burundi. 5
<strong>The</strong> regional summit, known as Arusha II, strongly condemned
the coup in Burundi and called upon the Bujumbura
regime to “immediately undertake specific measures aimed at
returning to constitutional order.” Specifically, summit participants
made three demands: restoration <strong>of</strong> the National Assembly,
the reinstating <strong>of</strong> political parties, and immediate and unconditional
negotiations with all parties to the conflict.
<strong>The</strong>y also expressed support for Nyerere’s mediation efforts,
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