II ~I ~ ~II~ ~~ ~II ~ ~II - IFES

IFES Pre-electionAssessment:Burunditheir Tutsi rulers, and killed many of them.About 140,000 Tutsis fled from Ruanda, andmany of them now live in Burundi, with large numbers in refugee camps.Ruanda-Urundi voted to become independent in 1961. In 1962 Ruanda became the independentnation of Rwanda. Urundi became Burundi when it gained independence.After Burundi's independence, animosity between the Hutu and Tutsi tribes led to almostcontinual unrest. The Hutu objected to rule by the minority Tutsi. In 1965, assassins killedPrime Minister Pierre Ngendandumwe. Later that year, army rebels shot Ngendandumwe'ssuccessor, Leopold Biha. Biha recovered, but was replaced by Michel Micombero, Burundi'smilitary leader. In 1966, Micombero overthrew the King. He established Burundi as arepublic and declared himself President. In 1972, an unsuccessful revolt by the Hutu againstthe Tutsi resulted in 100,000 to 200,000 deaths, mostly Hutus. A group of military leadersoverthrew Micombero's government in 1976. They established a military government andnamed Colonel Jean Baptiste Bagaza president. In 1987, Bagaza was overthrown by MajorBuyoya in a bloodless coup.Charter of National UnityIn October 1989, following years of tension, turmoil and massacres, President Buyoyaestablished a commission to investigate the inter-ethnic violence and make recommendations fornational reconciliation. (See Appendix E.) The commission, composed of equal numbers ofHutu and Tutsi, presented its report in April 1990. Following the report, President Buyoyaannounced new regulations to combat all forms of discrimination against the Hutu andintroduced new regulations to ensure equal opportunities in education, employment and in thearmed forces.During the latter part of the year, the issue of national unity was debated throughout t:'::country and a new degree of freedom of expression was achieved. The debate, however, wasclosely controlled and monitored by UPRONA (Union pour Ie progres narional, the ruling and•only legal party in the country), and did little to satisfy the demands of the internal9