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In January, the Dutch government played host to peace talks between the Burundian government and the Hutu rebel Forces for National Liberation (FNL). At the time, Hague officials expressed optimism about the prospects for ending the ethnic conflict in Burundi, saying that "after 30 years of violence, peace in now within reach".
Nine days ago, around 160 refugees were massacred in a camp at Gatumba in Burundi, south of Rwanda and just across the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo. The victims, mostly women and children, were Congolese Tutsis, known as Banyamulenge. In the immediate wake of the attack, the FNL claimed responsibility, which prompted the Netherlands to sever all contacts with the Hutu rebel movement.
Terrorists
"The people who committed this terrible
crime must be out of their heads. They are really terrorists," Mrs
Van Ardenne told reporters after visiting the refugee camp at the
weekend. She said the suspects should be tried by the International
Criminal Court. The FNL has indicated it will face its
responsibility and appear before the court in The Hague. There will
be no mercy for the perpetrators of the massacre, Mrs Van Ardenne
said, or for those living outside Burundi who were involved in
masterminding it:
"There is a fairly large Burundian community in the Netherlands, which includes members of the FNL. Should it emerge that these people were involved in the massacre in any way, then they will be brought to book."
EU pressure
The
Dutch government, which currently holds the
six-month rotating EU presidency, has put
the peace process in the Great Lakes region high on its foreign
policy agenda. Ahead of a conference on the issue scheduled for
November, the Dutch development cooperation minister is now touring
the region to put pressure on government leaders to take part in
the talks.
It's feared that the Gatumba massacre may yet spell the end for the fragile peace process. Burundi and Rwanda have threatened to invade the DRC if the Kinshasa government fails to act against the Hutu rebels in the volatile border region. The Burundian government, however, withdrew its threat following a meeting with Mrs Van Ardenne.
UN inquiry
A UN commission of inquiry has yet to
confirm whether the FNL actually carried out the slaughter. Other
suspects are DRC government and extremist Congolese Hutu militias.
In addition, the commission may provide answers to other key
questions: why was the refugee camp set up – in contravention
of existing international rules - so close to Burundi's insecure
border with the DRC? And why were the UN troops deployed in the
area unable to prevent the massacre?
Mrs Van Ardenne hopes that at some stage the Netherlands will be able to restore contacts with the FNL rebels:
"The hunt is currently on for the FNL. They have been excluded
from both the election process and the peace process, but we can't
deny their existence. And as long as they exist, they will remain a
threat to lasting peace in Burundi as well as the entire region.
So, the best option is to reestablish at some point."
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Tags: Bukavu, Burundi, Congo, DRC, Gatumba, hutus, Kabila, Kagame, massacre, MONUC, Netherlands, Rwanda, tutsis, UN, Van Ardenne