Church-State Conflict In Burundi

The Central-East African nation of Burundi has long been the scene of conflict between Christian churches and the government of Colonel Jean-Baptiste Bagaza. Observers disagree as to whether the situation is deteriorating or shows signs of hope.

A key component in the church-state conflict is that authorities in Burundi’s churches have spoken publicly regarding the discrimination experienced by Burundi’s majority tribe, the Hutu, who make up 85 percent of the country’s population, from the Tutsi, the minority tribe who have held exclusive power since independence in 1962, who constitute 15 percent of the population. Amnesty International and other human rights organizations decried what they called the Burundi Genocide of 1973, in which 100,000 to 300,000 Hutus were massacred by government-supported Tutsi. The genocide was one of the worst examples of ethnically motivated mass murder in a country where conflict by Tutsi towards Hutus has continued for decades, often followed by revenge killings by Hutus. In Rwanda, north of Burundi, similar ethnic tensions exist between polarized Hutu and Tutsi populations.

ROME – A decision by the Burundi government to permit the country’s Catholic archbishop to attend the international synod of bishops in Rome in December surprised Church officials, who believe it might signal a softening in recent harsh policy towards the Church.

But other observers discount the move as a “public gesture” in a long-simmering church-state battle which recently has shown signs of sharp deterioration.

The Catholic Church’s situation under the rule of Burundi President Col. Jena-Baptiste Bagaza may actually be worsening, with continuing expulsions of missionaries and the imprisonment of Catholics, these observers say.

A government report issues last August 28 denounced claims of “persecution” of Burundi’s Catholics as part of a “well-orchestrated campaign” by Catholic journals, particularly in Belgium, the former colonial power of the Central-East African state, to “incite Belgian public opinion.”

Archbishop Joachim Ruhuna arrived in Rome after months of uncertainty about whether he would be granted an exit visa. He would make no comment for fear of worsening the situation.

The church-state conflict began shortly after independence in 1962 but deteriorated seriously after the Catholic-educated Bagaza came to power in 1976.

Some Catholics say the government fears the popularity and prestige of the church, which derived from its grassroots development assistance.

The church is also seen as an ally of the politically powerless but numerically dominant tribe, the Hutu.

In the nine years since Bagaza took power in a military coup, more than 200 foreign missionaries have been expelled or refused new visas. About 115 forced departures occurred in 1985 alone.

The situation worsened after the government issued directives last February governing “organization of the People’s Time,” aimed particularly at eliminating morning masses in the rural areas where 95 percent of Burundi people live.

The government said it simply wanted to ensure adequate time for agricultural work.

The Rome office of the human rights organization Amnesty International said that as a result of violations of this decree, more than 50 Catholic priests, Protestant ministers, and lay churchgoers were imprisoned and some tortured.

All were subsequently released except four (two Catholic priests and two lay Catholics), who were last reported on secret trial for activities “against the state.”

The four were arrested for writing a letter to Bishop Michel Nyuyahaga of Bujumbura, the capital, which asked Burundi’s bishops to “awaken” before the government “prohibits the Saturday and Sunday mass.”

A churchman here with an extensive knowledge of the situation said that in the past, the government had challenged the Church by ordering engaged couples to marry in civil ceremonies before religious ones, and forcing them to live together before exchanging vows in church.

These moves were dropped after hostile public reaction, the church official said.

The conflict is generally viewed here as Bagaza’s personal policy to diminish church power in a country where 65 percent of the 4.5 million population is Catholic.

Bagaza affirmed in a 1983 interview, “We have reduced the influence of the Catholic Church, and we will reduce it still further.”

“It is a persecution of the Church,” said a source in Rome with close ties to the Church in Burundi.

The situation reflects a deeper, potentially explosive conflict between the two tribes, the minority Tutsi, who rule Burundi, and the Hutu, who hold few positions of power.

“I am afraid the Tutsi are planning another massacre,” said a knowledgeable Rome source who asked to remain unidentified. He referred to alleged mass executions of “from 200,000 to 300,000” Hutu people in 1972.

The government has never publicly acknowledged such a massacre, and no certain figures on the number of Hutu deaths are available. Some published estimates give the figure of 100,000 killed.

Said one Rome source, “The government opposes the church because the church helps the poor and oppressed, and the poor and oppressed in Burundi are the Bahutu [Hutu].”

Nevertheless, even Hutu Catholics give Bagaza high marks in virtually every other public activity by his government, praising him for a great capacity for work and discipline.

Extraordinary strides have been made in the standard of living of farmers and pastoralists, Burundians and Europeans agree.

“The difference between Burundi in 1976 and 1985 is tremendous,” said a European priest who left the African state last year. Roads, electricity and housing can now be seen across the country.

The Tutsi tribe comprises 15 percent of the population but dominates the government. A former missionary said officials systematically prevent all Hutu from entering secular institutions of higher learning and the army.

“Of the 3,000 university students in Burundi, only 100 are Hutu,” he said. “Only through the Church can the Hutu advance.”

Another source, however, claimed the tribal factor had been overemphasized.

“There are many Tutsi Catholics in the country, and of seven bishops in Burundi, four are Tutsi and three are Hutu,” he said.

A European priest who spent years in Burundi dismissed the possibility of either tribal-based mass executions or a future “church of silence.” He said there were “hopeful signs.”

“It has been the government’s policy to let all visas expire,” the priest observed. But he knew of one case where a nun’s visa was renewed.

“This is a small sign that government officials are yielding to popular pressure and also realizing the critical role of the church in developing assistance,” the priest said.

“The conflict exists on three levels, distinct but related,” he said.

“The first level is tribal. This tribal level does not necessarily correspond to distinctions between rich and poor, Christian or non-Christian. You read some articles which say that the Batutsi [Tutsi] are rich and the Bahutu [Hutus] are poor, but you will find poor Batutsi and rich Bahutu in Burundi. The religious issue overlaps this tribal one because the Church has helped the Bahutu, but it overlaps imperfectly.

“The second level is ideological. The state thinks the Church is operating as a state within a state, and so sees it as a rival institutional power.

“The third level is inter-personal. Government officials see that single bishops and church representatives have more personal prestige and popularity than themselves, and they don’t like it.

The priest said, “I would not dare to say positive change will come in two or three weeks, or even two or three years. I can only say it will.”

Compass News Features
7 January 1986