Editing History of Burundi (section)

==Independence (1962)==
[[File:Flag of Burundi (1962–1966).svg|thumb|250px|The flag of the [[Kingdom of Burundi]] (1962–1966).]]
[[File:Plaza de la Independencia.JPG|thumb|250px|Independence Square and monument in [[Bujumbura]].]]

Full independence was achieved on July 1, 1962.<ref name=":3" /> In the context of weak democratic institutions at independence, Tutsi King [[Mwambutsa IV Bangiriceng of Burundi|Mwambutsa IV Bangiriceng]] established a [[constitutional monarchy]] comprising equal numbers of [[Hutu]]s and Tutsis.<ref name=":3" /> The 15 January 1965 assassination of the Hutu prime minister [[Pierre Ngendandumwe]] set in motion a series of destabilizing Hutu revolts and subsequent governmental repression.<ref name=":3" />

These were in part in reaction to Rwanda's "Social Revolution" of 1959–1961, where Rwandan Tutsi were subject to mass murder by the new government of Hutu [[Grégoire Kayibanda]].  In Burundi the Tutsi became committed to ensuring they would not meet the same fate and much of the country's military and police forces became controlled by Tutsis.  Unlike Rwanda, which allied itself with the United States in the [[Cold War]], Burundi after independence became affiliated with [[China]].{{Citation needed|date=June 2009}}

The monarchy refused to recognize gains by Hutu candidates in the first legislative elections held by Burundi as an independent country on 10 May 1965.  In response, a group of Hutu carried out a [[1965 Burundian coup d'état|failed coup attempt]] against the monarchy on 18 October 1965, which in turn prompted the killing of scores of Hutu politicians and intellectuals.<ref name="Lemarchand, 134">Lemarchand, 134</ref>  On 8 July 1966,{{Citation needed|date=September 2021}} King Mwambutsa IV was deposed by his son, Prince [[Ntare V of Burundi|Ntare V]],<ref name=":3" /> who himself was deposed by his prime minister Capt. [[Michel Micombero]]<ref name=":3" /> on [[November 1966 Burundian coup d'état|28 November 1966]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2021}} Micombero abolished the monarchy and declared a republic.<ref name=":3" /> A de facto military regime emerged and civil unrest continued throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s.<ref name=":3" />  Micombero headed a clique of ruling Hima, the Tutsi subgroup located in southern Burundi.<ref name="Lemarchand, 137">Lemarchand, 137</ref>  Similar to 1965, rumors of an impending Hutu coup in 1969 prompted the arrest and execution of scores of prominent political and military figures.<ref name="Lemarchand, 134"/>

In June 1971, a group of [[Banyaruguru]], the socially "higher up" subgroup of Tutsi located in the north of the country, were accused of conspiracy by the ruling Hima clique.  On 14 January 1972, a military tribunal sentenced four Banyaruguru officers and five civilians to death, and seven to life imprisonment.  To the Hima concerns about a Hutu uprising or Banyaruguru-led coup was added the return of Ntare V from exile, a potential rallying point for the Hutu majority.<ref name="Lemarchand, 137"/>

=== 1972 genocide ===
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On April 29, there was an outbreak of violence in the south of the country, also the base of the Hima, where bands of roving Hutu committed atrocities against Tutsi civilians.  All civilian and military authorities in the city of [[Bururi]] were killed and the insurgents then seized the armories in the towns of [[Rumonge]] and [[Nyanza-Lac]].  They then attempted to kill every Tutsi they could, as well as some Hutu who refused to participate in the rebellion, before retreating to [[Vyanda]], near Bururi, and proclaiming a "Republic of [[Martyazo]]."<ref name="Lemarchand, 136">Lemarchand, 136</ref> Somewhere from 800 to 1200 people were killed.<ref>Lemarchand, (2008). Section "B – Decision-Makers, Organizers and Actors" cites (Chrétien Jean-Pierre and Dupaquier, Jean-Francois, 2007, ''Burundi 1972: Au bord des génocides'', Paris: L'Harmattan. p. 106)</ref>

A week after the insurgent proclamation of a republic, government troops moved in.  Meanwhile, President Micombero declared martial law on May 30 and asked [[Zaire]]an President [[Mobutu Sese Seko]] for assistance.  Congolese paratroopers were deployed to secure the airport while the Burundi army moved into the countryside.  Africanist [[René Lemarchand]] notes, "What followed was not so much a repression as a hideous slaughter of Hutu civilians.  The carnage went on unabated through the month of August.  By then virtually every educated Hutu element, down to secondary school students, was either dead or in flight."<ref name="Lemarchand, 136"/>

Because the perpetrators, composed of government troops and the [[Jeunesses Révolutionnaires Rwagasore]] (JRR), the youth wing of the [[Union for National Progress]] ruling party, targeted primarily civil servants, educated males and university students, solely because of their "Hutuness" and irrespective of whether they posed a threat, Lemarchand terms the eradication a "partial genocide."<ref name="Lemarchand, 132 & 134">Lemarchand, 132 & 134</ref> One of the first to be killed was deposed monarch Ntare V, in [[Gitega]].<ref name="Lemarchand, 137-138">Lemarchand, 137-138</ref>

As president, Micombero became an advocate of [[African socialism]] and received support from the [[People's Republic of China]]. He imposed a staunch regime of law and order, sharply repressing Hutu militarism.

From late April to September 1972, an estimated 200,000 to 300,000 Hutu were killed.<ref name="Lemarchand, 129">Lemarchand, 129</ref> About 300,000 people became [[refugee]]s, with most fleeing to [[Tanzania]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Refugees and Internally Displaced in Burundi: The Urgent Need for a Consensus on Their Repatriation and Reintegration |url=http://www.crisisgroup.org/library/documents/africa/31202_refugies_et_deplaces_burundais.pdf |date=2 December 2003 |publisher=[[International Crisis Group]] |quote=La première s’est produite en 1972 suite au génocide perpétré par l’armée contre l’élite hutu, entraînant la fuite de quelque 300 000 personnes, réfugiées principalement en Tanzanie. |page=2 |access-date=2009-06-30 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090417124155/http://www.crisisgroup.org/library/documents/africa/31202_refugies_et_deplaces_burundais.pdf |archive-date=April 17, 2009 |language=fr}}</ref> In an effort to attract sympathy from the [[United States]], the Tutsi-dominated government accused the Hutu rebels of having [[Communist]] leanings, although there is no credible evidence that this was actually the case.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Melvern, Linda.|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1138680744|title=Intent to Deceive : Denying the Genocide of the Tutsi.|date=2020|publisher=Verso|isbn=978-1-78873-330-4|oclc=1138680744}}</ref>  Lemarchand notes that, while crushing the rebellion was the first priority, the genocide was successful in a number of other objectives: ensuring the long-term stability of the Tutsi state by eliminating Hutu elites and potential elites; turning the army, police and gendarmerie into a Tutsi monopoly; denying the potential return of monarchy through the murder of Ntare V; and creating a new legitimacy for the Hima-dominated state as protector of the country, especially for the previously fractious Tutsi-Banyaruguru.<ref name="Lemarchand, 138">Lemarchand, 138</ref><ref>See also {{cite web |title=Case Study: The Burundi Killings of 1972 |author=René Lemarchand |author-link=René Lemarchand |url=http://www.massviolence.org/The-Burundi-Killings-of-1972 |date=2008-07-27 |publisher=Online Encyclopedia of Mass Violence |access-date=2009-06-30}}</ref>

=== Post-1972 genocide developments ===

In 1976, Colonel [[Jean-Baptiste Bagaza]] took power in a [[1976 Burundian coup d'état|bloodless coup]].<ref name=":3" /> Although Bagaza led a Tutsi-dominated military regime, he encouraged land reform, electoral reform, and national reconciliation. In 1981, a new constitution was promulgated.<ref name=":3" /> In 1984, Bagaza was elected [[head of state]], as the sole candidate.<ref name=":3" /> After his election, Bagaza's human rights record deteriorated as he suppressed religious activities and detained political opposition members.<ref name=":3" />

In 1987, Major [[Pierre Buyoya]] overthrew Col. Bagaza in a [[1987 Burundian coup d'état|military coup d'état]].<ref name=":3" /> He dissolved opposition parties, suspended the 1981 constitution, and instituted his ruling Military Committee for National Salvation (CSMN).<ref name=":3" /> During 1988, increasing tensions between the ruling Tutsis and the majority Hutus resulted in violent confrontations between the army, the Hutu opposition, and Tutsi hardliners.<ref name=":3" /> During this period, an estimated 150,000 people were killed, with tens of thousands of refugees fleeing to neighboring countries.<ref name=":3" /><ref>Minorities at Risk Project, ''Chronology for Hutus in Burundi'', 2004, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/469f38731e.html  [accessed 16 June 2021]</ref> Buyoya formed a commission to investigate the causes of the 1988 unrest and to develop a charter for democratic reform.<ref name=":3" />

In 1991, Buyoya approved a constitution that provided for a president, non-ethnic government, and a parliament.<ref name=":3" /> Burundi's first Hutu president, [[Melchior Ndadaye]], of the Hutu-dominated [[Front for Democracy in Burundi]] (FRODEBU) Party, was [[Burundian presidential election, 1993|elected]] in 1993.<ref name=":3" />