Editing History of Burundi (section)

=== 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>