CONFIDENTIAL
BURUNDI
Report by HM Embassy, Kinshasa and East African Department.
General Observations
It is still too soon after the coup d'état of 1 November 1976 to make any valid judgement of the behaviour of the new regime. Their first declarations indicated a possible trend towards some relaxation in authoritarian rule: a promise which may yet be manifested in some degree of liberalisation.
Right No.
(i)
(ii)
Rating Suggested by Post & Dept.
It is still too early to judge accurately how the new regime will perform, but their record will almost certainly be an improve- ment on President Micombero's. We have no precise information about the extent of imprisonment without trial under Micombero but if the size of the appalling Hutu-Tutsi genocide of 1972 is anything to go by, the practice was almost certainly fairly wide- spread. Micombero is at present under house arrest, together with three of his former ministers, but there are no indications that others have been detained, which suggests that the new regime might be more liberal in its approach.
Torture is probably less used than in, for example, Zaire. But summary execution against alleged Hutu dissidents has been extensively used to an extent that has warranted the charge of genocide.
4
8
(iii)
Ethnic domination of the Hutus by the minority Tutsis make Burundi comparable with the Republic of South Africa and Rhodesia. But whether there is actual slavery is difficult to determine and is something about which we have no information.
Not possible
(iv)
Total control of all media.
10
(v)
We have no reliable evidence about the inde- pendence or otherwise of the judiciary. It was almost certainly firmly controlled by the Micombero regime. The new government has already indicated that there may be some relaxation about this: we are not unhopeful that they may keep their word if only to a limited extent.
CONFIDENTIAL
6
/(vi)