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Burundi: Expert alarmed by “unacceptable” comments about Rwanda genocide

Burundi: Expert alarmed by “unacceptable” comments about Rwanda genocide

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Recent comments by a prominent politician in Burundi stating that the 1994 Rwanda genocide was a “fabrication of the international community” have been branded by a UN human rights expert as “simply unacceptable.”

UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide Adama Dieng said the statement, published on the website of the ruling political party, known as CNDD-FDD, was inflammatory and could be seen as an incitement to violence.

Burundi has been undergoing political turmoil since April 2015, when President Pierre Nkurunziza announced he would stand for a controversial third term.

Hundreds have been killed and more than 250,000 citizens have fled the country.

Mr Dieng, who previously worked with the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), spoke to Dianne Penn about his concerns.

Duration: 4’29”

Photo Credit
Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide, Mr. Adama Dieng, briefs the press. UN File Photo/Amanda Voisard