Country: Burundi

Group: Hutu

Date Finalized: 28 September 2022

Team: Madison Schultz (lead), Vianney Mancilla, Jacob Kebe, Juwairiah Afridi, Esha Kubavat

Content Warning: Lethal violence, discrimination, genocide

Approximate Time Period: 1931, 1965, 1972, 1988, 1991, 1993

The Hutu are the ethnic majority within Burundi and Rwanda and are often recognized as Bahutu and Wahutu (Britannica, 2022). When the Hutu first settled, the Twa inhabited the area of Burundi. Later in the late 14th to 15th century, the Tutsi came into the area. They forced the Hutu into a lord-vassal relationship dynamic, which created hostility and adversity for many centuries to come (Britannica, 2022). Under Belgian colonial rule (1918-1962), colonial officials favored the Tutsi and placed them in political positions over the Hutu. In 1931, the Tutsi conscripted the Hutu into forced labor to produce and farm coffee beans to meet a quota set by the Belgian government (Blouin, 2013). The Tutsi used lethal and violent force to make the Hutu comply, including massacres, beatings and amputations (Blouin, 2013). Burundi achieved its independence from the Belgian government in 1962, but political tensions and an imbalance of power created a shaky platform for the ethnic groups to coexist. In 1965, the assassination of Hutu Prime Minister Pierre Ngendadumwe marked a political crisis. An appointed Ganwa Prime Minister then, expecting a coup by the Hutu majority, massacred most of the Hutu political elite (Minority Rights, 2020).  In 1972, the Hutu made a coup for leadership of the Burundi government, but the Tutsi cleansed the army of Hutu officials and declared supremacy. As a result of the coup, Tutsi brutally massacred 100,000 to 200,000 Hutu (Minority Rights, 2020). Political instability between the Tutsi and Hutu continued on from the late 1980s to the late 1990s resulting in lethal violence to mostly Hutu military (Minority Rights, 2020). In the early to late 90s, the Hutu militia revolted against the government due to political, and hostile tensions. A successful Tutsi coup led to a Hutu uprising and killings of the Tutsi. Currently, the Burundi government is experiencing political instability due to controversial leadership, and reports of human rights violations are being reported (Segun, 2022). Discrimination, suppression, and political instability have been factors in the massacres against the Hutu.

Data Quality: The data quality is a 3, with multiple academic articles, and reputable  sources providing information for this write-up.

Sources

  1. Blouin, A. (2013). Culture and contracts: The historical legacy of forced labour job .. Retrieved September 22, 2022, from https://events.barcelonagse.eu/live/files/82-blouin
  2. Burundi – World Directory of Minorities & Indigenous Peoples. Minority Rights Group. (2020, December 2). Retrieved September 21, 2022, from https://minorityrights.org/country/burundi/
  3. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. (n.d.). Hutu. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved September 21, 2022, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hutu
  4. Segun, M. (2022, February 8). Burundi’s vicious crackdown never ended. Human Rights Watch. Retrieved September 21, 2022, from https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/02/08/burundis-vicious-crackdown-never-ended