Conflict and Coffee in Burundi 95The first three outbreaks of violence in 1965, 1972 and 1988 were charac-
tensed by the cycle of predation, rebellion and excessive repression, as identified
by Ngaruko and Nkurunziza. The conflict since 1993 has broken this mould to
some extent, since the army has for the first time not been able to quickly queU
the rebellion. The conflict is still ongoing after eight years, and has developed
significantly different dynamics from previous times of violence, predominantiy
because of the rise of armed rebel groups, the iduence of regional factors such
as the conflict in neighbouring C~ngo/Zaire?~ and the various domestic and
international attempts to bring peace back to the country.
1961-1966
The period from just before independence until the abolition of the monarchy
in 1966 was characterised by a swing between hope for national unity and
peace, and the start of the trends of exclusion and violence which would con-
tinue to shape Burundi's post-independence history. The first cycle of exclu-
sion of Hutus from power by a ntsi elite, rebellion by Hutus, and extreme
repression against educated and high-ranking Hutus by the Tutsi-controlled
government can be clearly evident in these five years.
Ethnic strife was by no means inevitable in Burundi. In preparation for
independence, Burundians rallied behind a party of national unity, which
included both Tutsis and Hutus in its leadership. In the 1961 legislative elec-
tions, the Union pour le Progres National (Union for National Progress or
UPRONA) won a landslide electoral victory under the leadership of charis-
matic and moderate Prince Rwagasore. This hope for peaceful coexistence
and nation building was, however, almost immediately shattered by the
assassination of the prince by extremist Tutsis only a few months after the
elections." This assassination of a leading moderate by extremists was only
the tip of the iceberg of harassment and assassination of other UPRONA lead-
ers and the increasing exclusion of Hutus from positions of power.32
Since the mwami (king) still had formal power, the political manoeuvring
pitted the entrenched royalist Tutsi against the small Hutu elite (since Tutsi of
the royal line had been privileged and Hutus generally excluded under colo-
nial education and administration). The mistreatment of Hutu in public posi-
tions culminated in the refusal of the mwami to allow Hutu politicians to
form a government although they had won a majority in the May 1965 elec-
tions. This cumulative exclusion led to an attemoted cou~ d'etat bv Hutu
politicians, who were subsequently executed, along with other Hutu leaders.
In response, around 500 innocent Tutsi civilians were massacred by Hutus in
Muramvya province. This resulted in massive army repression against the
Hutu across the entire country.
For the first time, in a pattern that was to be repeated again and again, gov-
ernment repression targeted not only those Hutu responsible for the coup