After decades of ethnic conflict and civil war, dealing with the past is a current issue in Burundi. A Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) first envisaged by peace accords in 2000 has still not been created. Yet according to a survey carried out by the BBC World Service Trust and Search for Common Ground, most Burundians would support the creation of such a commission.
Ready to Talk about the Past presents results from a survey of 1,648 Burundian adults conducted across 10 of Burundi's 17 provinces in October 2008. Survey questions explored knowledge and attitudes on transitional justice, as well as sources of information and public perceptions of the Burundian media.
It is part of the Communicating Justice project, which has also been training groups of journalists in five post-conflict African countries, including Burundi.
Towards justice
Broadly defined, transitional justice includes all the ways that societies can choose to deal with the legacy of mass human rights abuse. It is often evoked in a post-conflict situation where national institutions may be weak and resources lacking. As well as prosecutions in local courts, transitional justice mechanisms can include UN and UN-backed courts, truth commissions, reparations for victims and reforming the institutions of state.
Eighty percent of those surveyed who were aware of proposals for a TRC said they would be willing to make a statement to such a commission, and 7 out of 10 said they would testify at a public hearing. However, those who were not willing to speak out said they would be afraid of reprisals from the person they testified against.
Strengthening reporting
The survey comes as the Burundian government and the United Nations are negotiating to set up a UN-backed TRC and Special Court, and with national consultations on such mechanisms due in early 2009.
More than two-thirds of Burundians surveyed (68%) said they want individuals who committed human rights violations during the country's conflict brought before a court and tried. They were, however, divided in their perceptions of the national judiciary. Less than one-quarter (24%) of respondents said that they completely trusted the national judiciary to deliver justice while more than one-quarter (28%) said they distrusted it completely.
Nearly half (44%) of respondents said that they were not satisfied with the media's reporting on transitional justice. When those who were not satisfied were asked why, the majority of respondents (61%) said that there was not enough information in the media on transitional justice issues. Nearly a quarter of unsatisfied respondents also said that they didn't understand the subject matter of transitional justice reports.
"As the country prepares for national consultations on a possible Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Special Court, journalists will need to step up both the quality and quantity of coverage," says Communicating Justice project director Julia Crawford at the BBC World Service Trust. "They will need to break down the complex issues so that ordinary people can understand them. Clarity and simplicity have been the central themes of the training and mentoring delivered in Burundi by the Communicating Justice project."
You can read and download the full report from the Communicating Justice website at www.communicatingjustice.org. A French version of the report will be available in the coming weeks.