Comparative Reconciliation Politics in Rwanda and Burundi Philippe Rieder A Thesis In the Humanities Doctoral Program Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Humanities) at Concordia University Montreal, Québec, Canada April 2015 © Philippe Rieder, 2015 Signature Page Main Supervisor Frank Chalk Committee member Peter Stoett Committee member Andrew Ivaska Chair Steven High External Examiner René Lemarchand Examiner for Humanities Doctoral Program Maurice Charland iii Abstract Comparative Reconciliation Politics in Rwanda and Burundi Philippe Rieder, Ph.D. Concordia University, 2015 This thesis functions as a comparative exercise juxtaposing reconciliation politics in Rwanda and Burundi from a bottom-up perspective. Rwanda and Burundi have been labeled 'twins' before. Both countries have a very similar population structure and history of mass violence. However, their post- conflict processes differ. This fact renders them ideal candidates for comparison. Rwanda's 'maxi- mum approach' is compared to Burundi's 'non-approach' to reconciliation politics on two levels: official and informal. The 'official' level examines intention and politico-economic context from the government's side, the 'informal' level looks at how these policies have been perceived at the grass- roots and if they succeeded in reconciling the population with regard to the key objectives memory, acknowledgement, apology, recognition, and justice. The thesis analyzes and compares the advantages and disadvantages of both models thoroughly and identifies pitfalls and solutions with regard to breaking the cycle of alternating revenge and domi- nance by re-orienting national reconciliation politics towards the perceptions and insights of the rural population at the grassroots. The thesis concludes that the strong governmental focus on con- trolling the reconciliation discourse in Rwanda and the self-absorption of the political elite in Burundi in politico-economic power struggles are the main obstacles to reconciliation as they risk to margin- alizing and alienating large parts of the population. iv Summary This thesis examines and compares the domestic political efforts towards reconciliation in Rwanda and Burundi. It understands reconciliation in the broadest sense of the word, incorporating national approaches towards identity politics, commemoration and historical memory, governmental assis- tance for victims, and transitional justice. Rwanda and Burundi have been characterized as 'twins' before. They share very similar traits: size, population, language, ethnic composition and, sadly, par- allel histories of civil war and genocide. They however differ with regard to how their respective conflicts ended: in Rwanda, Paul Kagame's RPF achieved a complete victory after the genocide of 1994. In Burundi, Pierre Nkurunziza came to power after an internationally brokered power sharing agreement in 2005. With regard to reconciliation politics, these two East African states become al- most ideal candidates for comparison because of their diverging post-conflict points of departure. The thesis approaches reconciliation politics from a bottom-up perspective, trying to uncover the relationships of power and dependency that drive actors towards aggression or reconciliation. Deriv- ing from qualitative research (semi-structured life story-interviews) in five communities in Southern Rwanda and Northern Burundi as well as Kigali and arguing from the perspectives of rural dwellers, the thesis refuses to take the publicly stated aims of reconciliation politics at face value and instead examines the politico-economic backgrounds of policy design and the grassroots perception of policy implementation. Even though the governments of both countries display increasingly authoritarian features, their approaches could not differ more. While Rwanda relies on controlling its population and political discourse through unifying the conflictive identities and narratives into an encompass- ing Rwandan identity and narrative, Burundi attempts a consociational solution that balances out the interests of Hutu and Tutsi but (until now) leaves the interpretation of the past to the population itself. The thesis assumes a rather critical stance towards top-down social engineering and re-education programs in Rwanda. At the same time, it recommends achievements and approaches towards bridging the societal trenches that genocide and mass violence have left, if the participants' evalua- tion is positive. Particularly when comparing the overarching Rwandan policy of unity and reconcilia- tion to the essentially absent Burundian strategy towards reconciliation and justice, certain ad- vantages of the rather partial but nonetheless ambitious approach towards reprocessing the past to come to light. Apart from establishing quota regulations for a Tutsi minority representation in the army, administration and government in 2005, concrete steps to address the atrocities of the past have continuously been postponed in Burundi until very recently. v The thesis analyzes and compares the advantages and disadvantages of both models thoroughly and identifies the pitfalls and seeks out solutions with regard to breaking the cycle of alternating revenge and dominance by re-orienting national reconciliation politics towards the perceptions and insights of the rural population at the grassroots. The thesis concludes that the strong governmental focus on controlling the reconciliation discourse in Rwanda and the self-absorption of the political elite in Burundi in politico-economic power struggles are the main obstacles to reconciliation as they risk to marginalizing and alienating large parts of the population. vi For Elena and Henry vii Acknowledgements First, I would like to thank my wife Friederike for bearing with me during this whole process. The work and I have been extremely demanding and I am the happiest man alive for having such a strong and unwavering woman by my side. You were always there for support and encouragement when I was at the end of my wits, despite going through a rough patch yourself! I love you. Second, I would like to express my most profound thanks to all the Rwandan and Burundian partici- pants of this study as well as to my research assistants "Gilbert1", "Christophe2", Vanessa and Pascal. I have rarely learned more in my life than through listening to your experiences and opinions. I feel honored that so many of you shared the details of your life stories and thoughts with me, sometimes with considerable risk for your own safety, and I hope to reproduce your views adequately in this thesis. People like you strengthen my belief that reconciliation in Burundi and Rwanda is on its way, despite the political misgivings covered in this thesis. To my research assistants: thank you so much for an excellent job. Even though most of you were no professionals as such, I could not have wished for more dedicated, reliable and enthusiastic co-workers and friends. Third, I would like to thank the people at Concordia University, most of all my committee Frank Chalk, Peter Stoett and Andrew Ivaska. Thank you for your invaluable input and expertise and espe- cially believing in me and bearing with me even though I certainly took my time. The team of MIGS Montreal should not be forgotten. Roméo Dallaire, Kyle Matthews, Alexandra Buskie, and Marie Lamensch deserve more than thanks for their important work in genocide prevention. Thank you also for incorporating my reports on Burundi into your monitoring project. The people at Concordia's Humanities Doctoral Program, Bina Freiwald, Erin Manning, and Sharon Fitch always supported me during the thesis-writing stage. Particularly without Sharon Fitch's administrative help, it would not have been possible to complete this project. Steven High and the Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling prepared me for the interview process and shared important information regarding life story interviews. I would also like to thank René Lemarchand for agreeing to act as an external ex- pert in my defense. My seven months of field research would not have been possible without a generous grant of the SNF – The Swiss National Science Foundation. Please accept my most sincere thanks, especially Jas- min Boss and Martina Haug. 1 Name changed upon wish of research assistant. 2 Name changed upon wish of research assistant. viii Many people in Rwanda, Burundi, Canada and Switzerland were of critical importance to my field research. Prof. Jean-Salathiel Muntunutwiwe from the University of Bujumbura facilitated the con- tact to possible translators and provided valuable insights about Burundian politics and media. Pro- fessor Paul Rutayisire and Jean Bosco Habyarimana from the National University of Rwanda helped me out in obtaining my research permit from MINEDUC. The staff of CLADHO hired me as a volun- teer and granted me vital insights into the work of Rwandan CSOGs. Steven Nsengiyumva (good luck with your thesis) and Ligue Iteka Ngozi facilitated the key contacts to research participants in Ngozi. Assumpta Mugiraneza from Centre Iriba, Corrie Young, Erin Jessee, and Kerry McElroy were always there for lively discussions, bouncing back ideas and sharing their insights, which all have contribut- ed to the thesis. Abel, Chris, Nadine, Claire, Bertrand, Ornella, Roxy, Pichu, Skizzy, Croidja and the Kigali hiphop-scene made me immediately feel at home in Rwanda and Burundi. Thank you all. I would also like to express