The U.S. ambassador-at-large for war crimes issues says those behind
ongoing violence in Burundi could face prosecution.
Stephen Rapp said peaceful demonstrators continue to be shot at,
adding the U.S. is particularly concerned with violence committed by the youth
militia of the ruling CNDD-FDD party, the Imbonerakure.
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| Imbonerakure (seen above) is the youth wing of Burundi's ruling CNDD-FDD party |
“We are sending a strongest message we can that those that commit them
[acts of violence] — in particular, those that incite them, order them, arm and
deploy the forces that are committing these crimes — will be held to
account," Rapp told the Voice of America news service.
Rapp warned that those involved in violence and killings in Burundi
would most likely end up at the International Criminal Court.
“Burundi is a state party of the ICC, and this very much could be a
situation in which individuals, even leaders, could be held to account for
these crimes," he said. "And very clearly, that will happen if these
levels of killing and incitement continue.
Rapp, who served as prosecutor of the special court for Sierra Leone
and a senior trial attorney at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda,
urged Burundian political actors to avoid playing the "ethnic card."
Burundi, like neighboring Rwanda, experienced deep tensions between
Hutus and Tutsis in the past.