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C O N F I D E N T I A L BUJUMBURA 000445 
 
 
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E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/28/2019 
TAGS: KDEM PGOV PINR PINS BY
SUBJECT: MEETING WITH FNL CHIEF RWASA 
 
Classified By: CHARGE D'AFFAIRES CHARLES H. TWINING FOR 
REASON 1.4 (B,D) 
 
¶1. (C) Introduction and Summary.  As part of a series of 
calls on political party chiefs, we met August 28 with 
Agathon Rwasa, the head of the last rebel group to become 
part of the peace process and demobilize, the Forces 
Nationales de Liberation, or FNL.  Protected by South African 
troops, he proved during our ninety minute session together 
at his party headquarters to be a fascinating interlocutor. 
He described the atmosphere of injustice in which he grew up, 
the development of his thinking when he was in the forest,the 
problems and harassment his party is facing, his appeal to 
Burundians regardless of ethnicity, and the bleak futures of 
the demobilized soldiers.  President Rwasa is convinced the 
ruling CNDD-FNL is seeking to eliminate the FNL.  End 
Summary. 
 
¶2. (C) Background.  Rwasa, a Hutu from northern Burundi, 
described his youth as a time when one had to write down his 
ethnic affiliation in primary school, something which 
followed him and marked him as he grew older.  Tutsis were 
admitted into secondary school in far greater numbers than 
Hutus, and it did not take long before he discovered that 
good government jobs and admission into major university 
faculties went primarily to Tutsis.  This, along with the 
massacres of Hutus that occurred at regular intervals in this 
country's independent history and the fact that all of 
Burundi's strongmen were Tutsis, developed in him a sense of 
injustice that pushed him into a Hutu political movement 
(Palipehutu) in the 1980's.  It soon became obvious that 
political action alone would change nothing, at which point 
the military arm, or FNL, was created in 1990. 
 
¶3. (C) Years in the Wilderness.  President Rwasa said his 
many years in the forest were learning experiences.  He made 
good decisions and bad ones, he said.  He also had a lot of 
time to think.  Injustice, inequality, the police state that 
Burundi had been almost since independence, politicians who 
thought only of themselves, all helped crystallize in his 
mind what was needed to turn the country around.  He cited 
basic agricultural development that helps small farmers 
improve their production until they can move forward on their 
own steam.  He spoke of the need not just to cater to a 
selfish political class far removed from the great mass of 
Burundians.  He mentioned the gap between the rural majority 
and the urban few.  He referred to the necessity for equal 
treatment of all.  We suggested he had the makings of a 
political platform for the Presidential race, and he agreed. 
 
¶4. (C) A Political Party.  With its signing of an agreement 
with the GOB last December 4, he observed that it began the 
process of coming in from the cold.  The movement dropped the 
Palipehutu part of its title and, after Rwasa led the 
demobilization effort the following April 18, became a 
political party.  He did not give any reasons for the change 
from a rebel movement to one entering the mainstream.  He 
said the party has terrific problems: no money, no building 
of its own, harassment of its members and efforts to have 
meetings.  Nevertheless, it intends to continue the political 
struggle and present candidates at all levels in the 2010 
elections.  Needless to say, it is also looking for help. The 
President knows his South African guards will soon be 
withdrawn and referred to the agreement whereby 390 personnel 
from his side and 390 personnel from the Burundian military 
would receive training together to constitute a future guard 
force for FNL leaders.  The GOB has not moved on this issue, 
and Rwasa seemed pessimistic that it would. 
 
¶5. (C) Relations with the Ruling Party.  The FNL President 
was especially bitter toward the ruling CNDD-FDD.  We 
mentioned that we thought their relations were sometimes 
fairly good during their years together in the forest and 
noted speculation that they could join politically even 
today.  Rwasa denied both.  He said the story of cooperation 
among rebel groups was one the ruling party put out, but it 
was never the case.  The CNDD-FNL was determined to eliminate 
the FNL when it was in the woods, and it is trying to 
eliminate it today.  Rwasa said the CNDD-FDD has been using 
money and perks to buy over FNL leaders, proof of which is 
seen in the move into the intelligence service of former 
spokesman Pasteur Habimana and former Deputy Chief of Staff 
Juxbert Ibrahim Musavyi.  President Rwasa was particularly 
bitter toward Habimana.  Rwasa discovered while they were 
still in the forest that Habimana had been siphoning off 
movement funds into his pocket.  Rwasa tried to settle the 
affair quietly, then later had to take it to a larger meeting 
of the leadership.  He said it never stopped, and the 
CNDD-FNL found Habimana's weakness and was able to bring him 
onto its side.  The list of incidents caused by either 
CNDD-FDD members or local officials that the central 
government makes no effort to reign in demonstrates just how 
hard authorities are trying to quash the FNL, the President 
said. 
 
¶6. (C) FNL Identity.  While the message is good about what to 
do about Burundi, we said we did not see how the party would 
overcome its identity as a purely Hutu party if it wished to 
win elections.  Rwasa initially dismissed the accusation, 
noting that every party has an ethnic identity to one degree 
or another.  We persisted in the accusation about the FNL, 
and he said that was a thing of the past.  The FNL appeals to 
all ethnic groups today, President Rwasa insisted, and is 
getting Tutsi members, he asserted.  He said that when he 
goes out into the countryside he speaks about the need for 
equality for all citizens, and the reaction is positive. 
 
¶7. (C) Demobilized Soldiers.  The President observed that, 
other than those integrated into the armed forces and the 
police, as well as the government, the rest have been let go 
with the equivalent of $80 in their pockets, a sum that does 
not last long.  His proposal for government vocational 
training programs has not elicited any response.  The World 
Bank-directed program has been of too limited duration.  We 
expressed interest in discussing further a possible program 
which we might help support. 
 
¶8. (C) Comment.  Agathon Rwasa comes across as someone who is 
seeking to be heard, and having trouble doing so.  It is true 
the government and ruling party are giving his efforts a hard 
time.  One often hears that the FNL has more popularity in 
the countryside than is generally recognized, and a credible 
election would confirm or give the lie to such talk.  He is 
the country's Social Security Commissioner and is clearly 
engaged in the process of making it work, willing to discuss 
at length the problems Burundi's social security system 
faces.  His desire to broaden its coverage from ten to one 
hundred percent of the population very much fits in with the 
social and economic agenda in which he believes personally, 
and passionately.  At the same time it is important to 
remember that there is considerable agreement that this 
articulate leader also has lots of blood on his hands, and 
the extent to which he can overcome this legacy is uncertain, 
at best.  It is also likely that during his years in the 
forest Rwasa thought so much about the supposed injustices 
committed against him and his people that he came to believe 
all the stories, whether true or not.  Note that on the same 
day as our meeting, the FNL announced the dismissal of 
Habimana from the party, both for his close relations with 
the CNDD-FDD and the fraud he committed while in the FNL. 
 
 
Twining