Cyprien Ntaryamira
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Cyprien Ntaryamira (6 March 1955 – 6 April 1994) was a Burundian politician who served as
President of Burundi The president of Burundi, officially the President of the Republic (French: ''Président de la République''), is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Burundi. The president is also commander-in-chief of the National Def ...
from 5 February 1994 until his death two months later. A
Hutu The Hutu (), also known as the Abahutu, are a Bantu ethnic or social group which is native to the African Great Lakes region. They mainly live in Rwanda, Burundi and the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, where they form one of the prin ...
born in Burundi, Ntaryamira studied there before fleeing to Rwanda to avoid ethnic violence and complete his education. Active in a Burundian student movement, he cofounded the socialist
Burundi Workers' Party Burundi Workers' Party (french: Parti des travailleurs du Burundi, PTB; rn, Umugambwe w'Abakozi b'Uburundi, UBU) was a clandestine communist party in Burundi. Its primary constituency was the large Burundian refugee population situated in neigh ...
and earned an agricultural degree. In 1983 he returned to Burundi and worked agricultural jobs, though he was briefly detained as a political prisoner. In 1986 he cofounded the
Front for Democracy in Burundi The Front for Democracy in Burundi (french: link=no, Front pour la Démocratie au Burundi, FRODEBU) is a Hutu progressive political party in Burundi. History It was formed by followers of Melchior Ndadaye from the disbanded Burundi Workers' ...
(FRODEBU), and in 1993 FRODEBU won Burundi's general elections. He subsequently became the Minister of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry on 10 July, but in October
Tutsi The Tutsi (), or Abatutsi (), are an ethnic group of the African Great Lakes region. They are a Bantu-speaking ethnic group and the second largest of three main ethnic groups in Rwanda and Burundi (the other two being the largest Bantu ethnic grou ...
soldiers killed the president and other top officials in an attempted coup. Ntaryamira survived the putsch and in January 1994 the
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...
elected him to become the President of Burundi. After a prolonged constitutional dispute, he was inaugurated on 5 February, declaring that his top priorities would be restoring peace, promoting human rights, and resettling refugees. Throughout his tenure he unsuccessfully sought to mitigate ethnic conflict. He was killed on 6 April 1994 when the plane he was travelling in with Rwandan President
Juvénal Habyarimana Juvénal Habyarimana (, ; 8 March 19376 April 1994) was a Rwandan politician and military officer who served as the second president of Rwanda, from 1973 until 1994. He was nicknamed ''Kinani'', a Kinyarwanda word meaning "invincible". An ethn ...
was shot down over
Kigali Kigali () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is near the nation's geographic centre in a region of rolling hills, with a series of valleys and ridges joined by steep slopes. As a primate city, Kigali has been Rwa ...
.


Early life

Cyprien Ntaryamira was born on 6 March 1955 in the Mageyo Zone's
commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...
of Mubimbi, Bujumbura Rural Province,
Ruanda-Urundi Ruanda-Urundi (), later Rwanda-Burundi, was a colonial territory, once part of German East Africa, which was occupied by troops from the Belgian Congo during the East African campaign in World War I and was administered by Belgium under militar ...
. Ethnically, he was
Hutu The Hutu (), also known as the Abahutu, are a Bantu ethnic or social group which is native to the African Great Lakes region. They mainly live in Rwanda, Burundi and the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, where they form one of the prin ...
and the sixth of eleven children in his family. He attended primary school in Rushubi before enrolling in the Collège du Saint-Ésprit in Bujumbura in 1968. In 1972 a Hutu rebellion against the regime of
Tutsi The Tutsi (), or Abatutsi (), are an ethnic group of the African Great Lakes region. They are a Bantu-speaking ethnic group and the second largest of three main ethnic groups in Rwanda and Burundi (the other two being the largest Bantu ethnic grou ...
President
Michel Micombero Michel Micombero (26 August 194016 July 1983) was a Burundian politician and army officer who ruled the country as ''de facto'' military dictator for the decade between 1966 and 1976. He was the last Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Burundi fro ...
led to a wave of anti-Hutu genocidal repression inflicted by the
Burundian Army The ''Burundi'' National Defence Force (french: Force de defense nationale ''du Burundi'', or FDNB) is the state military organisation responsible for the defence of Burundi. A general staff (''État-Major Général'') commands the armed forces, ...
. According to his cousin,
François Ngeze François Ngeze (born 1953) is a Burundian retired politician. He served as the acting head of state of Burundi from 21 October 1993 to 27 October 1993. He was chosen by the military Committee of Public Salvation, a group of army officers that sta ...
, government administrator Basile Gateretse hid Ngeze and Ntaryamira in his home for two weeks. Once the authorities became suspicious, Gateretse arranged for the two of them to flee across the
Ruzizi River The Ruzizi (also sometimes spelled Rusizi) is a river, long, that flows from Lake Kivu to Lake Tanganyika in Central Africa, descending from about to about above sea level over its length. The steepest gradients occur over the first , where hy ...
into Zaire. Thousands of Hutus ultimately fled the country. Ntaryamira eventually went to Rwanda. He reentered school at Rilima College in Kigali Prefecture, studying there from 1973 to 1976. He subsequently attended the
National University of Rwanda The National University of Rwanda (NUR; rw, Kaminuza nkuru y’u Rwanda, french: Université nationale du Rwanda, UNR) was the largest university in Rwanda. It was located at in the city of Butare and was established in 1963 by the government ...
, earning a bachelor's of science degree and a degree in agriculture engineering in 1976 and 1979, respectively. He married Sylvana Mpabwanayo in 1985 and had three children with her.


Political career

While abroad, Ntaryamira maintained an interest in Burundian politics and in 1976 cofounded a student movement, known as the Movement of Progressive Barundi Students (''Mouvement des Etudiants Progressistes Barundi''). He served as head of its information department. In August 1979 some of the student movement members founded the
Burundi Workers' Party Burundi Workers' Party (french: Parti des travailleurs du Burundi, PTB; rn, Umugambwe w'Abakozi b'Uburundi, UBU) was a clandestine communist party in Burundi. Its primary constituency was the large Burundian refugee population situated in neigh ...
(''Umugambwe wa'Bakozi Uburundi'', UBU), a
revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective, to refer to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor. ...
socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
political party. By 1981 he sat on its central committee as its national secretary responsible for economic and social questions. He returned to Burundi in March 1983 and was hired as an advisor in the Burundian General Directorate of Agricultural Planning. He also established a hen-breeding business in Mubimbi. The following January he took charge of the Compagnie de Gérance du Coton's northern cotton region. In May 1985 he was arrested and held at Mpimba prison for working with a subversive political movement—UBU. Incarcerated for a year, he was reportedly freed at the request of the wife of President
Jean-Baptiste Bagaza Jean-Baptiste Bagaza (29 August 19464 May 2016) was a Burundian army officer and politician who ruled Burundi as president and ''de facto'' military dictator from November 1976 to September 1987. Born into the Tutsi ethnic group in 1946, Bagaza ...
, a childhood friend of his. As the
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
wound down Ntaryamira,
Melchior Ndadaye Melchior Ndadaye (28 March 1953 – 21 October 1993) was a Burundian intellectual and politician. He was the first democratically elected and first Hutu president of Burundi after winning the landmark 1993 Burundi presidential election, 1993 elect ...
, and several other UBU members sought to move away from socialist ideology in favor of embracing democracy and electoral processes, as was more acceptable to the international community. Ntaryamira was viewed as politically moderate with regards to ethnic issues, believing Hutus could work with the Tutsi minority to govern Burundi. In August 1986 Ntaryamira, Ndadaye, and 10 others founded the
Front for Democracy in Burundi The Front for Democracy in Burundi (french: link=no, Front pour la Démocratie au Burundi, FRODEBU) is a Hutu progressive political party in Burundi. History It was formed by followers of Melchior Ndadaye from the disbanded Burundi Workers' ...
(''Front pour la Démocratie au Burundi'', FRODEBU). Ntaryamira served in its political bureau and was responsible for creating the party's economic policies. In December 1987 he was appointed Burundi's Director General of Agriculture and Livestock. FRODEBU gained power after Burundi's first democratic presidential and parliamentary elections, which ended a long history of rule by military officers of the Tutsi minority and the
Union for National Progress The Union for National Progress (french: Union pour le Progrès national, UPRONA) is a nationalist political party in Burundi. It initially emerged as a nationalist united front in opposition to Belgian colonial rule but subsequently became an i ...
(''Union pour le Progrès national'', UPRONA). Ndadaye became President. Ntaryamira was elected to a seat in the
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...
, representing the Bujumbura Rural constituency. On 10 July 1993 he was appointed Minister of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, serving under Prime Minister
Sylvie Kinigi Sylvie Kinigi (born 24 November 1953) is a Burundian politician and economist who served as Prime Minister of Burundi from 10 July 1993 to 7 February 1994, and acting president from November 1993 to 5 February 1994, making her the second African ...
. In that capacity he appointed several Tutsis to key posts in the agriculture ministry. At about midnight on 20/21 October 1993, members of the Burundian Army launched a coup attempt and attacked the presidential palace in an attempt to capture Ndadaye. The president's wife called Ntaryamira to warn him of what was occurring. Fearing he would be targeted, Ntaryamira hid in his neighbours' home, who were Tutsis. When soldiers did not find him in his own residence, they went there asking for his whereabouts. The matriarch of the household told the soldiers that Ntaryamira had fled down the road, and they quickly departed. He then hid in a foreign embassy for the remainder of the coup attempt. Ndadaye and the other officials in the line of presidential succession—the President and Vice-President of the National Assembly—were ultimately killed, creating a power vacuum. The assassination also sparked massive violence, as Hutus massacred Tutsis in rural areas and the army retaliated by murdering Hutus, leading to tens of thousands of deaths and creating a large outflow of refugees. On 9 January 1994 the National Assembly modified Article 85 of the Burundian constitution, empowering itself to elect the next President of Burundi. FRODEBU set about trying to name a successor to Ndadaye, and this stoked a rivalry between
Sylvestre Ntibantunganya Sylvestre Ntibantunganya (born 8 May 1956) is a Burundian politician. He was President of the National Assembly of Burundi from 23 December 1993 to 30 September 1994, and President of Burundi from 6 April 1994 to 25 July 1996 (interim to October 1 ...
and
Léonard Nyangoma Léonard Nyangoma (born 31 December 1952) is a Burundian politician and former rebel leader. Early life Léonard Nyangoma was born on 31 December 1952 in Rutundwe, Bururi Province, Burundi. He graduated from the University of Burundi in 1979 wit ...
. By his own account, Ntibantunganya decided to withdraw himself as a candidate despite having the support of the central committee, citing his desire to focus on party matters, and Jean‐Marie Ngendahayo suggested that FRODEBU back Ntaryamira for the position instead. In contrast, former president
Pierre Buyoya Pierre Buyoya (24 November 1949 – 17 December 2020) was a Burundian army officer and politician who served two terms as President of Burundi in 1987 to 1993 and 1996 to 2003. He was the second-longest serving president in Burundian history. An ...
alleged that Ntaryamira was "imposed" by other FRODEBU figures and some party outsiders to circumvent the rivalry. The opposition viewed Ntaryamira as free of involvement in the 1993 massacres of Tutsis, and he was offered as a "consensus" candidate. On 13 January the National Assembly elected Ntaryamira to become president in a vote, 78 to one. Ntaryamira was scheduled to be inaugurated on 22 January, but the parliamentary opposition, led by UPRONA, filed a suit with the Constitutional Court to block the installment. They argued that Article 182 of the constitution, which stipulated that the document could not be modified in times of national crisis, rendered the National Assembly's amending of Article 85 void. FRODEBU parliamentarians argued that the change was necessary to fill the vacancy, since holding a national election to replace the former president would have been impossible. The Constitutional Court ruled in favor of the opposition in a decision split along ethnic lines. The Hutu justices subsequently resigned and the government dismissed the Tutsi justices. This led to several days of violence in Bujumbura, but on 3 February the government and opposition parties reached an agreement to install Ntaryamira as president with an UPRONA prime minister, as well as reinstate the Constitutional Court. Ntaryamira was sworn-in on 5 February. In his inaugural address, he declared that his top priorities would be to restore peace, promote
human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...
, and resettle thousands of Burundian refugees and internally displaced persons. His government consisted of a broad coalition including Hutu and Tutsi members from FRODEBU and UPRONA.
Anatole Kanyenkiko Anatole Kanyenkiko (born 1952) was the Prime Minister of Burundi from 7 February 1994 to 22 February 1995. An ethnic Tutsi from Ngozi Province, Kanyenkiko was a member of the Union for National Progress (UPRONA), a political party. On 14 November ...
, an UPRONA politician, was made Prime Minister. Kanyenkiko's selection did not satisfy many UPRONA leaders, and while Ntaryamira allowed several other top party figures into his government, he blocked the appointment of those whom he considered responsible for the violence in the capital. During Ntaryamira's presidency, Burundi was troubled with severe ethnic violence and an economic crisis triggered by the conflict and low rainfall. He reorganised the National Intelligence Service —appointing
Domitien Ndayizeye Domitien Ndayizeye (born 2 May 1953) is a Burundian politician who was President of Burundi from 2003 to 2005. He succeeded Pierre Buyoya, as president on 30 April 2003, after serving as Buyoya's vice president for 18 months. Ndayizeye remained in ...
to head it—and the Migration services and attempted to reform municipal police. He also announced that he would appoint a commission to investigate atrocities committed in Bujumbura. In an attempt to demobilise civilian militias, his government dispatched delegations to meet with the groups, but these entreaties failed as the emissaries were fired upon. His government then attempted to use the army to stop the militias, but in late March the army became entangled in ethnic conflict in the capital and, acting autonomously from the government, exclusively targeted Hutu neighborhoods for disarmament. In a radio broadcast, Ntaryamira appealed to the army to withdraw to end the fighting. His support for national disarmament and for a European embargo on arms exports to Burundi brought him into disagreement with Kanyenkiko, who wanted a harsh crackdown on rebel groups and thought an embargo infringed on the country's sovereignty. Ultimately, his efforts to stem the ethnic violence were unsuccessful. He maintained close diplomatic ties with President
Mobutu Sese Seko Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu Wa Za Banga (; born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu; 14 October 1930 – 7 September 1997) was a Congolese politician and military officer who was the president of Zaire from 1965 to 1997 (known as the Democratic Republic o ...
of
Zaire Zaire (, ), officially the Republic of Zaire (french: République du Zaïre, link=no, ), was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zaire was, ...
and President
Ali Hassan Mwinyi Ali Hassan Mwinyi (born 8 May 1925) is a Tanzanian politician, who served as the second President of the United Republic of Tanzania from 1985 to 1995. Previous posts include Interior Minister and Vice President. He also was chairman of the rul ...
of Tanzania. He was also rumoured to have daily phone conversations with Rwandan President
Juvénal Habyarimana Juvénal Habyarimana (, ; 8 March 19376 April 1994) was a Rwandan politician and military officer who served as the second president of Rwanda, from 1973 until 1994. He was nicknamed ''Kinani'', a Kinyarwanda word meaning "invincible". An ethn ...
. On 4 April he met with Mobutu and Habyarimana in
Gbadolite Gbadolite or Gbado-Lite (pronounced ) is the capital of Nord-Ubangi Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The town is located south of the Ubangi River at the border to the Central African Republic and northeast of the national capi ...
to discuss regional security issues.


Death


Aircraft shootdown

On 6 April 1994 Ntaryamira attended a regional summit in Dar es Salaam called by Mwinyi to discuss maintaining peace in Burundi. However, the focus of the meeting quickly turned towards the implementation of the Arusha Accords, a peace agreement designed to end the
Rwandan Civil War The Rwandan Civil War was a large-scale civil war in Rwanda which was fought between the Rwandan Armed Forces, representing the country's government, and the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) from 1October 1990 to 18 July 1994. The war arose ...
. The delegates chastised President Habyarimana for stalling the peace process, and Ntaryamira criticised him for heightening local tensions and thereby jeopardising the national security of Burundi. Once the summit was over, Ntaryamira reportedly asked Habyarimana if he could be taken home aboard the Rwandan
Dassault Falcon 50 The Dassault Falcon 50 is a French super-midsize, long-range business jet, featuring a trijet layout with an S-duct air intake for the central engine. It has the same fuselage cross-section and similar capacity as the earlier twin-engined Falcon ...
presidential jet, which was faster than his own propeller-driven plane. A stop in the Rwandan capital,
Kigali Kigali () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is near the nation's geographic centre in a region of rolling hills, with a series of valleys and ridges joined by steep slopes. As a primate city, Kigali has been Rwa ...
, would also allow him to pick up his wife who was there. Habyarimana agreed and allowed Ntaryamira to accompany him along with two Burundian ministers. Some observers have speculated that Habyarimana feared he was in danger and thought that the presence of another head of state on his aircraft would deter attacks. At 8:23 PM as the jet was approaching
Kigali International Airport Kigali International Airport , formerly known as Kanombe International Airport, is the primary airport serving Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. Currently, there is an ongoing project to build another mega-airport in Bugesera District, Eastern Pro ...
, two surface-to-air rockets were fired, with the second missile striking it. The plane crashed, killing all aboard. The precise identity of the attackers who launched the rockets remains unknown. Some people believe Hutu extremists unhappy with Habyarimana's decision to sign the Arusha Accords were responsible, while others have alleged that Rwandan rebel leader
Paul Kagame Paul Kagame (; born 23 October 1957) is a Rwandan politician and former military officer who is the 4th and current president of Rwanda since 2000. He previously served as a commander of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a Uganda-based rebel ...
ordered the assassination.


Political consequences

Observers feared that Ntaryamira's death would lead to widespread violence in Burundi, as had happened when Ndadaye was killed in October 1993. However, unlike in Rwanda, where the shootdown sparked a genocide, the situation in Burundi remained peaceful after word was received of its president's death. The Burundian government initially declared that the plane crash was caused by an accident and President of the National Assembly
Sylvestre Ntibantunganya Sylvestre Ntibantunganya (born 8 May 1956) is a Burundian politician. He was President of the National Assembly of Burundi from 23 December 1993 to 30 September 1994, and President of Burundi from 6 April 1994 to 25 July 1996 (interim to October 1 ...
made a broadcast on television, flanked by the minister of defence and the army chief of staff, appealing for calm. Several hundred Tutsis marched through the capital to celebrate the deaths of the presidents. Diplomats reported that most Burundians believed that the assassination was meant to target Habyarimana, not Ntaryamira. Ntibantunganya attributed Ntaryamira's death to "the facts of circumstance" and believed that he was not targeted. Ntibantunganya succeeded Ntaryamira as interim president. The Kanyenkiko government officially resigned but stayed in office to manage daily affairs pending the confirmation of its replacement. As Ntibantunganya was only viewed as having assumed the presidency in an interim fashion, new power sharing discussions between FRODEBU and the opposition parties began while ethnic tensions remained high and violence spread throughout the country. On 20 April the Constitutional Court again ruled that the amendment which allowed the National Assembly to elect Ntaryamira president was unconstitutional. An agreement was reached in September, whereby the National Assembly elected Ntibantunganya to a four-year term of office while 45% of positions in the cabinet were allocated to the opposition. Regardless, violence increased as the army purged Hutu civilians and numerous rebel groups formed to fight against it.


Burial and commemoration

Ntaryamira's body was heavily mutilated in the crash; his corpse was identified at about 03:00 on 7 April 1994. On 16 April 1994 a requiem mass was held for him at the Regina Mundi Cathedral in Bujumbura, attended by thousands of people, and he was subsequently buried on the grounds of the presidential palace. Historians Jean-Pierre Chrétien and Melchior Mukuri wrote of Ntaryamira's presidency, "It is difficult to draw up an assessment for a regime which only worked for two months and in an immediately very tense atmosphere." Ntaryamira's death is commemorated annually by the Burundian government on 6 April. His killing in the plane shootdown has generally been overshadowed in public memory by Habyarimana's death and the subsequent Rwandan genocide. On 6 April 2017 his widow wrote a letter to President
Pierre Nkurunziza Pierre Nkurunziza (18 December 19648 June 2020) was a Burundian politician who served as the ninth president of Burundi for almost 15 years from August 2005 until his death in June 2020. A member of the Hutu ethnic group, Nkurunziza taught ph ...
, asking that the Burundian government recognise Ntaryamira as a national hero and request that the United Nations launch an international investigation into the downing of his plane. In April 2021 a government spokesperson indicated that the government was considering its options for further exploring the details of the shootdown.


References


Works cited

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