Is the social network X (formerly Twitter) about to become a hotbed of citizen debate in Burundi? At the time of writing, the three « spaces » organized on July 14, including two simultaneously, have a total of more than 70,000 listeners. Here are some cross reactions.
Like the agora (public square, place of debate and exchange on the life of the city) in ancient Greece, X has been established for several months as an alternative space for debate on several current topics in Burundi: politics, the fight against gender-based violence or squabbles in the industry Burundian music, everything is there.
This Sunday, July 14, was particularly lively. Three “spaces” were organized during the same evening: “Burundi, forced disappearances, Ryogora duhure, Eden of shortages” organized by account @ReynoldsButare, « Burundi: Are independent organizations (Civil Society) really independent? » organized by account @willynyamitwe (officially belonging to Ambassador Willy Nyamitwe), « Afterparty behind the space by Pacific Nininahase » organized by account @ikigatanyakaziTogether, these three “spaces” total 811 minutes of listening time, or more than 13 hours.
The floor is given to “political exiles”
Pacifique Nininahazwe, a human rights defender in exile, was the guest of the first “space”. He first returned to the genesis of the Forum for Conscience and Development (FOCODE) of which he is the head as well as one of its major themes: the denunciation of forced disappearances.
On the issue of speaking out on issues related to the socio-economic life of the country when they are not part of FOCODE’s initial mission, Pacifique Nininahazwe replied that no one can forbid people from speaking out on issues of public interest.
Beyond the “Ndondeza” campaign, another contributor behind the Munezero Blaise account asked Pacifique Nininahazwe to launch other campaigns that contribute to the development of the country. Before launching: “You only talk about what is not going well in Burundi”.
Among his many interventions, Pacifique Nininahazwe returned to the importance of dialogue between Burundians on the governance of the country: “The solution for Burundi will be through communication” (It is in dialogue that the solutions to the problems of Burundians are found, editor’s note).
While the “space” organized by the @ReynoldsButare account was taking place, another was taking place on the @willynyamitwe account. For Ngendakumana Jean Patrick,“The problem is not who (and why) organizes a space. Burundians must rather come together to exchange.”
The independence of civil society associations in question
“From the clash of ideas comes light”mentioned Ambassador Willy Nyamitwe in his “space”. The verdict of the Nkurunziza Hermès account is final: “Civil society associations are not free”. For him: “Some of these organisations work for their donors.” And to ask: “Doesn’t the state have the right to monitor the actions of civil society? If an individual who is consumed by ethnicity founds an NGO, do you think its nature will ever change?”
According to the former spokesman of the late President Pierre Nkurunziza, “The State has an obligation to monitor civil society associations; for local organizations through the Ministry of the Interior and for international organizations, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.” As for members of civil society who do not remain faithful to their mission, Ambassador Willy Nyamitwe responds: “Some members of civil society choose this path because they have political ambitions and lack the space to express them. This was also my case before I began a political career.”
After these two “spaces”, the @ikigatanyakazi account organized one other which lasted more than five hours.
Nininahaze Vs Nyamitwe : a match dans le match
First, there were those who wanted to compare the number of participants in the spaces organized by the accounts @ReynoldsButare and @willynyamitwe.
#Burundi: Spaces zabaye spaces🥸
I am following the @ReynoldsButari he invited me @pnininahazwe close to you pic.twitter.com/bd3uvmlMcj— Jérôme Kazabukeye (@Kazabukeye) July 14, 2024
Team @ReynoldsButari 850. Vs. Team @willynyamitwe 190.
Are we waiting for a remontada?#Abatwip pic.twitter.com/e96CcccaPD
— Grandson of Senkaya 👽 (@megamindology) July 14, 2024
Ndakunda screenshots cane.
Did you click Cohost of space 2? @NtahirajaThren1.
The ambassadors’ space 🤣🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/O6N3laxjWf
— Joséphine Jones Nkunzimana (@JosJonesNkunz) July 14, 2024
Those who did not adhere to the participants’ interventions.
10 minutes of listening was enough to leave the Space @pnininahazwe .
The intervention of this @mboso33123 est très révelatrice: in the past, Burundi was Eden!
It is certain that with the genocide of the Hutus, it was the paradise of the genocidaires and their families.— Jean-Claude Nurwubusa (@NRJC95) July 14, 2024
And those for whom the dialogue between Burundians has not evolved. For this account, “amafuti aracari ya yandi”.
It’s very unfortunate that, 10 years later, we’re still playing the same games. Un peuple qui n’évolue pas <<<<< n’amafuti aracari yayandi nyene 👎🏾👎🏾👎🏾👎🏾 https://t.co/HMV3EVSw6v
— Invité de nert (@nsabiyumva_) July 15, 2024
If history does not say who lost in this war of “spaces »there was indeed a winner: the contradictory debate.
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2024-07-17 10:16:10