BUJUMBURA March 4th (ABP) – Commissioners of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) on tour in all provinces of the country, held at the headquarters of Mutimbuzi commune in Bujumbura province (western Burundi) on Friday March 1, an information session on TRC missions to communal administrators, provincial service heads, representatives of religious denominations, civil society and the media, a check on the site by ABP has revealed.
Two themes were developed, namely the law governing the TRC presented by Commissioner Léonce Ngabo and the management of the wounded memories and experiences of reconciliation outside the TRC presented by Reverend Pastor Elie Nahimana.
However, opinion leaders in Bujumbura province have raised concerns about the term and missions.
Indeed, the priest of Karinzi parish in Mutambu commune, Father Severin Butoyi, finds that the four-year term that can be extended if the National Assembly deems it necessary will also extend the work of the TRC and the truth sought will not be known and the repair will be delayed. He proposed that the term of the TRC be limited in time. Another speaker asked whether the TRC commissioners themselves, who were victims of the crises that have shaken Burundi, could use restraint and carry out their tasks in a neutral manner.
Others insisted that the identification of the mass graves be continued in that province which was very shaken by the war because they are not lacking.
The TRC commissioners tried to provide some answers to those concerns, saying that their predecessors have achieved many things and that they come to follow suit.
As for the 4-year term, Commissioner Ngabo responded that they will work in a transparent manner and if the term expires before the end of the work, they will extend the term if it is necessary and if it is not the case the team could be replaced.
They urged the participants to collaborate with the TRC and especially to say everything they know and to continue to get informed about the probable mass graves in their localities.
