Editor,

Refer to the story, "Burundi holds parliamentary vote amid opposition boycott” (The New Times, June 30).

The problem is whether we should emulate the best or the less good. If the international community could correct whatever it did wrong in the past at best or did not at worst, starting with Burundi, then it would not be applying double standards to African countries.

The truth is, no matter what some fanatics are spreading on social media, including insults from time to time, Team Nkurunziza is very likely to take Burundi 30 years back.

If Nkurunziza’s most senior co-party members and highest ranking officials—including the president of the National Assembly, the second vice president, the vice president of the Constitutional Court and the chairwoman of the party’s Women League to name a few—have fled the country fearing for their lives because of the terror of a pro-government youth militia, no one should continue to ironically downplay the situation by telling us that Burundi is led by a popular man.

Nicolae Ceau-escu in Romania or Idi Amin in Uganda have both ruled their respective countries for quasi endless terms by keeping their own people hostage by terror as Nkurunziza is doing in Burundi but, at the end, their people ended up liberating themselves albeit at the cost of many lost lives, destruction of infrastructure built for years and moribund economies in general.

As the second vice president has rightly said, the only language Nkurunziza understands is that of arms and Burundian people take note. The only help that remains is for the international community to assist Burundians to minimise or ideally avoid the cost of such language of arms by a less costly strategy.

President Nkurunziza will not continue to kill his citizens with impunity with arms bought with their own tax money.Time may be ripe to say no to his terrorism since peaceful demonstrations end up with the slaughtering of our children. Time may be fast approaching for Burundians to refuse to be enslaved by someone who has delivered nothing for ten years, but terror, corruption, nepotism and the like.

If other people have succeeded to refuse tyranny and mass killing of their people, why shouldn’t proud Burundians emulate them and indeed enjoy the same pride of their own liberation? It is in this challenging time that friends of Burundi and the international community—or what we continue to call such—need to come in and exercise their right to protect.

Bela

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I think that President Nkurunziza was underestimated. I also believe that the double standards of the international community are at play here.

The other day, the ruling party in Ethiopia announced that it had won the legislative elections with 100 per cent.

In Sudan, voter turnout was 30 per cent and President Bashir won 94 per cent of the vote. Where was the African Union, European Union...in all these situations? Is it perhaps that one is treated differently depending on what he is?

This doesn’t absolve the Burundi leadership. They need to do better for their people, but what is happening, unfortunately, is neither a first nor a last in Africa.

George