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Pierre Buyoya (Rutovu, November 24, 1949 - Paris, December 17, 2020) was a politician and military man from Burundi, who on two occasions was President of Burundi, the first between 1987 and 1993, and the second between 1996 and 2003 On both occasions, he came to power through coups. On September 3, 1987, while Bagaza was at the Francophonie summit in Quebec, Canada, Buyoya took advantage of his absence in the country to lead a coup, and remained as President of the National Committee for National Salvation (CMNS) , and on September 9 of that year, he was appointed President of the Republic and Head of Government, at the same time that he held the position of Minister of Defense.1 Upon assuming the position of President, Buyoya accused Bagaza of corruption and of commit crimes against humanity; It is also believed that the Catholic Church of Burundi played a strong role in the coup, due to their unstable relationship with Bagaza. Later, Buyoya reestablishes better relations between the State and the Catholic Church. Conflict between Hutus and Tutsis Buyoya proclaimed a liberalization program and promised a government that would improve relations between the Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups, but presided over a junta made up mostly of Tutsis, where the main political and economic positions in the country were held by the Tutsis (who represented the 14% of the Burundian population).

The situation led to a Hutu uprising in August 1988, in which Hutu communities murdered Tutsi civilians, for which the Army retaliated strongly, leaving between 20,000 and 25,000 dead. In this incident, it is unknown whether it was Buyoya himself who issued the order to crush the revolt, or it was from the Tutsi generals. After the riots and murders, Buyoya appointed a commission to find a way to mediate the situation of violence, taking democratic policies, reconciliation between ethnic groups, greater opportunities for the Hutu community, and the reintegration of refugees into Burundian society. This commission drew up a new constitution that Buyoya approved on March 9, 1992. The constitutional text provided for the constitution of a government with a president and a parliament without ethnic bases, and on October 19 of that year, Buyoya appointed a Hutu Prime Minister. , called Adrien Sibomana. General elections and civil war The first democratic elections were held on June 1, 1993, in which Buyoya participated, but he obtained 32.3% of the votes, being defeated by Melchior Ndadaye, candidate of the Front for Democracy in Burundi (FRODEBU), who obtained the 64.7% of the votes, and whose main promises lay in a balanced government between Hutus and Tutsis. Later, in the legislative elections of June 30, the FRODEBU obtained 72.5% of the votes, keeping 65 of the 81 seats in the National Assembly. UPRONA, meanwhile, obtained 16 seats, and Buyoya had to accept his defeat, and on May 10, 1993, he ceded the presidential position to Ndadaye, in a transition to democracy. However, the Tutsi communities rejected the presidential authority of Ndadaye, and on October 21, 1993, a military coup broke out, which ended the life of the president and the highest authorities of the country, but they did not manage to obtain power. reason why a civil war was unleashed. About 150,000 people lost their lives and 700,000 people fled the country as a result of bloody inter-ethnic massacres.2 The many attempts to stop the conflict peacefully, in which Sylvestre Ntibantunganya made efforts in a coalition government, failed. The situation worsened when the genocide in Rwanda broke out, in which Hutu civilians and soldiers killed almost 1 million Tutsis, thereby weakening Burundi's coalition with that country.1 On July 25, 1996, Buyoya returned to power through another coup, deposition of Ntibantunganya, who was the last of many politicians who had taken power during the conflict. The civil war then became less intense but continuous. The international community imposed economic sanctions due to Buyoya's coup, but he formed a government with a Hutu Vice President, Domitien Ndayizeye, which helped alleviate the conflict. Following an agreement, Buyoya surrendered power in 2003, and Vice President Ndayizeye replaced him as President on April 30.

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