Urundi Rwanda : CIA is totally wrong.
For us who were not around or were still young during the cold war period, CIA may sound just like other strange words. How about KGB ? Does it remind you something?
From my job today, I was surfuring the Internet looking for news about Africa and Olympics and some statistics about Burundi, my beautiful mother country.
By chance I found a page describing Burundi on the CIA website.
The page in question has a lot of information about Burundi and it was last updated on 15 July 2008. Not along time ago.
For those who don’t know CIA, go ahead and visit their website. Here, I m not making pub for them, I just want to point out some of ridiculous mistakes on the website of this “reputable” organization, which knows everything,everyone and every where as you used to believe. CIA, I grew up hearing, could tell how many grams of potatoes I was eating daily. Not to mention that they had every little hidden secret of all states in the world.
I think every one wondered where they were when the terrorists attacked USA on 11 September. However, we all knew that they are just humans, powerful man and woman from a rich nation, having enough dollars to waste and spend here and there but not little gods flying in the sky with unlimited supernatural power. We understood that it could happen and their claims to know all the secrets about the mass destructive arms of Irak reminded us they were not sleeping.
But let me first tell you what they wrote about Burundi;
1. The former name of Burundi is Urundi : No no no no no no no n o …. they are wrong. Urundi is not and have never been a name of Burundi. Burundi was Burundi from the beginning of Burundi and never changed it’s name. Burundi was a kingdom “Ingoma y’Uburundi” and not “Ingoma y’Ururundi” as CIA agents would call it. Urundi is a word which existed only in the heard of Europeans, originally invented by Germans following a misunderstanding conversation between a German official and a Rwandan official, and later used by Belgians after the 1st world war.
If you haven’t heard the story , let me briefly tell you what happened:
1896, when Germans invaded Burundi, the King of Burundi(Umwami w’Uburundi Mwezi Gisabo) with his Badasigana( name of his Army) resisted to colonization as some wise and courageous African leaders of the time and fought them for nearly 7 years. They tried several time to catch or kill the King but in vain. Unfortunately, the neighboring kingdom: Rwanda was already under control. One day a German official asked a Rwandan to show him around and they walked to the borders of Rwanda and Burundi. This is what is Rwanda, you see, He said. Over there is Burundi he added. Urundi? he asked. Because he had problems pronouncing the word Burundi he kept asking. Urundi? “Uru ni Urwanda rurya harya naho ni Burundi” (This is Rwanda and that’s Burundi) he said. The german official not able to get the difference between Burundi and Urundi and knowing already the meaning of Urundi(an other), concluded that there were 2 Rwanda. The one they already controlled and the other they are still fighting for. Later when they learn their mistake, instead of correcting it, they changed the name of Bujumbura into Usumbura and we thought it was a german word.
Dear CIA agents, Urundi is neither a former name of Burundi nor is Usumbura a former name of Bujumbura. Burundi is Burundi and Bujumbura is Bujumbura, Kumukaza if you want a synonym. But unless your are site is in the german version.
2.The Tutsi minority, 14% of the population, dominates the government and the coffee trade at the expense of the Hutu majority, 85% of the population :
According to what I know, the 2005 elections put CNND-FDD at the power. CNDD-FDD was a hutu militia and won the 2005 general elections. According to the constitution, Tutsi are no more than 40% in the government. About the coffee trade, I don’t know much about that. but saying that it’s “at the expenses of Hutu majority”, I don’t catch what they mean. Should the ethnic proportions in the government be also in the trade? According to what I know, in USA, the trade is a free business open to everyone.
3.National Defense Force (Forces de Defense Nationales, FDN): Army (includes Naval Detachment and Air Wing), Gendarmerie (2008):
For the sake of goodness, please stop lying, Burundi doesn’t have Gendarmerie.
4.Airports: 8 (2007):
Burundi doesn’t have 8 airports. We just have one small airport : Bujumbura.
5.Only one in two children go to school:
Ok, that’s right if you keep it on your site. But make sure Nkurunziza won’t see it. if you think I m lying by saying that more than one child in two are going to school, it’s alright, go and ask Nkurunziza (the president) and come back if you can to tell me what he said. For sure he will say you are pro Nyangoma and you will be treated like that. But thanks God you have Guantanamo, he will think twice.
6.children as young as 10 years of age have been conscripted into the armed forces; the enrollment of children is still not prohibited (2007):
This is false, false, and false. Burundi doesn’t allow 10 years old children in the army. If there is a case about that, it’s an isolated one like the American soldier I saw once pulling an Iraqi prisoner like a dog? Is that allowed in USA?
7.Hutu and Tutsi militias (loosely organized) :
unfortunately, they don’t name them. There is currenntly one hutu militia and it had signed the ceasefire. What are those loosely organized tutsi militias : the answer is no one. CIA is more than wrong.
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I can’t count how many mistakes are in their statistics, but I wonder if they can’t see what is not hidden, how will they know the hidden secrets about Iran nuclear program ?
For the sake of goodness I ask them to change it.
Daniel Hakizimana
Shanghai, china