Burundi defends military regime to hostile UN .
Evelyn Leopold
UNITED NATIONS 1996-08-28
Burundi 's ambassador on Wednesday lashed out at economic sanctions imposed by African states and said any thought of an arms embargo would be a windfall for guerrillas fighting his army-run government .
In a lengthy debate on Burundi before the U.N. Security Council , Ambassador Nsanze Terence said the new military government took over to stabilise the country and wanted negotiations under former Tanzanian President Julius Nyrere .
Nearly every African member who spoke , as well as most Security Council members , however , were unsympathetic towards the government of President Pierre Buyoya , an army major put in power in a July coup by the Tutsi-run military , which is locked in a guerrilla war with the majority Hutus .
" These ( African ) brothers should have been the first to bind the wounds of Burundi , " Terence said of the economic embargo . "
Quite the contrary , Burundi has seen economic war declared against it by fellow African people ... a gratuitous immolation of the people of Burundi . "
He said his government had just asked U.N. human rights monitors to increase their numbers in Burundi in an effort " to put an end to this vicious circle of violence . "
More than 150,000 people have been killed in violence between the minority Tutsis and the majority Hutus since 1993 .
Botswana 's envoy , Mothusi Nkgowe , said coups should be relegated " to the dump heap of history " as there could be no justification for the overthrow of a legitimate government .
Chile has proposed a resolution , still under discussion , that would impose an immediate arms embargo on Burundi and call for negotiations .
The draft suggests further sanctions against those who impede a political solution .
Among the council 's five permanent members , Russia and the United States appeared to support most elements of the Chilean proposal , while Britain , France and China were cautious .
Terence , a Tutsi , said any arms embargo would leave the army unable to defend itself against Hutu guerrillas and leave the population exposed to " armed terroritsts . "
But Chilean Ambassador Juan Somavia said : " Every weapon that reached Burundi is a weapon aimed mainly at killing an unarmed civilian .
We must not send a signal different from the African leaders themselves .
Inaction is becoming the worst possible course of action . "
Burundi 's parliament has been suspended and political parties are banned but Terence told reporters Buyoya would reconvene a new type of national assembly in October .
The United States said the coup leaders had taken no steps to restore democracy and indiscriminate killings continued .
Ambassador Karl Inderfurth said the new government should have " unconditional " negotiations with all parties inside and outside of the country .
He said Washington strongly supported the economic sanctions imposed already and if these did not work the council would consider " an arms embargo or targeted sanctions against faction leaders . "
But he said the international community had to be prepared for the worst and avoid a replay of the horrors in neighbouring Rwanda , where widespread genocide broke out against the Tutsis two years ago .
He again said the United Nations should draw up contingency plans for a rapid humanitarian intervention .