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afrol News, 25 September - The European Union (EU) today condemned "in the most vigorous terms" the massacre in the Burundian village of Itaba, conducted by the country's army. The forceful EU resolution text further urged the Burundian government to respect basic human rights and reverse the current escalation of violence. The EU statement condemned the "serious incidents" that occurred in Itaba, near Gitega. It called for "a neutral and independent enquiry to establish the facts rapidly, and identify the guilty parties so that they can be prosecuted and judged in accordance with the judicial process." The Europeans were, furthermore, disturbed that "information regarding this serious violation of humanitarian law and the right to life, which constitutes an affront to human dignity, is being withheld." According to the statement, the European Union denounced "the current escalation of violence" in the Burundian conflict, "not only because it inflicts additional suffering on the population, but also because a military victory can never provide the basis for a lasting peace and a Burundian society reconciled with itself." Therefore, the EU again appealed urgently "both to the armed groups and to the army, which is the guarantor of law and order, above all to fulfil their obligation to respect the most elementary rights of the civilian population, who are the victims of the conflict, and to the government of Burundi to bring to justice all confirmed cases in which those rights have been violated, in order to break with the culture of impunity." The EU called on all sides involved in the conflict to respect the rules of the law of war and of international humanitarian law. "No military strategy may violate the right to life and personal security of innocent civilians because of their claimed passive or active solidarity with one or other side." At this time when talks between the transitional government and the armed groups are to resume, the EU again reminded all those involved in the conflict of "the pressing need to conclude in good faith the negotiations to produce a global, comprehensive ceasefire and not threaten the fragile stability of the transitional period." An Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation in Burundi was signed in August 2000, and the transitional government of Burundi inaugurated in November 2001. These developments took place without the participation or support of Burundi's two most active armed political groups and armed conflict has since escalated, with a corresponding increase in human rights abuses.
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