{UAH} Mass Atrocities Looming in Burundi? - NYTimes.com

There's evidence that we may be on the brink of a humanitarian calamity in Burundi, a small central African nation that has seen waves of killings in its history. It has been unstable for months, but now the authorities are using language that recalls the run-up to the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, right next door. A few officials are blowing the whistle — including Samantha Power, who chronicled genocide in her brilliant book and yesterday as ambassador to the U.N. put out a statement on the crisis. But we need a much stronger reaction, immediately, from top U.N. officials including Ban Ki-moon and from African leaders.

One of the great lessons of modern history is that once an atrocity or civil war begins, it's very difficult to stop and often spreads to surrounding countries. This is the moment for world leaders to intervene urgently — warning Burundi's leaders that they will be prosecuted for crimes against humanity if they go that route — not after the slaughter has happened.

Burundi's president has given an ultimatum to opponents to disarm and back off that ends Sunday, and so this weekend will be crucial. The Senate President has called on supporters to "pulverize" and "exterminate" opponents, who are "good only for dying." He tells supporters to "spray" people on the other side, which I'm told is a reference to spraying cockroaches — and we remember the cockroach metaphors that were used in the Rwandan genocide

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Sincerely,

Brian M. Kwesiga