Anthem Burundi National

There were no reports of any action taken against local defense unit members responsible for killing civilians in 2000. Unlike in the previous year, there were no reports that rebel forces killed civilians in the country. b. Disappearance Unlike in the previous year, there were no reports of politically motivated disappearances within the country; however, there were numerous credible reports that RDF forces in the DRC seized and transferred to the country numerous Banyamulenge prisoners following the revolt of Banyamulenge Commander Masunzu against the RDF in late January. Several hundred RCD/Goma soldiers in the DRC suspected of sympathizing with the revolt reportedly were disarmed and sent to the country in May for forced "retraining." There was no further information on the soldiers; many suspected they were killed or remained in secret detention in military camps or prisons. T ... [Read More]

Mozambique

Mozambique is a republic with a constitutional government, headed by President Armando Guebuza who was elected in December in generally free and fair elections that were marred by some irregularities. The irregularities did not affect the outcome of the presidential election, but did result in the opposition losing two or three seats in the National Assembly. The Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (FRELIMO) won 160 seats in the 250-seat National Assembly, and the opposition coalition of the Mozambique National Resistance-Electoral Union (RENAMO-UE) won the remaining 90 seats. FRELIMO has ruled the country since independence in 1975, dominating both policymaking and implementation. The Constitution provides for an independent judiciary; however, the executive branch dominated the courts. The courts lacked adequate resources, were chronically understaffed, susceptible to corruption, and largely ineffectual. ... [Read More]

Rwanda

According to church officials, in 4 of the country's 12 provinces, 43 children of Jehovah's Witnesses were expelled from secondary schools between April and June for refusing to salute the national flag or to sing the national anthem. Church officials raised the issue with national authorities, but most of the children remained expelled until the end of the school year. ...

On September 6, despite 3 years of negotiations between the Government and international NGOs on a draft law to manage international NGOs, the Government proposed an entirely new draft law to the international NGOs. The proposed new law did not address many of the compromises made during the previous negotiation and subjected NGOs to stringent government oversight. No compromise had been reached between the parties by year's end, but the proposal was widely seen as an attack on international NGOs. ... [Read More]