Posted 2010/4/16
Burundi: Message of condolence for Georges Kanuma
Front Line was deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Georges Kanuma on 14 April, after a brief illness. We wish to send our heartfelt condolences to Georges' family, friends and colleagues.
Further Information
Front Line hosted Georges at the 5th Dublin Platform in February this year. He spoke about his important work for the promotion and protection of the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people, and of the challenges he faced. In 2003, he founded the Association for the Respect of the Rights of Homosexuals (ARDHO), the only LGBT advocacy group in Burundi. He was also actively involved in work against HIV/AIDS with the National Association of Support for HIV and AIDS patients.
Georges demonstrated great courage, commitment and generosity in his work to defend the rights of others and he will be greatly missed by all those who had the privilege to meet him and to work with him.
The following is Georges' testimony at the Dublin Platform:
On the initiative of Georges Kanuma, eight young people met in his house on 18 August 2003. The meeting set the foundation stone for the non-governmental organisation ARDHO which translates into Association for the respect of homosexual rights. The association was created as a reaction to many incidents that violated the rights of our homosexual community.
At the beginning, the organisation was merely designed to provide a social support network for homosexuals targeted by assaults. However, thanks to the support of regional organisation we subsequently evolved and began to claim our rights as citizens of Burundi who have a different, yet entirely acceptable sexual orientation.
At a regional conference in 2004 we realised the distinct vulnerability of homosexuals to HIV/AIDS. However, organisations struggling against AIDS refused to acknowledge the implications of the illness on our community. Consequently, we started promoting information about HIV/AIDS on private radio stations. The radio was a great tool to publicly disseminate information on the true nature of homosexuality. We also launched campaigns informing the public about protection measures against an infection with HIV.
One of the non-governmental organisations, the ANSS (National Support Association for HIV infected persons and AIDS patients) which struggles against the spread of AIDS, supported us in our quest. The ANSS was one of the first organisations which assisted HIV infected individuals in 1993. After successfully convincing them of the importance of our mission, they were also the first to include MSM (that is, men who have sex with men) in their projects.
At the same time, the Parliament of Burundi introduced a new law which effectively rendered homosexuality punishable by law. Organisations like the ARDHO and the ANSS were supported by some civil society organisations in pleading for the revocation of this law since it was believed to reinforce the invisibility of homosexuals in society.
While I could have either continued my work in secret or be a publicly known activist my choice was simple. I chose to be active in the public eye and also started to openly express my views in the general media. However, this decision was not always easy as I lost a lot of friends as a result. I am forever grateful to God that my family continue to support me in my mission.
As soon as I started expressing my points of view in the Burundian press, I received phone threats from individuals who claimed to be members of the CNDD FDD which is the leading party in Burundi. They accused me of promoting homosexuality in Burundi and asked me to stop immediately.
As human rights defenders in Burundi, we are constantly put at risk. For instance, the vice-president of the OLUCOME (Organisation for the fight against corruption) was assassinated in pure day light. Furthermore, the vice president of our organisation received threats in the midst of our campaign against the new legal code which criminalised homosexuals. What is more, his immediate circle of friends issued those threats. His landlord immediately expelled him from the apartment and his family stopped talking to him. He now lives in Canada. We must therefore concertedly search for effective ways to protect ourselves so we can pursue our every-day work with maximum results.
