MAG, Handicap International and the Burundian Civilian Disarmament and Small Arms Commission have teamed up to put on a month-long festival celebrating disarmament efforts in Burundi.
Arts for Peace officially opened on 2 February and will use sculpture, art and film to educate people on just how deadly weapons can be, and how important it is to reduce their numbers in countries like Burundi.
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Photos: Some of the sculptures on show, all of which have been made out of weapons destroyed or decommissioned in Burundi. [MAG Burundi] |
The festival was officially opened by the Burundian interim Minister of Public Security at an event at the French Cultural Centre (CCF). High level delegates from the Belgian, Dutch, Norwegian and Swiss embassies also attended the event, along with Caroline Duconseille, country director of Handicap International Belgium and Jean-Michel Feffer, director of the CCF.
Throughout February the CCF will host exhibitions of sculptures made out of weapons destroyed or decommissioned in Burundi, symbolising the progress that’s been made reducing small arms in circulation there.
Screenings of films – from Hollywood epics to specially produced documentaries about weapons and the mayhem they can cause – will take place. Dutch film-maker Sander Franken will fly out especially to discuss the making of his film Wheeling and Dealing in Small Arms.
The festival aims to celebrate the Burundian authorities’ ongoing efforts to reduce armed violence, in which organisations like MAG and Handicap International play a vital role.
For example, in the last two years, MAG has surveyed every weapons stockpile belonging to the Police Nationale du Burundi in the country, and has begun the task of properly securing the weapons.
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In October 2009, the Burundian Civilian Disarmament commission collected a significant number of weapons during a Government amnesty, showing a nationwide desire to move away from the country’s violent past. MAG has started destroying these weapons, taking them out of circulation forever.
Despite these efforts the legacy of Burundi’s decade-long civil war remains. The availability of weapons continues to fuel armed violence, and Government stocks are not secured yet.
MAG’s Country Programme Manager Julie Claveau said: “MAG decided to take part in this event to celebrate the return of peace in Burundi, demonstrated by the fact that guns formerly used as tools of war have now been destroyed and transformed into works of art that pass on a message of peace.
"This is also an occasion to celebrate everything that the Burundian Government has so far achieved towards a better control of weapons, with the technical support of MAG. We are committed to continuing our vital humanitarian work here until we have helped them reach the final aim of lasting security in Burundi.”
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MAG would like to express its thanks to the following donors to its Burundi operations: Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Swiss Government; UNDP. Click on Tags below for related articles.
8 February 2010
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