^{This page is part of © FOTW Flags Of The World website}

Burundi without stars in the national flag? (2005)

See also:

Burundi

Note: The controversial information linked to the political struggle between the Tutsis and the Hutus in Burundi and Rwanda - the reliabilty of the sources was not assessed.

Unconfirmed!
by Ivan Sache, 20 February 2005

While the three stars in the national flag are said to refer to the three words of the mational motto “Unité, Travail, Progrès” (French for “Unity, Work, Progress”), they are also said to represent the three ethnic groups who live in Burundi: the Hutu, Tutsi and the Twa.
According to news given by Grands-Lacs Confidentiel on 14 February 2005, the government of Burundi has decided to remove the three stars from the national flag.
It seems that the stars are used by Tutsi extremists to back up their claim that the Tutsis are descendants of ancient Jews. They link the Tutsi to the Kushi and the ancien Kushit state ruled by the Queen of Saba; the Tutsi Judaism would pre-Talmudic, like the Judaism of the Patriarchs and Kings David and Salomon.
The Centre de Havilla (Havilla means Great Lakes), founded in Brussel by Professor Jochanan (Jean) Bwejeri, is actively defending this theory, and campaigns against the removal of the stars on the flag.
Grands-Lacs Confidentiel reports that Israel, the United States and Britain put pressure on the government of Burundi to maintain the stars on the flag.
Sources:

Grands-Lacs Confidentiel http://www.africatime.com/burundi/nouvelle.asp?no_nouvelle=173580&no_categorie=
An "explanation" of the Jewish origin of the Tutsis, by Mathias Niyonzima (in French) http://www.sefarad.org/publication/lm/056/html/page29.html.
Ivan Sache, 20 February 2005