Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

Burundi to Demand Colonial Reparations From Germany and Belgium  
Deutsche Welle
19 Aug 2020
🖨️ Print Article
Burundi to Demand Colonial Reparations From Germany and Belgium  
Burundi to Demand Colonial Reparations From Germany and Belgium  

The East African country is a former German colony and lived under Belgian rule until gaining independence almost 60 years ago. 

“The ruling powers strengthened the divide between the Hutu and Tutsi groups.”

Burundi wants Germany and Belgium to pay €36 billion ($42.6 billion) in reparations for colonial rule, media reports published on Sunday said.

The country's senate has put together a panel of experts to assess the damage done during colonialism and advise on the cost of damages, according to Radio France International.

The broadcaster said that once the amount has been decided, Burundi plans to send these recommendations to the German and Belgium governments.

The country also intends to demand the European countries return stolen historical artifacts and archive material.

From 1890, Germany colonized Burundi, which became part of German East Africa. After WWI, the country was ruled by Belgium, until it gained its independence in 1962.

Colonial legacy

During the colonial era, the ruling powers strengthened the divide between the Hutu and Tutsi groups.

This contributed to deadly ethnic conflict between them in the 1970s and then another civil war for 12 years from 1993, which killed some 300,000 people.

The Belgium government carried out a program of kidnapping biracial children from Burundi and then Belgium Congo during the 1940s and 50s.

Belgium officially apologized for this in 2009.

Although less well-known than other colonial powers, Germany was at one time the fourth-largest colonial power in the world.

In addition to German East Africa, which was made up of present-day Rwanda and parts of Tanzania in addition to Burundi, Germany had territories in what is now Ghana and Namibia and elsewhere.

The German government has been in talks since 2015 with Namibia — the country wants both financial reparations and an official apology from Germany for losses sustained and crimes committed during its colonial rule.

Belgium is planning to set up a panel of experts to advise its administration on how to deal with its colonial history.

This article previously appeared in Deutsche Welle.

Please join the conversation on Black Agenda Report's Facebook page at http://facebook.com/blackagendareport

Or, you can comment by emailing us at comments@blackagendareport.com  

reparations

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles? Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


Related Stories

Nicholas Mwangi
UN Declares Transatlantic Slavery the “gravest crime against humanity”
01 April 2026
The UN has adopted a landmark declaration, introduced by Ghana, recognizing the transatlantic slave trade as the “gravest crime against humanit
Jon Jeter
Following Kamala’s Script, Maryland Governor Vetoes Reparations Bill, Angering Black Voters He Will Need in White House Bid
28 May 2025
By vetoing a bill to study reparations, Maryland Governor Wes Moore has aligned himself with a long line of Black Democrats who prioritize whit
Mildred Trouilot Aristide
Haiti And The Global Movement For Reparations
16 April 2025
Haiti Action Committee is honored to share the keynote address given by Haiti’s former First Lady Mildred Ar
UN soldiers in Haiti
Leandro Melito , Ana Paula Rocha
'Haiti should be compensated for the destruction caused by the UN military mission,' says historian
20 March 2024
Historian Everaldo de Oliveira Andrade asserts that armed groups are the heirs to the repression of US-backed dictatorships.
A lithograph print of the July 3, 1825 landing of French gunboats in Port-au-Prince
Ira Kurzban
Haiti’s Legal Claim for Restitution
10 January 2024
Originally published in Haiti Liberte.
accra reparation
Mark P. Fancher
Reparations by Appeal to Conscience or by Demands from a Position of Strength?
07 September 2022
The pursuit of justice and reparations for African people has been constant.
Haiti: The Ransom is Still Being Paid
Robert Roth
Haiti: The Ransom is Still Being Paid
06 July 2022
The acknowledgement that France and the U.S. robbed Haiti of billions of dollars is long overdue.
In a 1982 interview, Queen Mother Audley Moore raps on imperialism, neocolonialism, emancipation, and reparations -- and the need for Black people to get in our “right mind” to understand our domination.
Editors, The Black Agenda Review
Interview: Queen Mother Moore, Westindian Digest, September 1982
23 November 2021
In a 1982 interview, Queen Mother Audley Moore raps on imperialism, neocolonialism, emancipation, and reparations -- and the need for Black peo
20 years After Durban: Africans and Afro-Descendants Colonized or Emancipated?
Mireille Fanon Mendes France
20 years After Durban: Africans and Afro-Descendants Colonized or Emancipated?
26 September 2021
The 20th anniversary of the World Conference Against Racism (WCAR) is an opportunity to analyze the state of African descended people.
A Dose of Reality for the #ADOS Movement
Broderick Dunlap
A Dose of Reality for the #ADOS Movement
06 May 2021
Instead of showing solidarity with the third world, ADOS makes it clear that they want their share of the spoils of imperialism. 

More Stories


  • Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    Regarding Nuclear War Between Israel and Iran
    15 Apr 2026
    The political fallout from Trump’s recklessness in West Asia continues around the globe, while some wonder how far the radioactive fallout might travel if the war on Iran were to go nuclear.
  • Anthony Rogers-Wright
    Israel Just Passed a Law Sanctioning the Lynching of Palestinians…So Why is the Congressional Black Caucus So Silent About it?
    15 Apr 2026
    The same caucus that celebrated the Emmett Till Antilynching Act refuses to condemn Israel's new death penalty for Palestinians.
  • Jacqueline Luqman
    Shortcomings and Benefits Of The UN Resolution On Transatlantic Trafficking
    15 Apr 2026
    The UN has finally called the transatlantic slave trade the gravest crime against humanity. But the resolution is not reparatory justice, and the nations that voted no or abstained show themselves to…
  • Sol Elias
    Death By Black Excellence
    15 Apr 2026
    Misogynoir, a term meant to name the specific violence against poor and working-class Black women is now being used as a shield for political elites.
  • Petros Bein
    Internal Colonialism and the Reproduction of Capital
    15 Apr 2026
    The United States operates as an internal colonial system. Black communities are treated like colonized territories, and the white working class is used as a tool to enforce that control.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us