New evidence shows that Belgium turned a blind eye to its officials who carried out the assassination of Burundian Prime Minister Prince Louis Rwagasore in 1961

Belgium has a “crushing responsibility” in the murder of Prince Louis Rwagasore, the popular Burundian leader who sought to unite the country’s ethnic groups as he freed himself from colonial rule, new evidence shows.

A few weeks after being elected Prime Minister in a landslide, Rwagasore, the 29-year-old son of a former king, was assassinated in October 1961. The Belgian elite in power orchestrated the shooting while Brussels closed the eyes, according to archived documents uncovered by Flemish sociologist Ludo De Witte.

Although, a Greek national, five accomplices were executed, De Witte said investigations began with the Belgian colonial court, the government of independent Burundi and the UN all overlooked Belgium’s role in the murder, which has led to decades of war, ethnic tensions and instability.

Publishing his findings in a book titled “Murder in Burundi,” De Witte noted that then Belgian governor Roberto Regnier said at a post-election crisis meeting of senior Belgian officials and Party allies Christian Democrat (CDC) friend of Belgium that “Rwagasore must be killed. “

According to the author, the CDC saw his words as an invitation. Regnier’s words were apparently confirmed by four people at that meeting during a 1962 investigation by Brussels prosecutors. But that report had not been released until De Witte unearthed it during a five-year investigation into the murder.

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It also appears that the UK was at least aware of the danger to Rwagasore, then British Ambassador James Murray, writing in a 1962 dispatch that influential Belgians had “An almost pathological hatred” of the charismatic leader, who, according to them, would harm Belgian-Burundian relations. Murray noted that Regnier “The words … go very far in the direction of incitement to murder”, according to De Witte.

The book also accuses then Belgian Foreign Minister Paul-Henri Spaak – now declared to be one of the founding fathers of the EU – of ignoring Regnier and other conspirators on a “War foot” with Rwagasore. She also blames King Baudouin, who “Moved heaven and earth” Commute the murderer’s death sentence to life imprisonment.

Last October, a special commission on Belgium’s colonial past admitted to having paid “Limited attention” in Burundi and the murder of Rwagasore. De Witte attributed this to a “Reluctance” among the country’s elite for “Face reality” of colonization.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Belgian Foreign Ministry did not respond to the book’s accusations, but told the Guardian that the government was waiting for Parliament’s recommendations before taking a political stance.