GOVERNMENT FINALLY REGISTERS SINDUHIJE'S MSD PARTY

C O N F I D E N T I A L BUJUMBURA 000267 LONDON, PARIS, PLEASE PASS TO AF WATCHERS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/09/2019 TAGS: PGOV PHUM BY SUBJECT: GOVERNMENT FINALLY REGISTERS SINDUHIJE'S MSD PARTY REF: A. 08 BUJUMBURA 46 ¶B. 08 BUJUMBURA 478 ¶C. BUJUMBURA 122 Classified By: Ambassador Patricia N. Moller for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (U) On June 8 the Minister of Interior registered Alexis Sinduhije's Movement for Solidarity and Democracy (MSD) as a political party. The requisite documents were signed by MSD Secretary General Audette Ntahiraja instead of MSD President Alexis Sinduhije, who is in Europe. Sinduhije, former journalist and president of a popular radio station, created MSD on February 18, 2008. ¶2. (C) COMMENT: After over a year of apparently spurious delays, the registration surprised journalists, political parties and the international community. Many observers found it interesting that the registration occurred with no publicity and seemed deliberately timed to coincide with Sinduhije's travels (he has been in Belgium since June 5) in order to minimize public reaction and mute Sinduhije's effective publicity machine. Sinduhije was reportedly instrumental in the ruling CNDD-FDD party's 2005 victory and some believed the GoB would avoid registering MSD until after the 2010 elections for fear Sinduhije will again have an election victory, this time at the CNDD-FDD's expense. Instead, the party was registered, but with a whisper rather than a bang, certainly not the preferred mode for publicity-loving Sinduhije. END COMMENT. MOLLER