United Nations Calls for Calm in Burundi As Violent Protests Continue
In Burundi, opposition activists gathered to decry the incumbent president's expected bid for a third term in June elections, on April 17, 2015 in downtown Bujumbura.
Burundian police fired tear gas and water cannons on Friday at hundreds of protesters opposed to the president running for a third term, as the UN Security Council warned that violence threatened to disrupt June elections.
Supporters have urged President Pierre Nkurunziza to stand again in June’s election, although he has not commented on his intentions. Opponents say such a move would violate the constitution, and even some ruling party officials have asked him not to run.
“We won’t let him run again!” people in the demonstration in the capital Bujumbura shouted.
Protesters took shelter in shops or buildings before regrouping. Some hurled stones at police. Rain later helped disperse them.
There have been growing regional and international calls for Nkurunziza to steer Burundi clear of a crisis. UN rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein on Wednesday warned that the country was at a "crossroads" between a fair vote that would boost the country and a route back to its "horrendously violent past."
On Friday, the UN Security Council called on the government and the opposition to refrain from acts of violence and intimidation ahead of the May parliamentary vote and the presidential polls that will follow.
"The upcoming elections are an extremely sensitive issue that has the potential to spur violence and undermine the peace sustained for almost a decade in Burundi," the council said in a statement.
The members vowed "to respond to any actions in Burundi that threaten the peace, security or stability in Burundi by actively facilitating violence, including by reportedly distributing weapons to youth groups."
In Washington, the State Department said on Friday that the United States was “deeply concerned” about the crisis and would “take steps, including, where appropriate, by denying US visas to individuals who order, plan, or participate in acts of violence.”
“We will continue the struggle”
Opposition parties are discussing uniting behind a single candidate to improve their chances of defeating Nkurunziza, who took office in 2005 after 12 years of civil conflict. He has served two terms.
The constitution and the peace deal that ended that war both stipulate no one should be president for longer than 10 years. The president’s backers argue that his first term should not count since he was picked by lawmakers rather than voted in.
Chauvineau Mugwingizo, a spokesman for the five opposition groups that called the protest, said: “The police used brutality to disperse peaceful protesters, but this will not discourage us. We will continue the struggle.”
Presidential spokesman Gervais Abayeho said the protests had no justification when the ruling party had not announced its candidate, which would happen this month at a party congress.
“How can you protest against something that has not happened? The president has not announced that he will run for a third term,” said Abayeho.
Since the civil war that pitted the then-Tutsi-dominated army against rebels from the Hutu ethnic group, the army has undergone reform and has in the past said it would not intervene in the political crisis.
At least 6,000 Burundians have fled to neighbouring Rwanda in recent weeks. A Western diplomat said they appeared to be both Tutsi and Hutu and that Rwanda feared more could come.
Rwanda, which has a similar ethnic make-up, was the scene of a 1994 genocide in which about 800,000, mostly Tutsis and moderate Hutus, were killed.
(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS, AFP)
Burundian police fired tear gas and water cannons on Friday at hundreds of protesters opposed to the president running for a third term, as the UN Security Council warned that violence threatened to disrupt June elections.
Supporters have urged President Pierre Nkurunziza to stand again in June’s election, although he has not commented on his intentions. Opponents say such a move would violate the constitution, and even some ruling party officials have asked him not to run.
“We won’t let him run again!” people in the demonstration in the capital Bujumbura shouted.
Protesters took shelter in shops or buildings before regrouping. Some hurled stones at police. Rain later helped disperse them.
There have been growing regional and international calls for Nkurunziza to steer Burundi clear of a crisis. UN rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein on Wednesday warned that the country was at a "crossroads" between a fair vote that would boost the country and a route back to its "horrendously violent past."
On Friday, the UN Security Council called on the government and the opposition to refrain from acts of violence and intimidation ahead of the May parliamentary vote and the presidential polls that will follow.
"The upcoming elections are an extremely sensitive issue that has the potential to spur violence and undermine the peace sustained for almost a decade in Burundi," the council said in a statement.
The members vowed "to respond to any actions in Burundi that threaten the peace, security or stability in Burundi by actively facilitating violence, including by reportedly distributing weapons to youth groups."
In Washington, the State Department said on Friday that the United States was “deeply concerned” about the crisis and would “take steps, including, where appropriate, by denying US visas to individuals who order, plan, or participate in acts of violence.”
“We will continue the struggle”
Opposition parties are discussing uniting behind a single candidate to improve their chances of defeating Nkurunziza, who took office in 2005 after 12 years of civil conflict. He has served two terms.
The constitution and the peace deal that ended that war both stipulate no one should be president for longer than 10 years. The president’s backers argue that his first term should not count since he was picked by lawmakers rather than voted in.
Chauvineau Mugwingizo, a spokesman for the five opposition groups that called the protest, said: “The police used brutality to disperse peaceful protesters, but this will not discourage us. We will continue the struggle.”
Presidential spokesman Gervais Abayeho said the protests had no justification when the ruling party had not announced its candidate, which would happen this month at a party congress.
“How can you protest against something that has not happened? The president has not announced that he will run for a third term,” said Abayeho.
Since the civil war that pitted the then-Tutsi-dominated army against rebels from the Hutu ethnic group, the army has undergone reform and has in the past said it would not intervene in the political crisis.
At least 6,000 Burundians have fled to neighbouring Rwanda in recent weeks. A Western diplomat said they appeared to be both Tutsi and Hutu and that Rwanda feared more could come.
Rwanda, which has a similar ethnic make-up, was the scene of a 1994 genocide in which about 800,000, mostly Tutsis and moderate Hutus, were killed.
(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS, AFP)
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