There is usually not much news coming out of Burundi, a tiny east African nation south of Rwanda. But over the last few weeks chaos have erupted in the country’s capital Bujumbura as opposition supporters protest President Pierre Nkurunziza’s decision to run for a third term in June, which is against the country’s constitution.
The protesters were met with great force by police which left at least 20 people dead and thousands others fleeing to neighbouring countries.
Below are 12 things you should know about the developing political crisis in Burundi.
Source: timeslive.co.za, reuters.com, washingtonpost.com, yahoo.com, cnn.com
This slideshow was first published on May 5, 2015.
While President Nkurunziza was in a state visit to Tanzania to to meet leaders of the East African Community over the violence in his country, a army general and former intelligence chief announced that the army had taken over power. Protesters who were back in the streets of the capital Bujumbura to demonstrate once again, turned their protests into celebrations after the announcement.
Reuters quoted a statement from the office of the president saying that the army’s attempt to overthrow Nkurunziza was “a joke”.
Burundi, where a 13-year civil war between Tutsis and Hutus ended only in 2006, has been rocked by violent protests since the ruling party designated President Pierre Nkurunziza on April 25 to run in elections for a third term, in apparent defiance of the constitution and the Arusha accords which ended the war.
Reuters reported on Tuesday that a Burundi constitutional court had approved President Nkurunziza’s bid for a third term, a move that could anger protesters who say his decision to run again violates the constitution.
Ongoing chaos in Burundi are not ethnically linked since the President and the main opposition group are both from the Hutu tribe. Non-ethnic political violence in Burundi have however been brutal in the past and ethnic tension always lurks in the background.
The police say 20 people have died since unrest began, including at least two policemen and one soldier.
Fearing violence, at least 50,000 people have fled from Burundi to neighbouring Rwanda, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo
Burundi’s defense minister, Pontien Gaciyubwenge, issued a statement that the army will not support a violation of the country’s constitution. This simply means that the army, which is a key part of Burundi’s stability will not support the president’s bid for another term and could lead to a coup.
Over the past couple of days, there have been reports of police clashing with military officers. One military officer was reportedly killed by an intelligence officer. The military is acting as a buffer between angry protesters and the police.
The United States, European nations and regional countries have urged Nkurunziza not to stand, saying he risked undermining the Arusha peace deal which ended the civil war and has kept the country calm for nearly a decade. US Secretary of State, John Kerry, said the US was “deeply concerned about President Pierre Nkurunziza’s decision, which flies directly in the face of the constitution of this country.”
Police kept demonstrators out of central Bujumbura, with local media reporting of protests in other regions of the country.
Rwanda raised concerned at “reports” that the violence in Burundi was linked to ethnic Hutu rebels of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR). Nkurunziza himself is a former rebel leader and born-again Christian and comes from Burundi’s Hutu majority.