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So far, however, there are no signs of supporters and
opponents of Nkurunziza being divided along ethnic lines. Image by: Goran
Tomasevic / Reuters
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Burundi police fired tear gas and beat protesters who were demanding
President Pierre Nkurunziza end his bid for a third term, in a resurgence of
unrest that has stoked fears of ethnic conflict in Africa's Great Lakes.
A Reuters photographer said at least
eight of the flag-waving and chanting demonstrators were dragged off by police
on Tuesday. Some in the crowd responded by pelting officers with stones and
rocks.
Rights groups say at least 20 people
have died in three weeks of clashes between security forces and protesters who
say Nkurunziza's ambitions violate the constitution and a peace deal that ended
an ethnically fuelled civil war in 2005.
Reuters report continues:
Laying the same charges against the
president, a group of renegade generals tried and failed to overthrow him last
week. The government said late on Monday it would treat any future
demonstrators as accomplices in the failed putsch.
But crowds gathered again in the
capital's suburb of Nyakabiga on Tuesday, shouting: "We will not stop
until he gives up the third term."
Diplomats say the longer unrest
continues the more chance that a conflict, which up until now has been largely
a struggle for power, reopens old wounds in a region with a history of ethnic
killing.
South Africa said earlier on Tuesday
next month's election should be postponed indefinitely until political
stability had returned, as regional leaders scrambled to contain the impasse
and a potential humanitarian crisis.
"No To Coup"
More than 110,000 people have fled
to neighbouring Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania, where
cholera has been found among thousands of refugees sleeping rough on the shores
of Lake Tanganyika, waiting evacuation by boat.
The failed coup has heightened fears
the crisis in the landlocked nation of 10 million could split the army, the
central pillar of unity after the civil war, which had largely pitted majority
Hutus against minority Tutsis.
Until recently, Nkurunziza, a former
rebel leader with mixed parentage, had also been seen as bridge between the
main groups in a region that has been an ethnic powder keg for the last
half-century.
Neighbouring Rwanda, which shares a
similar ethnic mix, suffered a genocide in 1994 in which 800,000 people, mostly
Tutsis and moderate Hutus, were killed.
The protesters in Bujumbura stressed
they were against both Nkurunziza and the attempted coup, and denied any links
with the plotters.
"No to the coup, and no to the
third term. We will continue until he says no to the third term," one of
the demonstrators, who gave his name as Jean-Paul, told Reuters. He did not
wish to give his last name, for fear of reprisals.
The government said on Tuesday it
had no desire for extra-judicial vengeance.
"The people implicated in the
disgraceful attempt to overthrow legitimate institutions will be arrested and
prosecuted by justice, and only by justice," it said.
Nkurunziza says his participation in
elections would not violate the constitution as his first term did not count,
because he was appointed by parliament, not chosen by a popular vote.
Elections
Should Be Postponed Until There's Stability: Zuma
The Extra Ordinary Summit of the
International Conference on Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) agreed that there should
be no timeframe for elections to take place in embattled Burundi‚ rather they
should be postponed indefinitely to allow for stability and free and fair
elections‚ the Presidency said on Tuesday.
President Jacob Zuma returned from
the summit in Luanda‚ Angola‚ on Monday and described the summit as
"fruitful". It was aimed at helping to resolve the problems in the
Great Lakes region.
Mr Zuma attended the conference at
the invitation of his Angolan counterpart‚ Eduardo Dos Santos‚ who is also the
chairman of the ICGLR.
Protests erupted in Burundi against
President Pierre Nkurunziza and his bid for a third term in office days after
he survived an attempted coup. Reuters reported on Monday that the atmosphere
remained tense as soldiers were deployed in the east African nation’s capital‚
Bujumbura‚ where more than 20 people were killed in almost three weeks of
unrest before last week’s failed coup.
Mr Zuma‚ who had mediated the
political situation in Burundi during his time as deputy president‚ condemned
the coup d'état that occurred last week.
"The summit further agreed that
the postponement of elections should not have a timeframe as there was unrest
in the country and the elections should be postponed indefinitely until there's
stability‚ which would allow the elections to be free and fair‚" he said
in a statement issued by the Presidency.
"We have also agreed that a
delegation of Heads of State from Kenya‚ Uganda‚ Tanzania and South Africa will
visit Burundi in the shortest possible time to evaluate the situation and
contribute to the peaceful resolution of the current situation."
Leaders at the summit had also discussed the
security situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo‚ the Central African
Republic and South Sudan. Mr Zuma was accompanied by International Relations
and Co-operation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane.
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