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The crisis in Burundi
©K.Tian/A.Bommenel, abm/rg/jj (AFP)
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At least four people were killed in Burundi Thursday in
clashes over the president's bid for a third term, as the African Union warned
it was not possible to hold an election under such conditions.
Two were shot by police
amid battles between demonstrators, police and government supporters, thought
to be members of the ruling party's Imbonerakure militia. The Red Cross said
one person had been killed by a grenade, another burned body was seen by an AFP
journalist.
AFP report continues:
At least 17 people have
been killed, including protestors and police, and scores wounded since late
April, when the ruling CNDD-FDD nominated President Pierre Nkurunziza to stand
for reelection, triggering daily protests.
AU Commission chief
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma warned Thursday the time was not right for elections.
"The environment is
not conducive for an election. You can't be going into a country meeting
refugees leaving, and saying 'We are going to observe the elections,'"
Dlamini-Zuma told Chinese broadcaster CCTV.
"As things stand, I
don't even see how elections can take place under these conditions."
Opposition parties and
civil society groups say Nkurunziza's third-term quest violates both the
constitution, which limits a president to two terms in office, and the accords
that ended a 13-year civil war between Tutsis and Hutus in 2006.
Nkurunziza, a former
rebel leader from the Hutu majority who has been in power since 2005, has come
under intense international pressure to withdraw from the June 26 election.
East African leaders are
to hold an emergency meeting to discuss the crisis on May 13 in Tanzania.
On Thursday, one
suspected Imbonerakure member narrowly survived being lynched before being
rescued by the army, and a second pro-government militia member was left
seriously wounded after being attacked by protesters.
He was rescued after the
army fired in the air to disperse the angry mob trying to kill him.
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A
man suspected to be a member of the Youth League of Burundi's ruling party
appeals to military from a gutter where he hid on May 7, 2015 to escape a
lynching by a mob in Bujumbura ©Aymeric Vincenot (AFP)
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- 'Enough crises' -
"What type of
election is going to take place under these conditions? As the AU we were
planning to send long-term observers but we can't now, we cannot,"
Dlamini-Zuma added.
The Constitutional Court
found in favour of the rebel leader-turned-president in a ruling Tuesday,
saying his first presidential term did not count as he was elected by
parliament, not directly by the people.
The court's
vice-president had earlier fled the country after refusing to sign the
judgement, and claiming judges had been subjected to death threats.
But critics say
Nkurunziza's candidacy violates the constitution and the Arusha accords that
ended the civil war.
"Other than the
Burundi court all interpretation that we get about the constitution is that...
really there shouldn’t be a third term," Dlamini-Zuma added.
US Secretary of State
John Kerry said on Monday he was "deeply concerned" about
Nkurunziza's bid to remain in power, which he said "flies directly in the
face of the constitution".
The government and
opposition held talks Wednesday to try to defuse the tensions, but street
protests continue.
"This is a last
chance... they have to come up with concrete solutions so that elections can be
held in acceptable conditions," a Western diplomat said of the talks,
warning international funding for the polls could be cut if a deal was not
struck.
Nkurunziza, in a
televised speech on Wednesday, said that holding an election was "the only
solution" to the crisis triggered by his bid to prolong his 10-year
tenure.
But main opposition
leader Agathon Rwasa said the crisis had already gone too far and demanded the
vote be postponed, arguing the "credibility of the electoral process is
already in doubt".
Burundi's foreign
ministry has downplayed the violence, saying that "peace and security
reigned" across the country, apart from "a few districts of the
capital... shaken by illegal demonstrations and violence triggered by certain
political opponents."
Over 35,000 Burundians
have fled the country in recent weeks, mostly to Rwanda, and the UN's refugee
agency chief Antonio Guterres on Wednesday said he was "extremely
worried" by the situation.
"It must stop. We have
enough crises in the world," Guterres said.
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