Burundian men take part in a protest against the president's bid to
cling to power for a third term in Musaga, outskirts of Bujumbura, on
April 28, 2015. PHOTO | SIMON MAINA |
AFP
By AFP
Protest-hit Burundi cut mobile access to several social
networks and messaging applications, a telecoms official said Wednesday,
following days of demonstrations against President Pierre Nkurunziza's
bid for a third term.
Networks including Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp — which have
been used to coordinate protests — were no longer accessible via mobile
telephone in the capital Bujumbura, although an official explanation for
the service cut was not been given.
At least five people have died since unrest broke out at the
weekend, when the ruling CNDD-FDD party designated Nkurunziza its
candidate for the presidential election to be held in the central
African nation on June 26.
Opposition figures and rights groups say Nkurunziza's attempt to
stand for a third consecutive term goes against the constitution as
well as the peace deal that ended a civil war in 2006.
The capital Bujumbura was reported to be quiet on Wednesday
morning with some shops reopening, but with a heavy police deployment on
the streets, although demonstrators said they were organising
themselves before protesting again.
"All the roads are blocked by police... but the protests will
not stop until he gives up the third term," said Thierry, a
demonstrator. "I don't think it is going to end tomorrow or even after
tomorrow."
Nkurunziza has remained defiant: on Tuesday, his communication
chief insisted he will not back down on his bid for a third term, saying
that was "out of the question."
Roads blocked by police
Amid international concern, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
dispatched his envoy Said Djinnit to Burundi, urging "all sides to
reject violence and avoid using inflammatory language or hate speech."
Opposition figures and rights groups say Nkurunziza's attempt to
stay in power goes against the constitution as well as the peace deal
that ended a civil war in 2006.
Hundreds of thousands of people were killed in the 13-year
conflict, which divided the country along ethnic lines, between the Hutu
majority and Tutsi people.
The government has banned all protests and deployed large
numbers of police and troops onto the streets since Sunday firing live
ammunition, tear gas and water cannons, with hundreds of stone-throwing
protesters arrested. Some of those killed were shot at close range,
while the police said at least 37 officers have been wounded.
Police chief Andre Ndayambaje appealed for people not to turn "protests into a rebellion."
The main independent radio station has also been shut down.
The president, a former rebel leader and born-again Christian
from the Hutu majority, has been in power for two terms since 2005.
His supporters say he is eligible to run again, as his first
term in office was after he was elected by parliament — not directly by
the people as the constitution states.
The protesters "are people who just do not want to go to
elections because they are afraid," presidential communications chief
Willy Nyamitwe said, adding the ruling party had a right to present its
choice of candidate "like all other parties."
An arrest warrant has been issued for civil society activist
Vital Nshimirimana — who has since gone into hiding — but security
forces have released fellow activist Pierre-Claver Mbonimpa after a day
of questioning.
"They had no evidence against me," Mbonimpa, 66, told reporters
late Tuesday, saying he was held only for questioning. "I was
mistreated, roughed up."
Some 25,000 Burundians have fled the country in recent weeks,
according to the UN refugee agency, which has warned the numbers could
rise. Many are fleeing threats by the pro-government militia
Imbonerakure, the youth wing of the ruling party.
Rights groups allege that the militia has been armed and trained
over the past year in order to help Nkurunziza remain in office.
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