Burundi Civil Society Says To Stage Protests Monday

Burundi's civil society activists said Sunday that they would stage protests on Monday against an announcement by President Pierre Nkurunziza that he would seek a third term in office.



The activists said Nkurunziza's bid for a third presidential term was "unconstitutional."



"The protests will resume on Monday," Vital Nshimirimana, a legal representative of the Forum of Civil Society Organizations, an umbrella of Burundi's civil society organizations, told The Anadolu Agency.



"There will be protests in the following days until Nkurunziza reconsiders his decision," he added.



He called on Burundi's citizens not to send their children to the country's schools on Monday, describing the day as one for "mass mobilization."



Two people were killed and scores of others injured during clashes between policemen and demonstrators in capital Bujumbura, according to Burundi's opposition.



The country's civil society, meanwhile, put the death toll at three, even as there has been no official announcement.



The Secretary-General of the opposition National Liberation Forces, Adolphe Banyikwa, meanwhile, confirmed news about the abduction by some unidentified people of Francois Bizimana, one of the spokespersons for the independent Hope of Burundians' alliance.



The broadcast of three independent radio stations was suspended earlier in the day in the light of a ban by the government, sources from the three radio stations said.



Burundi's opposition said Saturday that it would stage protests against an announcement by the President to seek a third term in office.



Thousands of Burundians were on the streets on Sunday to protest the announcement, opening the door for clashes with policemen, eyewitnesses told AA.



On March 20, Nkurunziza proposed a constitutional amendment that would allow him to run for a third presidential term, sparking a major controversy in the central African nation.



Despite the rejection of the proposal by the Burundian parliament, the law stipulates that a bill could be brought once again before parliament for a second round of voting, which gives Nkurunziza another chance to pass the amendment before the upcoming elections.



www.aa.com.tr/en - Bujumbura