Burundians march against UN report criticizing process of constitutional referendum

BUJUMBURA, Feb. 11 — Hundreds of Burundians took to the streets
of capital Bujumbura on Saturday to protest against a United Nations report
criticizing the country’s process of amending its constitution.

Protesters, who started the march at the United Nations Square in Ngagara,
northern Bujumbura, held banners that read “we are against lies and
fabrications contained in the report by the UN secretary general that was
given to the UN security council to drive Burundi into an abyss.” Other
banners said “things relating to the national constitution are a business
of citizens as they are linked to the sovereignty of a country.” During
the march that took them to Bujumbura city center, demonstrators shouted:
“Michel Kafando (UN Secretary General’s special envoy to Burundi), we
denounce you!”

The protesters also urged countries hosting perpetrators of the May 13,
2015, coup plot to arrest and extradite them to Burundi so that they could
be brought before the east African nation’s jurisdictions. “We have come
here to denounce the report by the UN secretary general and the Office of
the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) that are making ‘groundless’
statements,” said Therence Ntahiraja, assistant to the home affairs
minister. “Why do those foreigners focus their attention on the process of
reviewing our constitution?” “It is the business of Burundian people. It
is our sovereignty,” said Ntahiraja.

The Burundian government on Wednesday accused the UN Refugee Agency of
“deliberately fabricating” figures of Burundian refugees. The UNHCR on
Tuesday said in a statement that UNHCR and its partners launched an appeal
for 391 million U.S. dollars to support 430,000 Burundian refugees this
year, saying more cash is urgently needed to prevent it from becoming a
forgotten crisis. The UNHCR statement said that since 2015, more than
400,000 refugees and asylum-seekers have fled Burundi, escaping human
rights abuses, continued political uncertainty and the related humanitarian
crisis. It also said that refugee numbers are expected to increase by over
50,000 this year as regional efforts to resolve the political crisis in the
country have not made significant progress.

Ntahiraja, the assistant to the Burundian home affairs minister said those
saying Burundi is wrong by amending its constitution are “violating” the UN
Charter that prohibits interference into internal affairs of a UN member
state. “There is also false news concerning the UNHCR that made a false
prediction whereby it said some 50,000 Burundian citizens will flee the
country this year. Can this be verified? Burundi is now enjoying peace and
security,” said the official. Ntahiraja rejected such messages as
“incendiary, wrong and erroneous.” Earlier this week, UN Secretary-General
Antonio Guterres sent a report to the UN Security Council, criticizing the
process of amending the Burundian constitution.

In the report, Guterres indicated that such a process should be conducted
in an inclusive manner, with the participation of the opposition and civil
society groups. A 10-day combined voter registration for Burundi’s
constitutional referendum and general elections due in 2020 started on
Thursday. The draft constitution extends the presidential term from five
years provided for in the 2005 constitution to seven years and allows the
president to serve two consecutive terms. It also provides for the creation
of a post of a prime minister and only one vice-president, whereas the 2005
constitution provided for two vice-presidents. – XINHUA