26th May, 2015
Hundreds of anti-government protesters took to the streets of Burundian capital, Bujumbura to protest the killing of opposition politician, at the weekend.
The government has denied involvement in the killing of Zedi Feruzi, leader of the small opposition party Union for Peace and Democracy (UPD), but demonstrators were not convinced.
Pacifique Nininahazwe, a Civil Society Leader, has announced “full-force” protests in defiance of a government ban.
He said Feruzi died for democracy and his death would never stop Burundians from defending the constitution.
Nininahazwe said those who killed Feruzi would not win, no matter how long it takes.
He said more than 25 people had been killed in the protests so far.
Protesters erected burning barricades and gunshots were heard in some neighbourhoods, with demonstrators saying police were using live bullets in an attempt to disperse the crowds.
Feruzi was gunned down when returning home in Bujumbura on Saturday.
The government has ordered an investigation into the incident.
The opposition suspended its dialogue with the government over suspicions of involvement.
Agathon Rwasa, leader of the main opposition party, the National Forces of Liberation (FNL), said Feruzi may have been killed.
He said the killing was because of his support for the protests and his close relations with Hussein Radjabu, a former secretary general of the ruling National Council for the Defense of Democracy-Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD), who was now an opponent of the president.
Pierre Claver Mbonimpa, President, Burundi’s Association for the Protection of Human Rights and Detained Persons (APRODH), said Feruzi had expressed concern about his safety, before he was killed.
He said government has drawn a hit list of people to be killed by the ruling party’s ill-famed youth wing, the Imbonerakure.
Meanwhile, the United States has condemned Feruzi’s killing and a grenade attack in a market that killed several people on Friday.
Marie Harf, State Department Spokeswoman, said the series of attacks only undermined ongoing efforts to achieve a peaceful resolution to the current crisis through dialogue.
She called on all parties to renounce the use of violence and urged the Burundian government to conduct timely and credible investigations into the recent attacks.
Harf said U.S. supports a dialogue facilitated by the UN Special Envoy Said Djinnit and envoys from the African Union, the East African Community and the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region.
She urged the Burundian government to permit the immediate resumption of broadcasts by independent radio stations.
Harf said government must stop referring to peaceful protesters as “insurgents” and to withdraw the proclamation by the Burundian National Security Council prohibiting future demonstrations.