Burundians slam UN 'interference'

Thousands of people joined an official demonstration in Burundi on Saturday, in response to criticism by the UN over planned changes to the Constitution. A report on the News24 site notes that the protest was called by the mayor of Bujunbura after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres criticised proposals that could allow Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza to hold on to power. Guterres said opposition and civil society groups must be included in any decision to change the country's Constitution to avoid a flare-up of conflict. ‘We are here to denounce the report by the UN Secretary-General in which he lied a lot about our country and I call you to boo him very loudly,’ one speaker reportedly said at the rally. In power since 2005, Nkurunziza ran for a third term and was re-elected in 2015 despite provisions that set a limit of two five-year presidential terms.

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