Bujumbura (Burundi) (AFP) - Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza
thanked loyalist forces Friday for crushing a coup attempt and warned
demonstrators to end their protests, linking them to the mutineers who
launched the putsch.
After two days of heavy battles, the attempt by
high-ranking security and defence figures to seize power ended in
failure as its leaders admitted defeat and were arrested or forced to go
on the run.
In an official speech released by his office,
Nkurunziza thanked "from my heart" the security forces for the
"efficiency and speed that they demonstrated to stop the disturbing
plan" to overthrow him.
But the United States warned Nkurunziza against his plans to run for a
third term in office, saying it would "exacerbate" Burundi's
instability.
The dramatic finale to the coup attempt ended 48
hours of uncertainty over who controlled the small, landlocked and
impoverished nation, which has been gripped by a political crisis over
Nkurunziza's controversial bid for a third consecutive term.
General
Godefroid Niyombare, who launched the coup in the central African
nation earlier in the week, told AFP by telephone that he wanted to give
himself up, while other top generals were arrested.
"We have decided to surrender," Niyombare said, admitting his coup attempt had come to an end. "I hope they won't kill us."
But
tensions remain, with anti-Nkurunziza demonstrators returning to the
streets on Friday and police firing shots to disperse them.
The president demanded an immediate end to the rallies, warning that they were "related" to those who took part in the coup. A
senior police official said Niyombare was still on the run, but that
three other pro-coup generals had been detained. The loyalist police
official also insisted those in detention were still alive, and that the
state intended to put them on trial.
The coup leaders' spokesman,
Zenon Ndabaneze, was speaking to AFP confirming that the putschists had
decided to surrender when loyalist troops arrested him, deputy coup
leader Cyrille Ndayirukiye and another senior figure among the rebels. Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza (pictured) was in neighbouring Tanzania when the failed coup w …
"We decided to give ourselves up. We have laid down our arms.
We have called the security ministry to tell them we no longer have any
arms," Ndabaneze said, seconds before he was heard being arrested.
"There
will be no foul play. We won't kill them, we want to keep them so they
can be judged," the police official told AFP after the arrests. - Homecoming for the president -
Nkurunziza -- who was abroad when the coup was declared -- meanwhile returned on Friday to the capital Bujumbura.
State
radio said his motorcade was cheered by large crowds as it headed for
the capital. All independent Burundian broadcasters, however, are off
the air.NWomen dance as people hold a portrait of the Burundian president as they celebrate his return after Nkurunziza was in neighbouring Tanzania for regional talks on
Wednesday when the coup was launched, in a culmination of weeks of
violent street protests over his bid to cling to power.
Opposition
and rights groups insist that it is unconstitutional for Nkurunziza,
who has been in office since 2005, to run for more than two terms. The
president, however, argues his first term did not count as he was
elected by parliament, not directly by the people.
Nkurunziza, a
former rebel leader from the Hutu majority and a born-again Christian,
believes he ascended to the presidency with divine backing.
More
than 25 people have been killed and scores wounded since late April,
when Burundi's ruling CNDD-FDD party -- which has been accused of
intimidating the opposition and arming its own militia -- nominated
Nkurunziza to stand for re-election in June 26 polls.
It remains
unclear, however, how many have died since the launch of the coup, and
unrest could continue -- with civil society activists calling for a
resumption of demonstrations. A woman carries a bucket as people queue for water at a petrol station in the Bwiza neighborhood, ne …
Washington said it was deeply concerned about reports of "retaliatory violence" after the coup attempt.
- International concern -
The
coup attempt had raised fears of a return to widespread violence in the
country, which is still recovering from a 13-year civil war that ended
in 2006 and left hundreds of thousands dead.
On Thursday, loyalist
troops fought off two major attacks by rival soldiers in an intense
battle for control over the strategically important state broadcaster.
The
coup announcement drew international criticism, with the United Nations
Security Council, in emergency talks on the crisis, called for an end
to the violence and "the holding of credible elections".
More than 100,000 Burundians have fled the violence to neighbouring nations, the United Nations said Friday.
In
his message announcing the coup, Niyombare signalled he did not want to
take power himself, vowing instead to work for "the resumption of the
electoral process in a peaceful and fair environment".
Niyombare
is a highly respected figure who was sacked from his intelligence post
in February after he opposed Nkurunziza's attempt to prolong his 10-year
rule.
Asked to decide on the issue of a third term, Burundi's
constitutional court found in the president's favour, but not before one
of the judges fled the country claiming its members were subject to
death threats.
No comments:
Post a Comment