Burundi President Pierre Nkurunziza arrives at the White House in Washington, D.C., for a state dinner on August 5, 2014. An ally of Nkurunziza's is seeking to succeed him in Burundi's election next month. File Photo by Mike Theiler/UPI |
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April 27 (UPI) -- The government of Burundi is using violence and intimidation to suppress political opponents with "near-total impunity" in the run-up to next month's national elections, a watchdog said Monday.
Human Rights Watch reported that security forces and members of the Imbonerakure, the youth wing of President Pierre Nkurunziza's governing party, have unleashed a wave of "fear and repression" against political opposition, independent organizations and news media ahead of the May 20 election. Campaigning began Monday.
"There is little doubt that these elections will be accompanied by more abuses, as Burundian officials and members of the Imbonerakure are using violence with near-total impunity to allow the ruling party to entrench its hold on power," said HRW Central Africa Director Lewis Mudge.
HRW said interviews with victims, police and government sources revealed numerous killings, disappearances, arbitrary arrests, threats and harassment against political opponents in six of Burundi's 18 provinces over the last six months. An exiled Burundian human rights organization, Ligue Iteka, documented 67 killings and dozens of other cases of abuse and arbitrary arrests in recent months.
A decision by Nkurunziza to seek a third term in 2015, a violation of a peace deal to end Burundi's civil war a decade earlier, was met with widespread protests that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of political opponents, human rights observers said.
Nkurunziza announced last year he would not seek re-election. His close ally, Evariste Ndayishimiye, is instead the candidate for Nkurunziza's governing CNDD-FDD Party.
Last year, the United Nations Human Rights Council reported "serious human rights violations" in Burundi amid a "general climate of impunity," and said the main perpetrators belonged to the Imbonerakure.
"[The] violations are essentially political in nature, and the suppression of civil liberties is intensifying in the run-up to the 2020 presidential and legislative elections," HRW said Monday.
Nkurunziza said earlier this month the election will go ahead as planned despite disruptions brought on by the coronavirus crisis.
"Violence and repression have been the hallmark of politics in Burundi since 2015, and as elections approach and the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds, tensions are rising," Mudge added.
