Bujumbura, Burundi---Burundi's Interior Minister warned Friday against mass demonstrations, a day after a huge rally he claimed was organised by the opposition wanting to sabotage key elections beginning in May.
On Thursday, vast crowds took part in one of the largest demonstrations in recent years after the release of a popular journalist and government critic from jail.
"We followed closely... those calling the population to rise up," Edouard Nduwimana told AFP, adding that the demonstration had been a "test" for the opposition, both in terms of mobilising support and how the government reacts.
There was no official figure for how many took to the streets, but residents said the mass rally of tens of thousands was the largest they could remember.
"Our constitution recognises that people can protest, but what happened yesterday... was rather a highly organised uprising," he added.
Burundi, a small landlocked nation in central Africa's Great Lakes region, emerged in 2006 from a 13-year civil war. The political climate remains fractious ahead of local, parliamentary and presidential polls.
Nduwimana said he believed the goal of the organisers of the march -- who he did not name -- was aimed to "prevent the occurrence of elections in our country."
The interior ministry had initially banned demonstrations but the huge crowds took police by surprise, and they pulled back to leave marchers to continue peacefully. The march later ended without major incidents, although fired water cannons to disperse the final few marchers.
Rights groups have warned of growing fears of the risk of violence ahead of elections, with a string of attacks including a five-day battle last month between the army and rebels.
President Pierre Nkurunziza, in power since 2005, is expected to run for a third term in office despite opponents' claims that a new mandate would violate Burundi's constitution.
"I think everyone has to learn lessons from what happened yesterday and plan for the future," Ndiuwimana said.
The arrest in January of radio director Bob Rugurika for "complicity" in the murder of three Italian nuns sparked protests by civil rights activists and fellow journalists, who have accused the government of doing all it can to sideline political challengers.
Rugurika, director of the popular independent African Public Radio (RPA), broadcast the purported confession of a man claiming he was one of the killers of the nuns. He was released from prison on bail on Thursday.
AFP
