Burundi : the national office of the CNL party invaded by the police, the SNR and Imbonerakure

The national headquarters of the opposition CNL party was surrounded all day last Saturday by elements of the police, the National Intelligence Service (SNR) and the Imbonerakure (members of the youth league of the CNDD-FDD party). CNL membe indicate that these elements arrived in the morning. They remained around this office located in the Mutanga Nord neighborhood, north of the commercial city Bujumbura, until mid-afternoon. The secretary general of the main opposition political party in Burundi Simon Bizimungu spoke of provocation this Sunday. INFO SOS Médias Burundi

Mr. Bizimungu specified that “at a time when the national office was surrounded all day, those of the Muyinga and Ngozi provinces (northeast) were just as much.”

He said that “at the provincial office of the CNL party in Ngozi, several CNL party faithful were arrested and taken to the police cell in Ngozi.”

Persecution

The secretary general of this opposition party asks the government to officially declare the reasons behind this political intolerance of which the members and the party are victims.

Internal sources in the CNL party report that on December 17, the same office of the CNL party in Mutanga Nord was the target of the Imbonerakure.

In other provinces, in the village of Camazi, district of Cankuzo (east), the colors of this party have been erased from office.

On December 17, officials of the CNL party in the province of Rumonge (southwest) reported the demolition of the office of this party located in Ruringe village, in the district of Muhuta.

Imbonerakure singled out in this demolition

After this attack, the perpetrators of this demolition stole two sheep from Renathe Nzikibazanye, a CNL party member in this village.

The members of the CNL party “deplore these cases of political attacks of which they continue to be victims without the Ministry of the Interior doing anything to stop it”.

As a reminder, the CNL party has been banned from carrying out political activities throughout the national territory for six months.

At the beginning of December, Agathon Rwasa, its contested chairperson, declared the end of the sanctions period.

However, the Burundian minister in charge of internal affairs Martin Niteretse, author of the suspension of the activities of the CNL party, has not yet commented on the lifting of the measure.