Thousands of Burundians protest peace talks

Thousands gathered in the streets of Bujumbura Saturday to protest peace talks aimed at resolving nearly two years of deadly political crisis in Burundi, which the government has boycotted. Talks in Arusha in northern Tanzania got underway Thursday in the umpteenth attempt to find a solution to the crisis which erupted when President Pierre Nkurunziza decided to run for a third term in office in April 2015.
However, as in past efforts, the government has refused to sit down with the main opposition umbrella group CNARED, and even went so far as to officially request their arrest by Tanzanian authorities.
"We organised this peace march to demand that the Burundi government does not back the results of the inter-Burundi dialogue in Arusha which is being attended by enemies of democracy," said one of the organisers Gilbert Becaud Njangwa.
Regular weekend protests are called by the government in Bujumbura, with recent marches against a UN probe into rights violations, or a resolution by the European Parliament calling for an investigation into the crisis.
As usual, thousands of motorbike taxis and tuk-tuk drivers were among the protesters, and an AFP photographer saw them reporting to supervisors who noted their presence.
According to them, they are forbidden from working in the capital if they do not attend the protests. The government denies padding the crowd.
"This protest is undoubtedly orchestrated by the government. It is one more sign to the international community that there is no hope for the Arusha talks," a diplomat in Burundi told AFP on condition of anonymity. In another blow to the attempted peace process, Burundi's embassy in Tanzania sent a letter, seen by AFP, to authorities asking them to arrest members of the opposition present for the negotiations. The move targets CNARED, which is exiled in Brussels.
Bujumbura considers the party a "terrorist organisation" and accuses it of leading a coup plot in May 2015 at the start of the unrest. Those accused have denied any role in the attempted coup.
Mediator and former Tanzanian president Benjamin Mkapa is hoping the latest attempt at negotiations will finally tackle "substantive issues" at the core of the conflict, notably Nkurunziza's third term, and the "creation of a national unity government".
He also wants consensus that Burundi's constitution will not undergo revision "until the situation has stabilised".
The Burundi government launched such a reform process on Wednesday that members of civil society and government fear could lift provisions on term limits and allow Nkurunziza to seek a fourth term in 2020.
Nkurunziza's third-term run and victory plunged the central African nation into turmoil, with hundreds killed in ensuing unrest. Nearly 400,000 have fled the country.