Burundi protests against European parliament report on human rights violations

Thousands of people Saturday went to the streets in the Burundian capital to protest against a report by the European parliament on alleged human rights violations in the east African nation.

Demonstrators gathered at the United Nations square in Ngagara neighborhood and proceeded to the city center where they ended their march at the Independence Square.

Reading the Burundian government statement, Assistant Home Affairs Minister Therence Ntahiraja said, "We call on the African Union (AU) leaders meeting in Ethiopia on Jan. 31 and the United Nations not to consider the European parliament report that contains lies, fabrications and rumors."

The demonstrations also served as an opportunity to denounce other reports earlier published by some international organizations like Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) on Burundi.

Such demonstrations also took place nationwide and government officials had joined citizens in those marches.

On Jan. 19, the European parliament issued a resolution whereby it pointed out violations of human rights in Burundi.

However, the Burundian government and the country's parliament rejected the report, saying that it was ill-intended with outdated information.

source: Xinhua