Russia: UN Security Council should stay out of Burundi dispute

Russia said on Friday the United Nations Security Council should not intervene in Burundi’s constitutional dispute that has sparked the biggest political crisis in the East African state since an ethnically fuelled civil war ended in 2005. Diplomats said Russia and China on Thursday blocked a French-drafted council statement on the situation in Burundi, where there has been almost a week of street protests over President Pierre Nkurunziza’s decision to seek a third term. The Burundi constitution and the Arusha peace accord ending ended the civil war limit the president to two terms, but Nkurunziza’s supporters say he can run again because his first term, when he was picked by lawmakers, does not count.

It’s not the business of the Security Council and the U.N. Charter to get involved in constitutional matters of sovereign states.

Russian U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told reporters

Meanwhile, police in Burundi said Friday they have arrested close to 600 people during protests and clashes sparked by the president’s bid to stay in power. Protesters announced a two-day truce, but warned they would return to the streets on Monday unless Nkurunziza backs down. The UN voiced alarm over the central African nation’s political crisis, saying the Nkurunziza’s government was engaged in a brutal crackdown but “will not succeed in quashing dissent." Social media has been blocked and radio stations have been shut down.

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