Clashes erupt at Burkina Faso protest against president's plan to extend rule
By Joe Penney and Mathieu Bonkoungou OUAGADOUGOU (Reuters) - Police fired tear gas at rock-throwing protesters after tens of thousands of people marched through Burkina Faso's capital on Tuesday, calling for President Blaise Compaore to abandon plans to change term limits to stay in power. An early morning march through the heart of Ouagadougou, where many businesses closed their shutters in anticipation of the protest, was peaceful. But clashes erupted later as protesters tried to advance towards the National Assembly. Tuesday marks the start of a campaign of civil disobedience announced by opposition parties after the government asked the National Assembly to order a referendum on changing the constitution to allow Compaore to stand for re-election next year, when he is due to stand down. "The people have decided to start a general popular resistance. The first grievance is to get the withdrawal, pure and simple, of this legal project," Zephirin Diabre, head of the opposition delegation, told the crowd of thousands. A government spokesman was not immediately available for comment. Protesters chanted "Step aside!" and "Don't touch Article 37", referring to the clause in the constitution that needs changing to allow Compaore, who has been in power for 27 years, to stand again next year. Others carried banners comparing Compaore to Ebola, the virus that has killed nearly 5,000 people in the nearby states of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. "We must disinfect ourselves," read one. A group of protesters marched towards the National Assembly, which is due to vote on the law on Thursday, but were blocked by security forces who fired volleys of tear gas and used water cannons. Protesters burnt tyres and threw rocks during the clashes that centred around the United Nations roundabout. "It's provocation. They (the authorities) want to set the country on fire," said a young protester. "Even if Blaise Compaore burns the country down he will depart all the same." Demonstrators in Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso's second biggest town, 330 km (205 miles) to the southwest of the capital, pulled down a statue of Compaore, a witness said. They left intact an adjacent statue of Libya's late leader Muammar Gaddafi, who was a popular figure in some poor African countries because of his generous cash donations. Compaore has positioned himself as a key leader in West Africa, where he has mediated in regional conflicts and is an important ally of Western nations in the fight against al Qaeda-linked Islamists. Having seized power in a 1987 coup, Compaore has won a series of elections, the last of which was in 2010. However, he faced unprecedented protests in 2011 from the usually loyal military and the referendum plan has divided the country, which remains one of the world's poorest despite being a top regional cotton producer and home to a fledgling gold industry. The government is proposing to change the law so that the president can be re-elected twice, rather than once, according to a draft seen by Reuters. Regional diplomats fear it may set a precedent to other leaders in the region who want to stay in power after their terms come to an end. (Reporting by Joe Penney and Mathieu Bonkoungou; Writing by David Lewis; Editing by Daniel Flynn and Raissa Kasolowsky)
