Demonstrators in Bujumbura protesting President Nkurunziza's decision to
seek a third term in office (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
[caption]
WASHINGTON, D.C., May 11, 2015 --Voice of America today began
boosting broadcasts to Burundi where at least 14 people have been killed and
more than 200 injured in protests against President Pierre Nkurunziza running
for a third term.
VOA has additional shortwave and FM broadcasts in
Kirundi, Kinyarwanda, Kiswahili, French, and English with an expanded call-in
show, more reporting from the ground, and new drive-time newscasts.
"At
this critical moment for democracy in Burundi, we are stepping up to keep our
audiences informed," says VOA Director David Ensor. "Voters deserve to know what
is going on with presidential elections just one month away."
The African
Union and the United States say the Nkurunziza candidacy violates a regional
peace deal that ended civil war in 2005. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says
the president's move "flies directly in the face of the constitution of his
country."
President Nkurunziza says he is exempt from the two-term limit
because his first term was chosen by parliament.
VOA is one of the last
remaining sources of news in Burundi after authorities blocked access to social
media, closed Radio Publique Africane, and suspended relay transmissions for two
other independently owned stations -- Bonesha FM and Isanganiro.
The
Committee to Protect Journalists condemns this harassment and says the
Nkurunziza government is "blatantly trying to gag" coverage of its
opponents.
VOA is adding reporters in Burundi and Rwanda along with
additional staff in Washington D.C., where its U.S. government-funded
transmissions originate.
Daily broadcasts air on 95.2 FM and 94.9 FM in
Bujumbura and on 104.3 FM in Kigali.
There are new VOA shortwave
broadcasts from 04:00 to 05:30 UTC and from 19:30 to 20:00 UTC on 7350 kHz, 9815
kHz, and 11905 kHz; and from 16:00 to 16:30 UTC on 13630 kHz, 15460 kHz, and
17530 kHz.
"With thousands of Burundians fleeing to neighboring Rwanda,
Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo, VOA is committed to providing
accurate and reliable news to this critical region," says Ensor.
For more
information about this release, contact the VOA Public Relations office in
Washington at (202) 203-4959, or write to publicrelations@voanews.com. For more information about VOA, visit
the Public Relations website at www.insidevoa.com, or the main
news site at www.voanews.com.
VOA reaches a global
weekly audience of more than 172 million people in nearly 50 languages. VOA
programs are delivered on satellite, cable, shortwave, FM, medium wave,
streaming audio and video and more than 2,350 media outlets worldwide. It is
funded by the U.S. Congress through the Broadcasting Board of Governors. (VOA PR
1548 UT May 11 via gh, DXLD)