Paraguay President sacks top officials after protests

Asuncion April 2 (IANS) Paraguay s President Horacio Cartes has sacked the Interior Minister and the chief of police after Friday night s violent protests against a bill that would allow the President to run for a second term in office.

The protestors stormed the Congress and set fire to the building the BBC reported.

The authorities have arrested four police officers after a 25-year-old protestor Rodrigo Quintana was killed on Saturday.

Around 200 protestors were detained but many have since been released.

The protestors had taken to the streets following a private meeting of 25 senators -- a slight majority of the house -- which approved a bill to amend the Constitution.

Paraguay was controlled by military ruler General Alfredo Stroessner who seized power in a coup from 1954 until 1989.

The current Constitution created in 1992 after the dictatorship limits the head of state to a single five-year term.

Protestors were angered by the bill which would have allowed President Cartes to remove the restriction and run for re-election reports the BBC.

The bill must also be approved by the other house of Parliament -- the Chamber of Deputies -- where President Cartes party holds a majority.

President Cartes term is due to end in 2018.

--IANS
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