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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 Presiden
Published: April 2, 2017 3:41 PM IST 
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.
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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.
This is published unedited from the IANS feed.