Archive for the Politics Category

20th anniversary of Sankara’s death & Compaoré’s presidency

15. October 2007 by admin.

Today, October 15th marks the 20th anniversary Thomas Sankara’s death and at the same time 20 years since Blaise Compaoré became the president of Burkina Faso.

Sankara is Africa’s Che Guevera and is a hero for many Burkinabès. His wife is leading a march to her husband’s grave (near my house). Taken from Wikipedia:

Thomas Sankara

Captain Thomas Isidore Noël Sankara (December 21, 1949 – October 15, 1987) was the leader of Burkina Faso (formerly known as Upper Volta) from 1983 to 1987. With a potent combination of personal charisma and a social organization with some participatory democracy, his government undertook major initiatives to fight corruption and improve education, agriculture, and the status of women. His revolutionary program provoked strong opposition from traditional leaders and the country’s numerically small but powerful middle class. Added to friction between radical and more conservative members of the ruling junta, these factors led to his downfall and assassination in a bloody coup d’état on October 15, 1987.
A coup d’état organised by Blaise Compaoré made Sankara President on August 4, 1983, at the age of 33. The coup d’état was supported by Libya which was, at the time, on the verge of war with France in Chad.
Sankara saw himself as a revolutionary and was inspired by the examples of Cuba and Ghana’s military leader, Flight Lt. Jerry Rawlings. As President, he promoted the “Democratic and Popular Revolution” (Révolution démocratique et populaire, or RDP).
The ideology of the Revolution was defined by Sankara as anti-imperialist. His policy was oriented toward fighting corruption, promoting reforestation, averting famine, and making education and health real priorities.

Compaoré is Burkina’s current president and is celebrating his presidency with a rally and speech somewhere downtown. Taken from Wikipedia:

laise_Compaoré

He reached the rank of Captain in the Voltaïc army, and served as Minister of Justice during Thomas Sankara’s presidency. Compaoré met Sankara in 1976 in a military training center in Morocco, and since then Compaoré and Sankara were supposed to be close friends. Compaoré played a major role in the coups d’état against Saye Zerbo and Jean-Baptiste Ouedraogo.
He became president of his country on October 15, 1987 in a bloody coup that killed Sankara, his predecessor as president. Compaoré described the killing of Sankara as an “accident”, however this claim is widely disputed. Upon taking the presidency, he reverted many of the policies of Sankara, claiming that his policy was a “rectification” of the Burkinabé revolution. Soon after he became President he also eliminated two major revolutionary leaders, Henri Zongo and Jean-Baptiste Boukary Lingani, accused of plotting against the regime.
President Compaoré and his Presidential Guard have been implicated in the death of reporter Norbert Zongo and continued intimidation of the media in Burkina Faso, according to the international organization Reporters Without Borders. The Norbert Zongo murder allegations highlighted one of the only times that Compaoré’s power has been truly questioned and jeopardized.
Blaise Campaore’s liability in connection with the assassination of former President has been the object of the first complaint Against Burkina Faso, lodged by Mariam Sankara, Thomas Sankara’s widow. In April 2006, the UN Human Rights Committee issued a damning condemnation of Burkina Faso’s failure to investigate the circumstance of Thomas Sankara’s death (and prosecute those responsible for Sankara’s death).
Compaoré was elected president in 1991; main opposition parties boycotted in protest to the questionable means Compaoré used to take office in the first place, surrounding the murder of Sankara. In this election, only 25% of the electorate participated, emphasizing tremendous political instability and protest amongst the masses. In 1998 he was re-elected for the first time. In August 2005, he announced his intention to contest the next presidential election. Opposition politicians regard his 2005 re-election bid as unconstitutional due to a constitutional amendment in 2000 limiting a president to two terms, and reducing term lengths from seven to five years, thus barring Compaoré from seeking a third term. Compaoré’s supporters dispute this, saying that the amendment cannot be applied retroactively. Notwithstanding opposition objections, in October 2005 the constitutional council ruled that because Compaoré was a sitting president in 2000, the amendment would not apply until the end of his second term in office, thereby allowing him to present his candidacy for the 2005 election. On November 13, 2005, Compaoré was re-elected president, defeating 12 opponents and winning 80.35% of the vote.

I’m sitting in the office, waiting for the reports regarding the political activities to air on the radio. This year is particularly important since it marks two decades and is a sensitive for Burkinabès. NGO workers are avised not to go near the areas of the two demonstrations nor participate, as the climate could suddenly change. I’m extremely curious about the going ons and wish there was a TV around so we could watch live reports! Alas, I will be awaiting the story in the newspaper tomorrow however short a snippet it may be.

In other news, Ramadan ended on Friday. Everyone was looking up to the night sky to see whether there would be a full moon indicating that Ramandan would be over. Or watching TV, listening to the radio or receving numerous sms’ from friends and colleagues. There was much anticipation awaiting the appearance of the full moon, firecrackers were lit in the street and alot of food was served.

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