Posted on 2nd December 2014
The godfather of the evil that plagued
our beautiful country for years, (the RUF) Burkina Faso President Blaise
Campaore is no more in power, no more enjoying the trappings of a Head of
State, never mind his known record and penchant for being the close buddy of
rebels of various descriptions that had laid waste many a life and territory in
the West African sub-region. Indeed one commentator on the BBC Focus on Africa
programme today put it succinctly when he stated from Accra that Blaise
Campaore should have been tried in an international court to face justice as
was the case of Foday Sankoh and Charles Taylor.
This
BBC page has this bit which would suggest, from
events on the ground that the new man at the helm, a former ADC to the ousted
Blaise Campaore is not welcome to hold the top political seat in the country.
The demonstrators see military chief Honore Traore as a part of the rot and
corruption so would want him to step down in favour of another General who fell
out with Blaise Campaore because he dared question him over the armoury of his
Presidential Guard. General Kouame Lougue whose name was being raised to the
roofs by the demonstrators was court-martialled on the orders of Blaise
Campaore when he told him to his face that it was not proper for the Presidential
Guard to have the best and modern weapons of choice while the army had to do
with equipment that was not up to scratch."Burkina Faso's President Blaise Compaore has announced his resignation, following violent protests at his attempt to extend his 27-year rule. Mr Compaore issued a statement saying the presidency was now vacant and urging elections within 90 days. Military chief Gen Honore Traore said he had taken over as head of state "in line with constitutional measures".
Crowds danced and cheered in the
capital, Ouagadougou, after Mr Compaore's resignation was broadcast. On
Thursday, protesters angry at his attempt to amend the constitution had set
fire to parliament and government buildings. There was a euphoric atmosphere in
the Place de la Nation as the thousands of protesters heard that Blaise
Compaore was no longer their president. The demonstrators sang the national
anthem. But the crowds have no intention of going home, as they are unhappy
that Gen Honore Traore has been appointed as transitional head.
He is seen as too close to the ousted
president - he was Blaise Compaore's aide de camp - and for these demonstrators
that is not enough of a rupture with the past. They have been chanting
"Lougue, Lougue, Lougue" - the name of retired Gen Kouame Lougue, a
former defence minister who fell out with Mr Compaore in 2003. "This is
not a coup - this is a popular uprising," one man in the crowd said.
"We rose up, we fought and we won,
and now we are saying we want this man to lead. We don't want Honore, we want
Kouame Lougue."
The APC and his kitchen cabinet at State House in Sierra Leone , must be getting mighty
jittery at the turn of events in Burkina Faso. This was the country to be first
visited by the president of sierra leone , Ernest bai koroma after
he won the 2007 elections and up to now satisfactory answers have not been
supplied by him or his hired shameless praise singers as to why Burkina Faso
and Blaise Campaore should be their first port of call.
Many theories had emerged - that he
could have gone there to say thanks to Blaise Campaore for his support after he
threatened that he would not accept the 2007 election results if he lost.
What deal had he worked out with Blaise
Campaore?
Could the great game changer/seller,
the one and only Christiana Thorpe got some mighty pressure put on her?
There were even reports that fugitives
wanted by the Special Court and other rapists and murderers of the AFRC/RUF
coalition of evil aka the beasts are still in hiding and protected by Blaise
Campaore.
I would again want to remind you of what we had
stated all along - that Blaise Campaore's regular troops were with the RUF when
the beasts entered our country from Liberia. I would again like to remind our readers that
when these Burkinabe regular soldiers were killed, our troops got their ID tags
off as evidence that was presented to one ECOWAS summit by NPRC leader one
Captain Valentine Strasser. He was prevailed upon not to make too loud a noise
about it after assurances that these troops would be removed from Sierra Leone
territory.
Sierra Leoneans who survived the
invasion and subjected to wanton acts of violence could recall these
black-uniformed non-English-speaking armed men whose accents were neither
Liberian, nor Sierra Leonean and could not speak English that well. These were
the troops sent by Blaise Campaore and they were from the Burkinabe national
army. Now is the time for the international community to try Blaise Campaore so
that the final chapter in the true story of the rebel carnage in our region
could be written.
This report by the Guardian gives an idea of the scale of
violence as the people rose up against a dictator. "Burkina Faso’s
president, Blaise Compaoré, one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders, has been
swept from power after 27 years by a violent popular uprising. Compaoré
announced his resignation on Friday as hundreds of thousands of people took to
the streets in protest at plans to extend his rule. General Honoré Traoré, head
of the armed forces, said he had taken charge of the west African country.
Like so many strongmen before him,
Compaoré was forced to abandon the luxurious trappings of the presidential
palace and flee for safety as his regime collapsed. A heavily armed convoy
believed to be carrying the 63-year-old was seen travelling on Friday towards
the southern town of Po, near the border with Ghana, according to sources
quoted by Reuters. It was not clear whether he would seek asylum. Lieutenant Colonel Isaac Zida of the presidential guard had earlier announced Compaoré’s departure in the central Place de la Nation in the capital, Ouagadougou, to cheering from a huge crowd of protesters. Outside army headquarters, Colonel Boureima Farta, hoisted on the shoulders of other officers, declared: “As of today, Compaoré is no longer in power.”
It was a defining moment for the
country’s young population, many of whom were not born when Compaoré came to
power in the 1987 coup in which Thomas Sankara, his former friend and one of
Africa’s most revered leaders, was ousted and assassinated. Compaoré issued a
statement on Friday that said: “In order to preserve the democratic gains, as
well as social peace … I declare a vacancy of power with a view to allowing a
transition that should finish with free and transparent elections in a maximum
period of 90 days.” The announcement, read out on state television, was a
sudden change from Thursday, when Compaoré vowed to hold on to power through
next year, after protesters stormed parliament and other official buildings,
ransacking them and setting them on fire.
Opposition leaders said about 30 people
died in Thursday’s violence. Agence France-Presse was able to confirm only four
dead and six seriously injured, based partly on reports from the capital’s main
hospital. For months, an opposition coalition has been urging Compaoré not to
seek re-election next year, in what would have been his fifth term in power.
But Compaoré and his ruling party looked likely to push a bill through
parliament on Thursday that would have allowed him to run again. Protesters
overran the parliament, the vote was suspended and the military announced the
legislature had been dissolved and a transition government would be formed.
Compaoré said he would lead the
government until new elections next year. Demonstrators rejected that plan and
gathered again on Friday, demanding he step down immediately.
Compaoré was a close ally of the US and
France but was also close to Muammar Gaddafi, the former Libyan leader, and the
ex-president of Liberia, Charles Taylor, who was found guilty of aiding and
abetting crimes against humanity...Burkina Faso is a landlocked country with a
population of 16.9 million and ranks near the bottom of the UN’s human
development index. Nearly half the population lives on less than one dollar a
day."
This excerpt from the New York Times buttresses what we had
been stating about this Great Satan of the West African sub-region - an unrepentant
beast even as he is driven out of power -
“For my part, I believe, I have
fulfilled my duty, my only concern being the higher interest of the nation,” he
said in a resignation statement that called for elections within 90 days.
With a mix of guile, charm and
impunity, Mr. Compaoré, a onetime disciple of the Libyan leader Muammar
el-Qaddafi who was known as “handsome Blaise,” had built himself into a
regional power broker. His influence far outweighed the strength of his nation,
where more than half the youthful population has known no other leader.
Events here were closely watched across
West Africa and elsewhere, particularly in the handful of countries whose
leaders are reported to be considering measures to extend their tenure. Some
analysts said events in Burkina Faso may be taken as a warning of the perils of
such action.
Residents reported that a convoy
carrying the president was seen leaving the capital, Ouagadougou, and heading
south toward Po, near the border with Ghana. Some reports said barricades had
been thrown up to stop him. It was not immediately clear how popular General
Traoré's declaration of power would be, since he is was regarded as close to
Mr. Compaoré.
Many protesters had said they favored
the former defense minister, retired Gen. Kouame Lougué, to oversee a
transition to new elections...On
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