Its former president Burkina Faso Blaise Compaore returned to his country today, for the first time since he was expelled from the country in the 2014 popular uprising and went into self-imposed exile in Ivory Coast.
Compaoré, 71, landed at the Ouagadougou military base at around 17:00 (Greece time), in the aircraft made available to him by the president of Ivory Coast. It is the first time he has set foot in his country since October 2014, after the riots that broke out when he tried to revise the Constitution to remain in the presidency after 27 years in power. However, this is not a definitive return, since he will only stay for a few days, at the invitation of Lt. Col. Paul Henri Santaogo Damimba, the country’s new strongman who overthrew President Roque Marc Christian Cabore in a coup d’état last January.
Compaoré and other former leaders of the country who are still alive will participate in a summit aimed at “tthe acceleration of national reconciliations” against the jihadist attacks that have bloodied the country since 2015 and intensified in recent months.
At Ouagadougou airport, dozens of his supporters, holding placards and portraits of him, had gathered to greet him. “We have come to welcome him and pay our respects. It is a big day for all of us, a new history is being written from today,” said a 36-year-old teacher, Alinda, who comes from the same village as the former president, Ziniare.
Amidu Kabore, a trader, said: “Today the very existence of the country is threatened and Blaise can help restore peace».
After the January 24 coup, Damiba has been trying to rally the political world to help him in the fight against jihadist groups. In addition to Compaoré, who was president from 1987 to 2014, former presidents Jean-Baptiste Ouedraogo (1982-83), Isaac Zida (ruled for a short time in 2014 and now lives in exile in Canada) have been invited to tomorrow’s session. , Michel Cafanto (2014-15) and Caboret, who was elected in 2014 and was ousted in January.
The return of Blaise Compaore, however, does not find agreement with all residents. On April 6 the former president was sentenced in absentia to life in prison for his role in the assassination of his predecessor, Thomas Sankara, whom he overthrew in a coup in 1987 to take power. “It would constitute an abuse of power for Compaore to return to Burkina Faso and leave again. This would mean that in our country there is neither justice nor law,” said Benevende Stanislas Sankara, one of the lawyers of the Sankara family, according to the Athens News Agency.
“This important meeting for the survival of the Nation does not prevent legal proceedings against some” of the participants, the presidency announced on Wednesday.
Source: News Beast
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