Press release
At a time when the people of Tunisia and Egypt have driven the dictators Ben Ali and Mubarak out of their countries, the people of sub-Saharan Africa should not be forgotten and must be supported. The people of Burkina Faso, 'the country of honest men' (the name given to them by the revolutionary Thomas Sankara), have been fighting for weeks against the regime which, since 1987, has prevented Burkina Faso from living in freedom and dignity. This regime is that of Blaise Compaoré, who recently won the November 2010 presidential elections with more than 80.15 per cent of the vote.
Implicated in the murder of Thomas Sankara and dashing the hopes of an entire continent - which were carried by this worthy son of Africa who dared say no to imperialism - the regime of Blaise Compaoré is also responsible for the death of journalist Norbert Zongo in December 1998, a crime which remains unpunished to this day and every year is denounced by the Burkinabe. Many other sons and daughters of the land of honest men have lost their lives in the resistance against this unjust regime, whose only weapons are fashioned of the destabilisation in the sub-region, particularly Liberia and Côte d'Ivoire. Nevertheless, Blaise Compaoré has managed to fashion himself as an African mediator. With the support of countries like France, the good student of Françafrique and the IMF (International Monetary Fund) thought he could hold on until the next farcical election.
The day after the death by torture of the young Justin Zongo on 20 February 2011, violent demonstrations in Koudougou left two dead while the regime attempted to cover up the murder of Justin Zongo by proclaiming he had died of meningitis. But the demonstrations are growing, and the only response by the system is the unjust repression that has led to two new deaths, bringing the number of Burkinabe youth killed while demanding justice to six. Since then, the Burkinabe have taken to the streets every day, while Blaise Compaoré continues to repress his people, who are only demanding one thing: that justice be done. The demonstration on Friday 11 March organised by the ANAB (National Association of Students of Burkina - Ouagadougou) was severely repressed in turn, injuring several people. The regime has since closed all schools until further notice while soldiers and police roam the capital. It also appears that a militant of the Union for Resistance/Sankarist Party (UNITE/PS) was arrested by the gendarmerie at Kaya on 11 March 2011.
The NPA (Nouveau Parti Anticapitaliste), in this period of struggle against dictatorships, corruption and injustice:
- Expresses its solidarity with our arrested comrades
- Denounces the behaviour of the Burkinabe authorities, who have grown accustomed to the harassment of opposition forces
- Supports the youth of Burkina Faso in their fight against injustice
- Calls on the youth, democratic parties and social movements in Africa and around the world to continue to mobilise to shed light on the assassination of Norbert Zongo and the young Justin Zongo
- Calls for justice for Thomas Sankara, assassinated 15 October 1987 during the coup d'état that brought Blaise Compaoré to
* Translated from the French by Ifeoma Morah.
