Hwaairfan's Blog

The Spirit of Sankara Resurges in Burkina Faso*

By Ann Garrison

In 1983, a military clique in Burkina Faso assassinated the anti-imperialist head of state Thomas Sankara, plunging the nation back into the clutches of U.S. and French neocolonialism . The people this year ousted the assassins and their presidential guard, in two mass rebellions.

“Anyone who thinks that the presidential guard would have attempted a coup d’état without the knowledge and complicity of the U.S. and France” is blind to the facts. – Dr. Gnaka La Goke “The people of Burkina Faso took to the streets with signs reading “No Amnesty for Assassins.”

Burkina Faso’s Presidential Guard, a military elite created by longtime dictator Blaise Compaoré, seized power in mid September, but a popular uprising backed up by the Burkinabe army has reversed the coup and restored civilian rule – twice.

These events unfolded nearly eleven months…