Ouagadougou, July 7th. Former Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaoré landed in his country this Thursday, a day earlier than announced, after spending nearly eight years in exile in Ivory Coast after being ousted from power by popular uprisings in October 2014 , found Efe in Ouagadougou. the capital of Burkina Faso.
The plane landed at around 14:00 local time (same GMT) at a military airfield near Ouagadougou International Airport, where dozens of the former president’s supporters mobilized to receive him.
“It’s a great relief for me. When Blaise left in 2014, I was the first Burkinabe to take photos to pay tribute to him and wish reconciliation, social cohesion and forgiveness,” Nana Thibault, a Compaoré supporter, told Efe.
“Reconciliation is with all of Burkinabe, but if he is not there, we cannot speak of reconciliation. He has led this country for more than two decades,” said Alain Zoungrana, another supporter of the former head of state, who said he went to the airport in support of national reconciliation.
The Presidency of Burkina Faso, in a statement collected yesterday by the Burkina Faso Information Agency (AIB), indicated that Compaoré will attend a meeting with the country’s current President, Lt. Col. Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, and other former Presidents this Friday will deal with relevant questions about the situation of the nation.
He also pointed out that “this important meeting for the life of the nation does not hamper the legal proceedings initiated against some”.
The return of Compaoré comes after Damiba received in audience on June 21 President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, who had been ousted in January, and after the Minister of State of Burkina Faso, Yéro Boly, announced last Tuesday the start of a national reconciliation process “in the coming weeks”.
Blaise Compaoré ruled Burkina Faso from the death of former President Thomas Sankara in 1987 until October 2014, when he resigned and went into exile in neighboring Côte d’Ivoire after civil unrest broke out when he tried to amend the constitution to to stay in power.
During the historic trial of Thomas Sankara’s murder, which took place in Ouagadougou between October 2021 and April 2022, Compaoré was found guilty in absentia and sentenced to life imprisonment.
For this reason, the Sankara family’s lawyers issued a statement yesterday calling for Compaoré’s arrest upon his arrival in the country.
While for some Burkinabe citizens, Compaoré’s return is an opportunity to seek justice, others see his return as necessary in the name of national reconciliation and to contribute to the fight against jihadism, which has already displaced more than 1.9 million people Has .
“What all Burkinabe want above all is peace. (…) Our country is under threat. Peace comes before justice,” Ambroise Ouédraogo, another Compaoré supporter, told Efe.
Burkina Faso suffered from jihadist violence in April 2015, a few months after the departure of Compaoré, whose government had mediated with the fundamentalists in kidnapping westerners in the region and reached an agreement with them not to attack within its borders.
In November 2021, an attack on a gendarmerie post that claimed 53 lives sparked widespread social discontent, leading to violent protests calling for the resignation of President Roch Kaboré.
Months later, on January 24, the military seized power in a coup d’état, the fourth in West Africa since August 2020. EFE
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