Former President Blaise Compaoré returned to Burkina Faso after eight years in exile

First modification: 07/08/2022 – 03:07

The former president arrived in his country at 2:00 p.m. local time, on a flight that landed at a military air base near the Ouagadougou International Airport, where dozens of supporters were waiting for him and traveled to the place 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 for reconciliation, social cohesion and forgiveness,” said Nana Thibault, a fan of Compaoré.

A source close to the president, who stated that he preferred to remain anonymous, reported that the return was planned as early as August 2021. “This time the conditions are right for him to finally set foot on the land of his ancestors.” However, he assured that it is only one visit, where he will first talk with the current president of the nation, Paúl Henri Damiba, to prepare a possible definitive return, and they will also talk about the situation the country is going through.

This is not the first such meeting held by Damiba. On June 21, he received in audience the president who was deposed in January of this year, Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, a meeting in which former Burkinabe president Jean-Baptiste Ouédraogo also participated.

The Government is carrying out a process of national reconciliation, which was announced last Tuesday by the Burkina Faso Minister of State, Yero Boly, which, according to his words, will begin in the coming weeks.

“Reconciliation is with all Burkinabe, but if he (Compaoré) is not here, we cannot speak of reconciliation. He led this country for more than two decades,” said Alain Zoungrana, a citizen who approached the airport.

Compaoré’s departure from power

For 27 years, Blaise Compaoré was president of Burkina Faso. From the passing of former President Thomas Sankara in 1987 to October 2014.

Compaoré’s proposal to amend the Constitution to stay in power sparked massive protests throughout the territory that forced him to resign and flee to neighboring Ivory Coast.

The authorities that assumed the transitional power issued an international arrest warrant, but the president of Côte d’Ivoire, Alassane Ouattara, nationalized Compaoré as an Ivorian to avoid extradition.

In October 2021 and April 2022, a trial was held in the capital of Burkina Faso on the murder of Thomas Sankara, where Compaoré was found guilty in absentia and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Before the return of the former president, Sankara’s family, through their lawyers, demanded that Compaoré be arrested upon landing in the country, a request that was joined by social organizations that participated in the 2014 actions.

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“It is without a doubt the occasion for Justice to pick up the package or to demonstrate that it is an empty institution, suitable for the garbage can of history,” activist Rasmané Zinaba of ‘Balai Citoyen’ declared on his Facebook account, a citizen group that participated in the protests.

To which the presidency responded in a statement that “this important meeting for the life of the nation does not hinder the judicial processes initiated.”

jihadist violence

However, some hope that Compaoré’s return will contribute to the fight against jihadism, which has generated the forced displacement of almost two million citizens.

“All those who were very virulent against President Compaoré are forced by the vital urgency of saving the country and their children to accept the use of their services,” activist Mahamoudou Soulama posted on social media.

Compaoré kept jihadist violence at bay with agreements that prevented attacks within Burkina Faso’s borders. In addition, he mediated with fundamentalists in kidnappings against Westerners in the region. Shortly after his departure from power in April 2015, the violent events began that continue to affect the country to this day.

An attack perpetrated in November 2021, which left 53 dead in a Gendarmerie post, caused social discontent, which spilled over violently into the streets, which demanded that President Roch Kaboré resign.

The president was deposed after a military coup on January 24, the fourth in West Africa since August 2020.

With information from EFE and Reuters