In exile since the 2014 coup, condemned in absentia for the assassination of his predecessor, Blaise Compaoré must return to her country for a meeting between the current power and five former Burkinabé presidents. Free?
Le Monde with AFP
The government of Burkina Faso confirmed Wednesday, June 6, that ex-president Blaise Compaoré, in exile since he was overthrown in 2014 by a popular insurrection, was expected in Ouagadougou on Friday for a meeting of former chiefs state in order to “accelerate reconciliation”.
In a brief press release, the presidency of Burkina Faso invited to “a high -level meeting” on Friday, the five former heads of state still alive, including Mr. Compaoré. Government spokesperson Lionel Bilgo said that the coming of Mr. Compaoré, 71, was “very likely and even expected”, for this meeting. The entourage of Blaise Compaoré and a source close to power in Ouagadougou had indicated Tuesday evening that the former president was to return to his country for a short stay.
Wednesday, the spokesperson for the Ivorian government, Amadou Coulibaly confirmed that “contacts” had been made with Côte d’Ivoire where Mr. Compaoré has been in exile since 2014. “Burkina Faso has engaged in A process of reconciliation (…) All the arrangements are being taken so that President Compaoré actively participates in this process, “he insisted.
condemned in absentia
Will he be able to tread the Burkinabé soil as a free man? On April 6, Mr. Compaoré was condemned in absentia in Burkina to perpetuity for his role in the assassination of his predecessor Thomas Sankara, during a coup who had brought him to power in 1987.
In a statement on Wednesday, the lawyers of Thomas Sankara called on the judicial authorities to “arrest and refer” Blaise Compaoré upon his arrival in Burkina Faso. “This important meeting for the life of the nation does not hinder the legal proceedings engaged against some,” said the presidency in its press release on Wednesday.
In power from a putsch in January, Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba tries to create a “sacred union” around him to help him in the fight against jihadist groups which bloody Burkina Faso since 2015 and whose increasingly deadly attacks have multiplied in recent weeks.
The meeting between heads of state is also organized to “pool energies and synergies (…) to effectively fight against the tragedy that strikes us but also reduce internal fractures,” said the spokesman Lionel Bilgo Wednesday.
Supervised residence
Besides Blaise Compaoré, president from 1987 to 2014, are also invited Jean-Baptiste Ouedraogo (1982-1983), Isaac Zida who briefly took power in 2014 and currently in exile in Canada, Michel Kafando (2014-2015) and Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, elected in 2015 and overthrow last January.
According to a source close to the presidency in Ouagadougou, Blaise Compaoré will reside in a state villa in which President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré was placed under residence, after the putsch.
President Compaoré had been forced to go to exile in Côte d’Ivoire in October 2014, the day after violent popular riots and under pressure from the army and the opposition, which opposed his will to want to stay in power. On social networks, supporters of the former president called for a rally at Ouagadougou airport on Friday morning.