Trial begins for the death of African anti-colonialist referent Thomas Sankara 35 years later
- The former President of Burkina Faso was killed in a coup d ' état in 1987. “The material side of the coup occurred in Burkina Faso, but the promoters are foreigners,” said the former partner of Sankara Halouna Traoré. He spoke out against colonialism and in favour of revolution, and during his mandate he carried out numerous reforms.
The trial began this Monday in a military court in the capital of Burkina Faso, in the city of Uagadut. In response to defence requests, the sessions will be interrupted on the same day that they begin and will resume on 25 October to give lawyers more time to study the case file. On the one hand, holding the trial is an achievement for those who want clarification of the murder of Sankara. On the other hand, it will not be easy to clarify the facts and responsibilities that have occurred or to punish those responsible.
Two of the main defendants will not be in view of the facts. Blaise Compaore is one of them. He was a classmate of Compaore Sankara, who in 1984 struck a coup d ' état with other military personnel, and released Sankara, who was in prison, to be investigated lehendakari. However, following the 1987 coup d ' état, it was he who took over the country ' s presidency for 27 years, during which no investigation was initiated. He currently resides in Côte d'Ivoire and has always refused to be involved in the murder. Hyacinthe Kafando is also missing from the Uagadugu Court. Kafando is accused of being the head of the command that killed Sankara. He is currently in flight.
The remaining twelve defendants are present in the court, which has been seen for sentencing. Among them is Gilbert Diendéré, one of the main commanders of the army during the 1987 coup d ' état. Dienderé is serving a 20-year prison sentence for a coup attempt in 2015. All defendants are charged with crimes of complicity, concealment of corpses and "attack on state security".
Responsibility of the Western powers
The supporters of Sankara have denounced that, as in 1987, foreign countries, especially the French State, also participated in the murder of Sankara, and have criticised Sankara. “The material side of the coup occurred in Burkina Faso, but the promoters are foreigners,” said the former partner of Sankara Halouna Traore during the celebration of the eapiketa. For Justice Sankara, the international network for African Justice expresses its satisfaction at the beginning of the trial, but its concern is that the participation of foreign countries has not been investigated. “We ask the new judge in charge of monitoring the international part of the case to follow the investigation until the end. In particular, ask France to submit documents classified as defence secrets and to cooperate in the investigation to countries suspected of being involved.” These countries are France, Togo, Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, Libya and the United States.
Symbol of revolutionary anti-colonialism
Thomas Sankara and his twelve members were killed in 1987 by a military command in which they were killed a year earlier. He was 37 years old and had great prestige in Burkina Faso, Africa and the rest of the world on the left. He was part of the revolutionary young military group Officiers Communistes. In the 1980s, he assumed government responsibilities, but he was incarcerated. After the 1984 coup d ' état, he was named lehendakari and until his death in 1987, in addition to making radical speeches, he promoted profound transformations in Burkina Faso ' s culture, policies for women or in the economic sphere. The 2007 ARGIA report and the documentary Eguzki Bideo give the opportunity to learn more about Sankara’s work and history.
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