Fears for Gen Traore’s life as he is replaced in power struggle Fears are growing increasingly for the safety of Burkina Faso’s army chief, Gen Honoré Traore after he was pushed aside by a junior army officer who has now claimed to be the country’s Head of State. Gen Traore on Friday said he was mandated to fill up the power vacuum that had been created when President Blaise Compaoré resigned from office Thursday after angry protesters torched the country’s parliament and went about destroying homes and businesses owned by those close to Compaoré’s regime. As you read this, there has been no information as to what has happened to Gen Traore. Burkina Faso is infamous for expeditiously getting rid of its former leaders as was the case in 1987 when Compaoré overthrew Thomas Sankara whose murder has never been explained to this day. As we went to press yesterday, another Burkinabe army officer was emerging with claims that earlier announcements by Gen Traore, the country’s army chief, were ‘obsolete’. This morning, the officer who was until yesterday the deputy commander of the presidential guard, Lt Col Isaac Zida. In an announcement read Saturday morning in the studios of BF1 TV and broadcast on local Burkinabe radio stations, Col Zida said: “I assume today the responsibilities of head of this transition and of head of state.” It is unclear where Col Zida was getting the powers to go over the head of the army but Burkina Faso’s history gives us a clear answer. Burkina Faso has a chequered history of military coups starting in 1966 when the army deposed Maurice Yaméogo, the country’s first leader after gaining independence from France and replacing him by, yes, another junior army officer, then Lt Col Aboubakar Sangoulé Lamizana. His government lasted until 1978 after transforming himself from army strongman to semi-politician. He ran for elective office in 1978 and faced several challenges from trade unions who made it difficult for him to govern. He was deposed in 1980 by Col Saye Zerbo who established a Military Committee of Recovery for National Progress that made obsolete the 1977 constitution. But Col Zerbo had no idea how powerful the country’s trade unions had become and similar to what had happened to his predecessor, the trade unions made it impossible for him to rule and he was on November 7, 1972 deposed by Maj Dr Jean-Baptiste Ouédraogo who immediately encountered solid factional infighting within the ruling party, the Council of Popular Salvation or CSP. Let by Captains Sankara and Compaoré, the CSP overthrew Zerbo on August 4, 1983. Sankara was appointed prime Minister and later became president. But just four years later, on August 15, 1987, Sankara, together with twelve other senior members of the CSP, was deposed by Compaoré and they were shot dead. Developments in Ouagadougou the Burkina Faso capital are unclear as to what has led Gen Traore be pushed aside and replaced within hours of announcing he was the new head of state, by Col Zida. Our source in the Burkina Faso capital says a note purportedly signed by Gen Traore ascending to Col Zida’s appointment as the new head of state is likely to be false. The note, a copy of which has been emailed to The London Evening Post states that Col Zida had been ‘unanimously’ chosen by the army to lead the country. It claims Gen Traore had agreed to the new change in which he was removed from his earlier stance of being the new leader. What is puzzling about this new transformation is the rise of a deputy commander of the presidential guard to head of state. Where is the Presidential Guard Commander? Nothing has been said of him and how his deputy came to be first in line to this vast promotion. The developments in Burkina Faso have brought about new meanings of being a presidential guard commander. In the East African countries of Uganda and Rwanda, the leaders of both countries have appointed their sons to this post. In Uganda in particular, there has been widespread rumours that President Yoweri Museveni is grooming his son, Brig Muhoozi Kainerugaba to replace him as president when he finally retires or something happens to him, whatever will first happen. While there are many generals in the Uganda army, Muhoozi has been widely reported recently visiting Ugandan troops serving under African Union troops currently deployed in Somalia. It has not been made clear in what capacity Brig Muhoozi, commander of the Presidential Guard, visits the country’s troops serving in foreign lands. In Rwanda, Gen Paul Kagame, the country’s president, has recently appointed his eldest son, Ivan Cyomoro Kagame to command the presidential guard. Having been just 4 years old during the 1994 Rwanda genocide, it makes one wonder how such a young man can be entrusted with such authority leaving behind several generals in the Rwandan army who have seen service in different wars that Kagame has involved his country in since he assumed power. Cyomoro has only recently completed a 47-month rigorous military training at the United States prestigious West Point Military Academy. The tallest of the Kagame children (6’ 6”), he is set to go places. It is unclear how Gen Traore was removed and why there are no reports of either him still being alive or dead. But with the history of the country as portrayed in this article, many of the general’s friends fear for his life. In the meantime, ex-president Compaoré has been given asylum in neighbouring Côte d’Ivoire together with his entourage numbering more than 30 people. He joins a growing number of African leaders who are forced to flee their countries once they are ejected from power mostly for fear of reprisals for what they have done while in power. Burkina Faso’s opposition has rejected the manner in which the transfer of power has been conducted after the resignation of President Compaoré on Friday. The victory of the popular uprising and consequently the management of the transition, belongs to the people and should not in any way be confiscated by the army,” a coalition of opposition parties and civil society groups said in a statement after talks on Saturday. In the Place de la Nation, the epicentre of this week’s massive demonstrations, many people voiced anger at what they saw as an attempt by the military to subvert their uprising. “It’s ridiculous. It’s just replacing Blaise with a little Blaise,” said Frederic Ouédraogo. “The presidential guard opened fire on the crowd. If we were able to get rid of Blaise, then he (Zida) will not be able to stop us. He is going to go, too. In a strongly worded statement, the African Union called for the military to hand power over to civilian authorities. It said the Peace and Security Council, the arm of the 54-nation bloc that imposes sanctions for violations of democratic process, would discuss the situation on Monday. thelondoneveningpost/fears-for-gen-traores-life-as-he-is-replaced-in-power-struggle/
Posted on: Sat, 01 Nov 2014 22:55:29 +0000
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