Religion in Burkina Faso

In April 2004, Navy captain Luther Ouali was sentenced to 10 years in prison after admitting his participation in the coup plans in October 2003. Six others received shorter sentences, while four others were released – including opposition leader Norbert Tiendrebeogo. Ouali stated to the military court that what particularly motivated his participation in the coup plans was the desire to deal with the country’s social inequalities. He also admitted that he had received US $ 93,000 from the Government of Côte d’Ivoire. President Gbabgo denied any interference in the coup attempt and stated that he had given the money to Ouali as payment for transportation from the company Ouali worked in.

In July, Burkina accused Ivory Coast of violating its airspace with military aircraft. According to Countryaah data, the government at the same time accused that if the planes crossed the border, they would be shot down. Gbagbo replied that the accusations were false.

People in Burkina Faso

In August, authorities arrested 14 people accused of genital mutilation of young girls. The circumcisions were made without any medical presence, and in circumstances that endangered the lives of the girls. One of those arrested was Adama Barry, who was sentenced to 3 months in prison and a $ 1,500 fine – for the third time in a row. Barry has no health education.

According to thesciencetutor, about 70% of young people in Burkina have been subjected to genital mutilation. A member of the Gender Transformation Committee, Hortense Palm stated that the time had come to impose harsh penalties on those who practice genital mutilation.

The Pan-African Film and TV Festival in Ouagadougou in 2005 clearly showed that the festival that had been running since 1969 had become the continent’s most important film event. To emphasize its importance, Campaoré participated in the awards ceremony at this 19th festival.

After 18 years in power, Compaoré regained office in the November 2005 presidential elections. With 80% of the vote, he can remain in the post for another 5 years. Opposition candidates drew attention to the large sums invested in the presidential election campaign. He distributed T-shirts and hats throughout the country and his election posters were to be found in every street. Compaoré moved in 2000 to a new presidential palace in the “millionaire district” Ouga on the outskirts of the capital.

In June 2007, former Finance Minister Tertius Zongo was appointed Prime Minister. Upon his appointment, he worked as the country’s ambassador to the United States.

In November 2010, President Compaoré was re-elected. The electoral boycott was about 80% – only approx. 1.6 million voted.

In February 2011, soldiers in Ouagadougou revolted in protest of failure to pay their rent. The uproar led Compaoré to seek refuge in his hometown of Ziniaré for a few days. In April, the soldiers’ revolt spread to Po in the southern part of the country and a curfew was imposed. The soldier rebellion was mixed with popular protests inspired by the “Arab Spring” demanding Compaore’s departure. In April, the president instead removed unpopular Prime Minister Zongo and replaced him with Luc-Adolphe Tiao.

However, the popular protests were scattered and not nearly as extensive as northern Sahara. They led to the burning down of businesses and significant police violence. The government was able to mitigate this development by giving pay raises to public servants and by depositing 13 unpopular regional governors in June. Subsequently, the government declared that it would set up a committee of 68 members to draft amendments to the constitution. This move was rejected by the opposition, which criticized Compaoré for seeking to cling to power – even after 2015.

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About 100,000 refugees sought refuge in northern Burkina due to the crisis in Mali .

Burkina Faso Religion