* Some protesters chant for General Lougue
* ECOWAS, UN delegations due in capital
* No sign of violence in Friday protests
(Updates with quotes, context)
By Mathieu Bonkoungou and Joe Penney
OUAGADOUGOU, Oct 31 (Reuters) – Tens of thousands of people
took to the streets of Burkina Faso on Friday to press President
Blaise Compaore to step down, a day after the army dissolved
parliament and announced a transitional government in the face
of violent mass protests.
Compaore has ruled the landlocked West African country since
he seized power in a 1987 coup but events on Thursday – when he
appeared on the point of being toppled by a popular uprising –
have left it unclear who is in charge.
Long a bastion of stability in the turbulent Sahel region,
Burkina Faso’s crisis is being closely watched by military
allies France and the United States, and by governments in the
region where several long-standing rulers are approaching the
end of their mandates amid rumbling of popular discontent.
Many protesters on the streets of the capital Ouagadougou
said they wanted retired General Kouame Lougue, a popular former
defence minister who was accused of trying to topple Blaise in
2004, to take charge on an interim basis amid frustration with
the fractious political opposition.
“We want him out of power. He is not our president,” said
Ouedrago Yakubo, amid the huge crowd that gathered at the main
Place de la Nation and in front of the army headquarters.
The square, the size of a football stadium, and surrounding
streets were packed with more protesters than any other day this
week, according to a Reuters reporter – probably pushing the
numbers into the hundreds of thousands.
People blew whistles and honked car horns but there was no
sign of the confrontations with security forces that accompanied
Thursday’s protests, in which at least three people were killed.
For several hours on Thursday, it seemed likely that
Compaore’s 27-year rule was coming to an abrupt end as
opposition leaders held talks with Lougue and military top
brass, as tens of thousands of protests faced off with the
presidential guard outside the palace.
In a surprise announcement late on Thursday, however,
Compaore said he would stay in office at the head of a
transitional government until after elections. He also scrapped
an unpopular plan to amend the constitution to allow him to seek
election next year.
His announcement came after the head of the armed forces,
General Honore Traore, said he would hold talks with all
political parties to create an interim government to take the
West African country to democratic elections within a year.
Those declarations did not satisfy opposition leaders and
many on the streets, who demanded his immediate departure.
“The opposition remains firm that a prerequisite to any
discussion on a transition is the unconditional departure of Mr.
Blaise Compaore,” an opposition statement said on Friday. “The
opposition calls on the people of Burkina Faso to maintain the
pressure and systematically occupy all public places.”
“ARMY IS WITH US”
Scores of demonstrators were wounded in clashes with
security forces on Thursday as demonstrators attacked symbols of
Compaore’s long rule, looted and set fire to parliament and
ransacked state television.
“It’s an extremely uncertain situation. African leaders from
across the region are looking at this very closely,” said
Philippe Hugon, an Africa expert at Paris-based foreign
relations think-tank IRIS.
Burkina Faso is one of the world’s poorest nations but has
positioned itself as a mediator in regional crises. It is also a
key ally in Western operations against al Qaeda-linked groups in
West Africa and one of the last African states to retain
diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
The United States on Friday praised Compaore’s decision to
withdraw the bill that would have allowed him to seek an
additional term and his decision to pass power to a
democratically elected government, State Department spokeswoman
Jen Psaki said in a statement.
Regional West African bloc ECOWAS said on Thursday it would
not accept any party seizing power through non-constitutional
means in an apparent suggestion of diplomatic pressure to leave
Compaore in place.
A delegation from the African Union, the United Nations and
ECOWAS was due in Burkina Faso on Friday to hold talks with all
parties.
Youth leaders told Reuters they already held talks at army
headquarters with Traore on Friday on the shape of a future
government and said they believed they had army support.
“They have given us reason to believe that the army is with
us, but we must be patient,” said a rapper and youth leader with
the Balai Citoyen group who goes by the stage-name “Smokey”.
The prospect of Compaore’s departure has raised fears of
turbulence in nation that shares borders with six other
countries at the heart of the turbulent Sahel. It was not clear
what role the military would play in any transition and which
opposition figure might emerge as a leader of the movement.
Youth leader, Tapsoba Mouni, said people wanted Lougue and
mistrusted Traore, who he said would rule in Compaore’s place
and follow his agenda.
“If nothing is done the country will be set on fire,” he
said.
(Additional reporting by John Irish in Paris, Emma Farge and
Bate Felix in Dakar; Writing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg; Editing by
Emma Farge and Alison Williams)
Article source: http://www.rte.ie/ten/news/2014/0920/645156-leonard-cohen-at-80-i-like-life-on-the-road/
* Some protesters chant for General Lougue
* ECOWAS, UN delegations due in capital* No sign of violence in Friday protests
(Updates with quotes, context)By Mathieu Bonkoungou and Joe PenneyOUAGADOUGOU, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of people
took to the streets of Burkina Faso on...
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