Burkina Faso’s military said it will not tolerate acts against an army-led transitional government after the ouster of longtime Burkinabe president Blaise Compaore, but the head of the military regime still promised to deliver a “consensus” leader yesterday during talks on installing a unity government.
The army has stepped into a power vacuum left by Compaore, who was forced to resign last week in the wake of violent demonstrations over his 27-year-rule.
Naming Lieutenant Colonel Isaac Zida as interim chief, the military has said it is acting in the interests of the nation and that “power does not interest us,” but its takeover has sparked angry protests.
Photo: AFP
Zida was locked in negotiations from 10am with diplomats at the Burkinabe Foreign Ministry, while senior opposition figures were due to meet later with their leader, Zephirin Diabre.
“Executive government shall be conducted by a transitional body within a constitutional framework... This transitional body will be headed by a person appointed by the consensus of all actors in public life,” he said.
Zida gave no timetable for the transition, but said he wanted a new regime in place within the “shortest possible” period.
Threatened with economic sanctions, the military has pledged to put in place a transition government formed by “broad consensus.”
The talks build on meetings late on Sunday between Zida and the ambassadors of France, the US and the EU, although it was not clear if any progress had been made.
However, in a statement read to reporters outside the offices of state television headquarters in Ouagadougou, Zida said that the opposition acted irresponsibly when denouncing his leadership.
“Any act likely to undermine the transition process will be suppressed with vigor,” Zida added.
Opposition supporters who led four days of protests to end Compaore’s rule last week scheduled a march for yesterday to demand the military continue talks and allow them to name a leader.
Thousands of people staged a peaceful protest in Ouagadougou on Sunday against the military takeover, demanding a say in who runs the country. Soldiers broke up the rally and fired warning shots to disperse protesters at the national TV station. One person was killed.
Meanwhile, in Taipei, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it was confident of maintaining ties with African ally Burkina Faso following the army takeover.
Burkina Faso is one of the three remaining countries in Africa — along with Swaziland and Sao Tome and Principe — that still have diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
Taiwan has lost allies before following political changes or unrest, with some countries switching ties more than once, including Lesotho, Liberia and Niger.
“The two countries have had solid relations over the past years. The relations will not be affected by the change of their government,” a ministry official told reporters.
The official did not want to be identified as “it’s inappropriate diplomatically” for any country to comment on a situation such as that existing in Burkina Faso.
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