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Burkina Faso Leader Counters Calls for Resignation With Offer of Talks In Tense Burkina Faso, Protesters Press President to Step Down Immediately
(about 2 hours later)
OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso — After violent protests in which demonstrators set Parliament on fire and surged through the streets of the capital in a wave of dissent, President Blaise Compaoré of Burkina Faso said he had “heard the message, understood it and taken note of the strong desire for change.” OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso — After violent protests in which demonstrators set fire to Parliament and surged through the streets in a wave of dissent, opposition leaders in Burkina Faso urged their followers on Friday to “keep up the pressure” on President Blaise Compaoré, rejecting an offer of negotiations and calling for his immediate ouster — “pure and simple.”
But in a statement late Thursday, Mr. Compaoré said he would not heed protesters’ demands for his immediate resignation, instead offering negotiations on “a transitional period at the end of which I will hand over power to the democratically elected president.” The call sharpened the confrontation between Mr. Compaoré and his adversaries on the streets of the capital, Ouagadougou, who have thrown down the most serious challenge so far to his 27-year rule, igniting worries across the region.
He also rescinded a declaration of martial law, made only hours earlier, and abandoned plans to change the Constitution in order to permit him to extend his 27-year tenure in this impoverished West African nation. A statement signed by 34 opposition parties came hours after the president said he had “heard the message” from the protesters and understood “the strong desire for change.”
In a televised statement late Thursday, Mr. Compaoré rescinded a declaration of martial law, made only hours earlier, and offered negotiations on “a transitional period at the end of which I will hand over power to the democratically elected president.”
He also abandoned plans to change the Constitution in order to run for office again next year — the issue that has ignited days of protest. But he rejected calls for his immediate resignation.
On Friday, protesters gathered for the fourth straight day in the capital of this impoverished West African nation, urging the military to sweep Mr. Compaoré from office. Demonstrators looted at least two banks and ransacked many stories, residents said.
Opposition politicians appealed to their followers to “keep up the pressure by systematically occupying the public space.”
Rejecting Mr. Compaoré's offer of talks, the opposition groups also said the “precondition for any discussion of a political transition is the unconditional departure, pure and simple, of Mr. Blaise Compaoré.”
Opposition to the president’s plans for another term had been building for weeks. Anger exploded Thursday as protesters stormed the Parliament building, bursting past police lines to prevent lawmakers from voting on a draft law that would have allowed Mr. Compaoré to run again next year.Opposition to the president’s plans for another term had been building for weeks. Anger exploded Thursday as protesters stormed the Parliament building, bursting past police lines to prevent lawmakers from voting on a draft law that would have allowed Mr. Compaoré to run again next year.
It was unclear early on Friday whether the president’s offer of negotiations would avert another day of protests representing the most serious challenge to his authority since he seized power in a military coup in 1987. Thousands rampaged through Ouagadougou, burning the homes of presidential aides and relatives and looting state broadcasting facilities. Social media sites showed images of demonstrators toppling a statue of Mr. Compaoré.
Hundreds of protesters gathered in central Ouagadougou, the capital, on Friday, and the opposition promised to offer its response to the president’s move at a news conference.
A day earlier, thousands rampaged through Ouagadougou, burning the homes of presidential aides and relatives and looting state broadcasting facilities. Social media sites showed images of demonstrators toppling a statue of Mr. Compaoré.
The violence set off a series of decrees from the embattled president, who declared martial law, permitting the military to suspend both the Parliament and the government, and to inaugurate a 12-month transition to elections under an interim government.The violence set off a series of decrees from the embattled president, who declared martial law, permitting the military to suspend both the Parliament and the government, and to inaugurate a 12-month transition to elections under an interim government.
Opposition leaders called his actions a coup.Opposition leaders called his actions a coup.
In his statement late Thursday, Mr. Compaoré, a former army officer who ranks among Africa’s longest-serving leaders, said that the government would remain “dissolved,” but that martial law would be “canceled.” In his statement late Thursday, Mr. Compaoré, a former army officer who seized power in a coup in 1987 and ranks among Africa’s longest-serving leaders, said that the government would remain “dissolved,” but that martial law would be “canceled.”