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Street-Level Views of the Protests in Burkina Faso Street-Level Views of the Protests in Burkina Faso
(about 17 hours later)
As my colleagues Hervé Taoko and Alan Cowell report, protesters in Burkina Faso forced President Blaise Compaoré from office on Friday, one day after they ransacked Parliament to prevent a vote that could have allowed him to extend his rule.As my colleagues Hervé Taoko and Alan Cowell report, protesters in Burkina Faso forced President Blaise Compaoré from office on Friday, one day after they ransacked Parliament to prevent a vote that could have allowed him to extend his rule.
The president, who had first seized power in a military coup in 1987, tried to strike a deal to stay in office until elections next year, but he finally agreed to step down after protesters again massed in large numbers in the main square of the capital, Ouagadougou, and outside the military headquarters.The president, who had first seized power in a military coup in 1987, tried to strike a deal to stay in office until elections next year, but he finally agreed to step down after protesters again massed in large numbers in the main square of the capital, Ouagadougou, and outside the military headquarters.
Abou Diomède Sanfo, a Burkinabe film critic, posted two brief video clips on YouTube that showed protesters calling for the former defense minister, Gen. Kwamé Lougué, to be appointed interim leader. Images of the protesters were shared on Twitter by Joe Penney, a Reuters photographer, and Dieudonné Lankoande of Burkina 24.
Abou Diomède Sanfo, a Burkinabe film critic, posted two brief video clips on YouTube that showed protesters calling for the former defense minister, the retired Gen. Kouame Lougué who had clashed with President Compaoré, to be appointed interim leader.
In addition to chanting “Lougué! Lougué!,” some of the demonstrators held aloft signs, including one that made a topical reference, equating President Compaoré to Ebola.In addition to chanting “Lougué! Lougué!,” some of the demonstrators held aloft signs, including one that made a topical reference, equating President Compaoré to Ebola.
Video from the Burkina Faso news site Droit Libre TV showed protesters outside the army headquarters on Friday morning and packed into what they have renamed Revolution Square. The report also showed Gen. Honoré Nabéré Traoré, the chief of staff of Burkina Faso’s armed forces, declaring that he was taking charge of the transition, not General Lougé. Video from the Burkina Faso news site Droit Libre TV showed protesters outside the army headquarters on Friday morning and packed into what they have renamed Revolution Square. The report also showed Gen. Honoré Nabéré Traoré, the chief of staff of Burkina Faso’s armed forces, declaring that he was taking charge of the transition, not General Lougué.
The deposed president made it official in a statement he also shared on Twitter before relinquishing control.The deposed president made it official in a statement he also shared on Twitter before relinquishing control.
The Droit Libre TV report included remarks from Sams’K Le Jah — one of two musicians who founded the Balai Citoyen, a citizens movement dedicated to sweeping away corruption that takes its name and symbol from the French word for broom. The Droit Libre TV report included remarks from Sams’K Le Jah — one of two musicians who founded the Balai Citoyen, a citizens movement dedicated to sweeping away corruption that takes its name and symbol from the French word for broom. (At a rally last year, the reggae singer and the movement’s co-founder, hter activist rapper Smockey, waved brooms above their heads as they addressed the crowd.)
According to the reggae singer, the army had listened to the will of the people and forced Mr. Compaoré from office. In the middle of the packed square on Friday, Sams’K Le Jah declared that the army had listened to the will of the people by forcing Mr. Compaoré from office.
On Friday afternoon, the citizens movement called on Twitter for its members to help restore order, amid an outbreak of looting, adding the hashtag #Lwili, which refers to the traditional Burkinabe cloth Lwili Peendé.On Friday afternoon, the citizens movement called on Twitter for its members to help restore order, amid an outbreak of looting, adding the hashtag #Lwili, which refers to the traditional Burkinabe cloth Lwili Peendé.
A Droit Libre cameraman watched as looters ransacked the home of François Compaoré, the ousted president’s younger brother.
One of the protesters who documented Thursday’s dramatic events on Facebook, Cendrine Nama, shared new images of the demonstrators outside the military headquarters in Ouagadougou on Friday.One of the protesters who documented Thursday’s dramatic events on Facebook, Cendrine Nama, shared new images of the demonstrators outside the military headquarters in Ouagadougou on Friday.
Late Friday, a Reuters journalist in the city, Joe Penney, reported on Twitter that the military officer who announced that the president was no longer in office, Lt. Col. Isaac Zida, had apparently also staked a claim to power. Late Friday, Reuters reported that the military officer who announced that the president was no longer in office, Lt. Col. Isaac Zida, had apparently also staked a claim to power.
Following a statement to the press by Colonel Zida, one local web journalist, Dieudonné Lankoande of Burkina 24, suggested that he just might be “the new strongman” of Burkina Faso. Following a statement to the press by Colonel Zida, one local web journalist suggested that he just might be “the new strongman” of Burkina Faso.
Wary of trusting the army to make good on its promises, Sams’K Le Jah, the opposition activist, called on Twitter for citizens to “remain vigilant and on high alert, to not let anyone steal the victory of the sovereign people.”Wary of trusting the army to make good on its promises, Sams’K Le Jah, the opposition activist, called on Twitter for citizens to “remain vigilant and on high alert, to not let anyone steal the victory of the sovereign people.”
Droit Libre TV also uploaded a video report to YouTube on Friday that showed the previous day’s “historic march on Parliament” in the company of another founder of the Balai Citoyen, the Burinabe rapper Smockey and the citizens movement’s spokesman, Maître Guy Hervé Kam. Droit Libre TV also uploaded a video report to YouTube on Friday that showed the previous day’s “historic march on Parliament” in the company of the Balai Citoyen co-founder Smockey and the citizens movement’s spokesman, Guy Hervé Kam.