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August 05, 2007

Happy Birthday, Burkina Faso !

Today is Burkina Faso's Independance Day!

On Aug. 5, 1960, the country (then called Upper Volta) achieved full independence from France.

Colonisation
France had colonised Upper Volta in 1897 as a carve-up of West Africa between herself and Britain, despite opposition from the powerful Mossi kingdoms. The French took the country, not for any riches of the land, but simply as a bridge to link its territories of Cote d'Ivoire, Dahomey (Benin), Niger, and Mali. France never invested in the country as it did in its other West African colonies. The population was seen as a giant labour pool, and the country was divided up several times between its richer neighbours.

Following WW2 there was a growing regional West African movement for independence. Fearing the growth of support for the movement based in Cote d'Ivoire, France re-created Upper Volta in 1947. This move had been resisted by the Fulani, Lobi, Samo, Gourounsi, and other populations, who feared Mossi subjugation, now that they were grouped within one border with its capital in the Mossi home of Ouagadougou.

Representation of the French colonies in the French parliament in Paris eventually forced the issue of independence. Each colony was given its own Governmental Council, and in Dec 1958 Maurice Yaméogo of the Voltaic Democratic Union (UDV) became the first president of Upper Volta. In 1960, he signed the accord for independence.

Independence
Following independence, Yaméogo reduced the power of the traditional Mossi rulers, but his authority was weakened by internal conflicts and the poor economy. In late 1965, he was overwhelmingly reelected president, unsurprisingly, since all other parties had been banned. But in Jan 1966, he was overthrown in a bloodless coup by group of army officers headed by Lt. Col. Sangoulé Lamizana, who then became head of state.

Since then, Upper Volta has undergone several coups.

In 1983, the remarkable Thomas Sankara headed a revolution that forged the country's modern identity. He was strongly ideological, anti-corruption, and a supporter of women's equality. He banned female circumsision and prostitution, condemned polygamy, and introduced a campaign that in 15 days vaccinated 3 million children against yellow fever, measles, and meningitis. However, his attempts to radicalise the population made him enemies and led to extremes, including the thuggery of his "shock troops" the CDR, and the execution of enemies.

In 1987, Sankara was himself killed in a coup that brought Blaise Compaore to power. That was the last of the coups. 20 years later, and despite scandal and oppositon, Compaore is still president. He has embraced free market reforms and introduced mult-party democracy. Elections in 1991, 1998, and 2005 have returned him to power. The 2005 elections were declared "free and fair". (General opinion is that Compaore did not need to cheat to win - the opposition was divided and unable to match his financial resources.)

And so we reach the 47th birthday of Burkina Faso (nee Upper Volta). She has come a long way in 47 years in establishing her own identity. The country is still poor economically, but is showing regular growth of about 5%. The 60+ ethnic groups and different religions live generably peacefully side-by-side. Coups seem to be a thing of the past. Hopefully things will continue to get better.

Happy Birthday, Burkina!

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