Dramatic turnaround in Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso’s interim President Michel Kafando yesterday said he is back in charge and civilian rule restored after last week’s military takeover.

But the deal mediated by the regional body, ECOWAS, averted further violence, and the presidential force agreed to return power to civilian rule and return to barracks.

The vote was organised after longtime leader Blaise Compaoré was ousted last October in a popular uprising, with the transitional government led by Kafando slated to remain in power until that vote.

“Carrying out this coup was the biggest mistake”, he acknowledged hours after Kafando resumed office.

“I can assure you that we are determined to carry on with the mission the Burkinabe people have entrusted us with, to build strong institutions and a real democracy”, he said, thanking the global community for condemning the coup. Kafando added that the widespread global condemnation of the coup “comforts us in our certainty that we are on the right road and that our cause is just”.

At a ceremony attended by African heads of state in the capital Ouagadougou, Kafando said he was open to dialogue on all sides and that “going to the polls is still the main objective”. Many in the country said they opposed an initial ECOWAS proposal that included amnesty for the coup leaders. The elite unit of 1,300 men loyal to Compaore officially declared a coup Thursday and installed rebel leader General Gilbert Diendere, Compaore’s former chief of staff, as the country’s new leader.

The presence of the foreign leaders signalled global concern for Burkina Faso, an ally of the United States and France in their battle against militants linked to al Qaeda in the Sahel region. Also in attendance were the Prime Ministers of Guinea and Mali, Mohammed Fofana and Modibo Keita, respectively, while the ambassadors of Burkina Faso and Sierra Leone represented their respective countries. The accord was presented to the Mogho Naba, “king” of Burkina Faso’s leading Mossi tribe, in front of the media early Wednesday.

The coup triggered immediate protests that led to deadly clashes between protesters and RSP troops.

The national army also weighed in against the junta, massing its troops in the capital and threatening to forcibly disarm the coup plotters if necessary, underscoring a determination here to break with West Africa’s history of frequent, destabilizing power grabs. The coup leaders came under enormous regional and global pressure throughout the week, with former colonial ruler France warning sanctions if they did not hand back power.

However, he said he was not fully committed to the plan, put together on Tuesday by West African presidents at an emergency meeting of the regional bloc ECOWAS.