Sankara assassination trial: the civil parties demand that the trial be filmed
"Captain Thomas Sankara" comes back to life thanks to archives drawn from oblivion by Christophe Cupelin.
© DR
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
Burkina Faso is preparing for the opening Monday October 11 of the trial of the assassination of Thomas Sankara, 34 years after the facts.
A moment of history, which some would like to see filmed and recorded in its entirety.
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With our special
correspondent in Ouagadougou,
Gaëlle Laleix
Courtrooms are usually closed to cameras.
On Friday, several associations and civil parties sent a letter to the president of the first instance chamber of the Ouagadougou military tribunal to derogate from this rule.
They ask for the recording, and especially the broadcasting, of
this trial
in its entirety.
Aïda Kiemdé lives in Europe.
She was only three months old when her father Frédéric Kiemdé was killed alongside Thomas Sankara and she had to flee Burkina Faso.
She pleads today for
a broadcast of the trial.
"It's important for history"
"I am far from
Burkina
, this will allow me, since I will not be able to attend the beginning of the trial, to know if everything is going.
On the other hand, I think it's important for history and I hope it will also be a way to convince other politicians that not everything is resolved by assassinations, ”
explains the one for whom this question is. crucial.
An exceptional event requires exceptional measures, pleads Luc Damiba, the secretary general of the Thomas Sankara memorial committee: “
34 years later, the people need to know the truth and to hear the accused.
We want the trial to be recorded for history, archived and then broadcast.
"
“The need to record is also educational. For once, a national justice judges a former president for assassination. Justice must be done even 34 years later and known to everyone, ”he
adds.
"Africa needs a reminder"
Filming this trial is also a question of democratic utility, others argue.
“
This is the trial of a coup that dates from 34 years ago and the new spring, there is a new coup that is currently being played out.
Africa needs a reminder like this so that everyone can tell themselves that our actions today can catch up with us.
Even if it is ten, twenty or thirty years from now, we may have to be accountable, ”
declares Maître Guy Hervé Kam, lawyer for the civil parties.
On this issue, the president of the trial chamber will render his decision on Monday, at the start of the trial.
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To read also: [Webdocumentary] Who had Sankara killed?
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Burkina Faso
Thomas sankara