Burkina Faso: the presidential tribute to Thomas Sankara, assassinated 34 years ago
Audio 01:30
The President of Burkina Faso, Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, lays a wreath of flowers at the feet of the statue of assassinated captain Thomas Sankara.
AFP - OLYMPIA DE MAISMONT
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
Roch Marc Christian Kaboré celebrated the memory of Captain Thomas Sankara and his twelve collaborators who were assassinated on October 15, 1987, during the coup d'état which brought Blaise Compaoré to power.
It was in the presence of several personalities, the presidents of national and international institutions, the International Thomas Sankara Memorial Committee (CIMTS) and the parents of the victims of this tragedy.
Ghana was represented by the son of the late President John Jerry Rawlings.
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With our correspondent in Ouagadougou,
Yaya Boudani
It is to the rhythm of the ringing to the dead, performed by the national Gendarmerie fanfare, that President Roch March Christian Kaboré laid the wreath of flowers at the foot of the giant statue of Captain Thomas Sankara, 34 years after his assassination, without making a declaration.
For the representatives of the families of the victims and the sympathizers of the Sankarist movement, this commemoration takes on a very special emphasis: “
This support from the first authorities of this country is invaluable.
We took a long time to have this consideration
”;
“
We were so saddened, but justice took off and did so that we are now starting to feel happy.
We tell ourselves that they will go to the end.
"
"
The mourning has not been done
"
But there are still very important steps to be taken in the rehabilitation of the memory of the father of the Burkinabè revolution, beyond the commemoration and the opening of the trial, according to Colonel Pierre Ouedraogo, president of the international memorial committee Thomas Sankara: “
The emotion is still strong because the mourning has not been done.
The bodies still haven't been handed over to the families, and it's really painful.
There is no place to meditate.
It really is a concern.
But the recognition of the nation comforts them.
"
Earlier in the day, a statue of the bust of Captain Thomas Sankara was unveiled on the site of the university that bears his name, in the presence of his widow Mariam and his lawyers.
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To read also: Assassination of Thomas Sankara: challenges and limits of a historic trial
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Burkina Faso
Thomas sankara
Roch Marc Christian Kaboré
Blaise Compaore