Burkina Faso Military Urged To Hand Power Back To Civilians
The African Union has given the new military authorities in Burkina Faso two weeks to hand power back to civilians, or face sanctions.
This follows the abrupt resignation of the president last week, after days of street protests opposed to him trying to prolong his 27-year rule.
Lt. Col. Isaac Yacouba Zida, from the elite presidential guard, is the new interim military leader after a brief power struggle within the army.
This follows the surprise departure of President Blaise Compaore who — for almost the past 30 years — had led one of the poorest countries in the world.
The U.S. is hesitating whether to call the takeover a coup, which would require the administration to halt aid.
"We are certainly encouraging movement to a civilian-led transition and then of course elections," says Jen Psaki, a U.S. State Department spokesman. "At this point, we're still gathering facts, we're not going to make a policy or legal determination at this point in time."
From regional troublemaker, ousted President Compaore morphed into regional peace broker — with close ties to the U.S. in the fight against terrorism.
Compaore was a canny, political survivor in West Africa — he faced earlier army mutinies and civilian protests in 2011.
But Burkina Faso's sit-tight president defied recent calls for him to stop efforts to extend his long rule, but this miscalculation was his undoing.
New military leader Zida, claims the army will restore democracy in Burkina Faso.
But civilian opposition leaders and demonstrators, who took to the streets in protest, fear that their popular uprising, or revolution as they're calling it, has been hijacked by the military.
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Transcript
DAVID GREENE, HOST:
One of the world's poorest countries had one of the world's longest-serving leaders until last week. The president of Burkina Faso in West Africa was ousted, following weeks of street protests. The military is in charge for now, but the African Union has given the new government two weeks to hand power back to civilians or face sanctions. Here's NPR's Ofeibea Quist-Arcton.
OFEIBEA QUIST-ARCTON, BYLINE: Lieutenant Colonel Issac Yacouba Zida, from the elite presidential guard, is the new interim military leader of landlocked Burkina Faso. This follows the surprise departure of President Blaise Compaore, who, for almost the past 30 years, had led one of the poorest countries in the world. The U.S. is hesitating whether to call the takeover a coup, which would require the administration to halt aid. State Department spokeswoman, Jen Psaki.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
JEN PSAKI: We are certainly encouraging movement to a civilian-led transition and then of course elections.
QUIST-ARCTON: From regional troublemaker, ousted President Compaore morphed into regional peace broker - with close ties with the U.S. in the fight against terrorism. He had faced earlier army mutinies and civilian protests. But Burkina Faso's sit-tight president defied recent calls for him to halt efforts to extend his long rule. This miscalculation was his undoing. New military leader Zida claims the army will restore democracy in Burkina Faso. But civilian opposition leaders and demonstrators, who took to the streets in protest, fear their popular uprising, or revolution as they're calling it, has been hijacked by the military. Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, NPR News, Lagos. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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