The 2011 Burkina Faso protests were a series of popular protests in

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...

Background

On 15 February, members of the

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

mutinied in the capital

Ouagadougou Ouagadougou ( , , ) is the capital and largest city of Burkina Faso and the administrative, communications, cultural, and economic centre of the nation. It is also the country's largest city, with a population of 2,415,266 in 2019. The city's n ...

over unpaid housing allowances; President

Blaise Compaoré Blaise Compaoré (born 3 February 1951)''Profiles of People in Power: The World's Government Leaders'' (2003), page 76–77.

briefly fled the capital and sought safety in his hometown of

Ziniaré Ziniaré is a town located in the province of Oubritenga in Burkina Faso. It is the capital of Oubritenga Province and Plateau-Central Region Plateau-Central is one of Burkina Faso's 13 administrative regions. It was created on 2 July 2001 and ...

. By Sunday 17 April, the mutiny had spread to the town of Pô in southern Burkina Faso; there were also protests over a court's decision to sentence several officers to prison sentences.

Protests

The mutiny followed popular protests over rising prices in several cities across Burkina Faso, and protests starting 22 February over the death of a student in police custody in February, as well as the shooting of several other protesters. Five student protesters were reportedly killed in February.

France24 France 24 ( in French) is a French state-owned international news television network based in Paris. Its channels broadcast in French, English, Arabic, and Spanish and are aimed at the overseas market. Based in the Paris suburb of Issy-les-Mo ...

suggested that Burkina Faso could be caught up in a full-scale uprising similar to that seen in several North African and Middle Eastern countries, proposing the rise of a "Burkinabè Spring". On 22 April, a coalition of 34 Burkinabè opposition parties called for a rally on 30 April to demand President Compaoré's resignation. By 27 April, farmers were protesting in

Bobo-Dioulasso Bobo-Dioulasso is a city in Burkina Faso with a population of 904,920 (); it is the second-largest city in the country, after Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso's capital. The name means "home of the Bobo-Dioula". The local Bobo-speaking population (re ...

over low prices and merchants rioted in

Koudougou Koudougou is a city in Burkina Faso's Boulkiemdé Province. It is located west of Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. With a population of 160,239 (2019) it is the third most populous city in Burkina Faso after Ouagadougou and Bobo Diou ...

over the closure of 40 shops due to unpaid rent. The house of Koudougou's mayor and its police station were burned. Later, that same evening, riot police joined the widespread mutiny in

. Four young demonstrators protesting the police mutiny on 28 April were injured when police fired live ammunition to disperse protesters after they torched a police station in Ouagadougou. On 29 April, President

Blaise Compaoré Blaise Compaoré (born 3 February 1951)''Profiles of People in Power: The World's Government Leaders'' (2003), page 76–77.

announced he had negotiated with the army and they had agreed to put a stop to the mutinies and protests ravaging the country. Some 3,000 protesters attended the opposition rally on 30 April in Ouagadougou, which lasted for hours despite the hot weather. Several local pop music stars joined the protest, performing and calling on Compaoré to step down. Several protesters carried signs comparing Compaoré to ousted

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

n strongman

Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali A zine ( ; short for ''magazine'' or ''fanzine'') is a small-circulation self-published work of original or appropriated texts and images, usually reproduced via a copy machine. Zines are the product of either a single person or of a very smal ...

, who was toppled in a January revolution.

Bénéwendé Stanislas Sankara Bénéwendé Stanislas Sankara (born February 23, 1959) is a Burkinabé politician and the President of the Union for Rebirth/Sankarist Movement (UNIR/MS) party. Health Minister Adama Traoré said on 30 April that six people had died so far as a result of the mutinies, including an 11-year-old reportedly shot and killed while at school. On 1 May, an affiliation of

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

s and civil servants in Ouagadougou canceled a planned march to commemorate

May Day May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice. Festivities may also be held the night before, known as May Eve. T ...

and protest the government due to concerns about bolstered security and the risk of

agents provocateurs An agent provocateur () is a person who commits, or who acts to entice another person to commit, an illegal or rash act or falsely implicate them in partaking in an illegal act, so as to ruin the reputation of, or entice legal action against, the ...

infiltrating the demonstration. On 15 May, soldiers fired their guns in the air through the night, apparently to protest the tardiness of reforms and benefits promised to the army rank-and-file. Three people were reportedly killed and 136 were injured during major daylong protests by students and soldiers in Ouagadougou on 24 May. Students also protested in

Gaoua Gaoua is a market town in southern Burkina Faso known for its superstitious values and customs. The population, rested at 45,284. (2019 census) Located in the red earth, green hills, and fast flowing streams of southwestern Burkina Faso, Gaoua is ...

and Bobo-Dioulasso in support of a teachers' strike, torching ruling party offices in Gaoua. The teachers' union and the government reached an agreement on 25 May, the day after the violent demonstrations, to raise wages in exchange for an end to the strike. Soldiers mutinied again on 27 May in

Tenkodogo Tenkodogo is the capital city of Boulgou Province and the Centre-Est Region of Burkina Faso with a population of 61,936 (2019). Economy The villages surrounding Tenkodogo are primarily based around animal husbandry. The main market takes place e ...

and 1 June in Bobo-Dioulasso, among other cities and barracks particularly in eastern and northern Burkina Faso, firing into the air for hours on end in both daytime and nighttime hours. Shooting reportedly quieted in the north by 27 May after continuing throughout the weekend, but it had again spread to other parts of the country by that time. On 3 June 2011, at least seven people were killed as pro-government forces quelled the protests and mutiny in Bobo-Dioulasso, including a 14-year-old girl. An army spokesman said 109 were detained in the government's strongest effort yet to end the mutiny. Traders upset by mutineers' extensive looting in Bobo-Dioulasso called for the government to offer swift recompense for their losses. The government said it replaced all 13 regional governors as of 9 June, appointing three army officers among others to replace them in a bid to ease tensions.

Aftermath

With the protests quieted, Reforms Minister Bongnessan Arsene Ye said on 23 June that the government established a 68-member committee to consider changes to the constitution. However, opposition leader Benewende Stanislas Sankara, a key figure in the protest movement, said the opposition had declined to be represented in the committee over concerns that the changes to the constitution would allow President

Blaise Compaoré Blaise Compaoré (born 3 February 1951)''Profiles of People in Power: The World's Government Leaders'' (2003), page 76–77.

to further extend his term of office rather than creating a more democratic process in Burkina Faso. In October 2014, protesters rose again to protest President Compaoré's attempt to change the

Constitution of Burkina Faso The Constitution of Burkina Faso was approved by referendum on 2 June 1991, formally adopted 11 June 1991 and last amended in January 2002. The last amendment abolished the upper chamber of the parliament, the Chamber of Representatives. In 2 ...

so he could remain in power for another term. They stormed the

National Assembly of Burkina Faso The unicameral National Assembly is Burkina Faso's legislative body. In 1995, it became the lower house of a bicameral Parliament, but the upper house ( Chamber of Representatives) was abolished in 2002. The upper house was to have been restored ...

, Compaoré's presidential palace, and the state broadcaster's headquarters, among other locations.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burkinabe protests Protests in Burkina Faso

2011 in Burkina Faso Mass murder in 2011 Mutinies 2011 riots 2011 protests