Burkina Faso's military president, Ibrahim Traoré, has told the country's state broadcaster that people should forget about democracy, claiming it is “not for us.” In an interview on Thursday, Traoré stated that elections are not even a topic of discussion and labeled democracy as “false.” He criticized Western policies, using anti-French and anti-Western rhetoric that has garnered him some support across Africa.

Traoré seized power in a coup in September 2022, overthrowing another junta that had been in control for just nine months. Since then, he has stifled opposition, and in January 2024, political parties were outright banned. A transition to democracy, originally planned for 2024, was canceled, with Traoré's rule extended until 2029.

The president has won fans in parts of Africa by invoking the legacy of the revolutionary Burkinabé leader Thomas Sankara, a Marxist who ruled from 1983 until his assassination in 1987. However, Traoré's government has failed to stem a jihadist insurgency that has claimed thousands of lives since 2014 and displaced 2.1 million people, about 9% of the population, according to data from three years ago.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a report on Thursday alleging that more than 1,800 civilians have been killed by the military, allied militias, and the al-Qaeda-linked Jama’at Nusrat al‑Islam wa al‑Muslimin (JNIM) since 2023. The group accused all sides of committing crimes against humanity and war crimes, with specific allegations that the junta and allied militias have ethnically cleansed Fulani civilians accused of supporting JNIM.

In April 2024, HRW accused the military of executing 223 civilians in a single day two months earlier. The government denied these allegations and subsequently banned HRW, along with several international media outlets that reported on the claims, including The Guardian.

Source: www.theguardian.com