{UAH} Pojim/WBK: Confusion and uncertainty in Burkina Faso after coup
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Confusion and uncertainty in Burkina Faso after coup
Soldiers stand next to military vehicles on September 17, 2015 outside the presidential palace in Ouagadougou, after Burkina Faso's presidential guard declared a coup, a day after seizing the interim president and senior government members. AFP PHOTO | AHMED OUOBA
In Summary
- The coup was mounted by the powerful presidential guard, the RSP, whose soldiers stormed a cabinet meeting in the presidential palace on Wednesday.
- Former presidential guard commander Gen Gilbert Diendere claimed that the coup had the support of the mainstream military, but the military itself has remained silent.
- There was no public response from the military, but Mr Cheriff's allies seemed to be hoping that a split in the armed forces would expose the fragility of the coup.
The powerful presidential guard is a small unit of some 1,300 men that were previously fiercely loyal to President Compaore.
By MACHARIA GAITHOMore by this Author
OUAGADOUGOU, BURKINA FASO
It was a calm night in downtown Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, as soldiers kept demonstrators out of the capital city for the second day following the military coup on Wednesday.
While plans for a popular resistance, akin to the revolt that toppled President Blaise Campaore a year ago, did not materialise, those opposed to the coup still held out hope that it would collapse.
Analysts noted that when he proclaimed himself the new leader on Thursday, former presidential guard commander Gen Gilbert Diendere claimed that the coup had the support of the mainstream military, but the military itself has remained silent.
The coup was mounted by the powerful presidential guard, the RSP, whose soldiers stormed a cabinet meeting in the presidential palace on Wednesday and seized interim President Michel Kafando and Prime Minister Isaac Zida.
On Thursday, Gen Diendere, a long-time ally of the exiled Compaore, emerged to announce himself the leader of a new "National Council for Democracy" to run the country on dissolution of the transitional government.
His claim to have support of the military, however, remains to be tested as no statement of support has been forthcoming from the army command.
To add to the confusion, the transitional national assembly president Cheriff Sy, who from hiding has been trying to mobilise a resistance against the coup, has also declared himself the president in the absence of Kafando and Zida.
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
A journalist and former president of The African Editors Forum, TAEF, Mr Cheriff released a statement on Wednesday denouncing the coup and demanding the immediate release of President Kafando and PM Zida.
On Thursday, he released an even more powerful statement saying that while the two were "incapacitated", he assumed control.
On that basis, he proclaimed himself the president and commander in chief of the armed forces.
He preceded to order the military high command to intervene, arrest the coup plotters and restore the ousted transitional administration.
There was no public response from the military, but Mr Cheriff's allies seemed to be hoping that a split in the armed forces would expose the fragility of the coup.
The powerful presidential guard is a small unit of some 1,300 men that were previously fiercely loyal to President Compaore.
It's withdrawal of support last October forced President Campaore to quit and flee into exile in the wake of a public uprising against his plans to change the constitution and stand for a fifth term as President.
POWERFUL FIXTURE
When the interim administration was formed to run the country for one year pending elections scheduled for next month, the presidential guard remained a powerful fixture on the political scene.
It even provided the interim Prime Minister, Gen Zida, who was its second in command.
However, it was not long before the interim administration started tiring of the presidential guard's meddling.
Gen Zida even tried to have it disbanded or incorporated into the main military command structure without success.
The final straw seems to have come just days before the coup when a government commission recommended the dissolution of the presidential guard that was described as an "army within an army".
The big puzzle now is whether the guard can hold on to power and if the mainstream military will play along.
The small unit is highly trained and well equipped, compared to a much larger main military of some 10,000 men that has largely been denied resources.
NO INFLUENCE OUTSIDE THE CAPITAL
However, the guard does not have the numbers to extend its influence outside the capital city.
Briefing journalists from different African countries in Ouagadougou to attend the interrupted International Festival on Freedom of Expression and Media, FILEP, event organiser and key Cheriff ally, Abdoulaye Diallo, said that while presidential guard had managed to keep demonstrators off the streets in the town centre, the situation was different on the outskirts of the city.
He claimed that in the outer suburbs of Ouagadougou and towns outside the capital, crowds were freely gathering and neither the police nor the army were enforcing the curfew.
In his first statement on the afternoon of the coup on Wednesday, Mr Cheriff had alluded to negotiations trying to resolve the situation.
It now appears that the negotiations involved the mainstream military command trying to persuade the presidential guard to stand down.
That Gen Diendere was subsequently unveiled as the leader of the coup indicates that persuasion did not work.
The big question today is whether the military elements opposed to the coup might now try to forcefully confront the coup leaders.
Democracy is two Wolves and a Lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed Lamb disputing the results.
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