Three Years Under Burkina Faso Junta: Fear and Repression
Three years after Captain Ibrahim Traore seized power in a coup, citizens of Burkina Faso report a climate of fear and repression, according to anonymous interviews with AFP. Residents of the capital, Ouagadougou, say public discussion of politics has vanished. "You can only talk about sport, culture or trivia. As soon as you start talking about politics, everyone falls silent," one resident said. Civilian informant committees patrol the streets to report dissidents, and the junta uses forced public labor as punishment for minor infractions. The junta is also promoting its ideology through youth programs. Children attend patriotic holiday camps with military training, and university hopefuls must complete a month-long "patriotic immersion" course. An analyst suggested this aims to create a "model militarised citizen" to prevent future protests. The press has been muzzled, with international media expelled and local journalists practicing […]