2011 Burkinabé protests
| 2011 Burkinabé protests | |
|---|---|
| Part of the impact of the Arab Spring | |
| Date | 22 February 2011 – 9 June 2011 |
| Location |  Burkina Faso |
| Causes | Police brutality, high food prices, low wages, economic repression, |
| Goals | Resignation of President Blaise Compaoré, democratic reforms, higher wages for troops and public servants, economic freedom |
| Methods | Civil resistance, demonstrations, protest marches, rioting, vandalism |
| Status | Ended |
| Concessions given |
Governors replaced, wages for public servants raised |
| Casualties | |
| Death(s) | 21+ |
The 2011 Burkinabé protests were a series of popular protests in Burkina Faso.
On 15 February soldiers mutinied in the capital Ouagadougou over unpaid housing allowances; President Blaise Compaoré briefly fled the capital and sought safety in his hometown of Ziniaré. 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.
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 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 over low prices and merchants rioted in Koudougou 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 Ouagadougou.
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 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 Tunisian strongman Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, who was toppled in a January revolution.Bénéwendé Stanislas Sankara, an opposition leader, said the rally was to demonstrate the desire of the Burkinabè people for reforms so that wealth from Burkina Faso's natural resources is distributed more evenly, not just benefiting those who are already rich and powerful.
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Wikipedia