Burkina Faso Leader Declares Security First – Not Elections
Kanako Mita and Sawako Uchida
Modern Tokyo Times
After the coup in Burkina Faso in 2022, Captain Ibrahim Traore announced that Lt-Col Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba had failed to stem the tide against Islamic insurgents. Accordingly, the new military leaders of Burkina Faso announced the recruitment of 50,000 new members to the Volunteers for the Defense of the Fatherland (VDP).
However, similar to various nations – from Somalia to Pakistan – Islamic insurgents and terrorist groups are very tenacious. Therefore, regional nations (Niger, Mali, and others) must focus on respective internal dynamics and a collective approach to stem the tide.
Captain Traore announced that constitutional changes are required to represent the masses. He also stated that democratic elections aren’t the priority.
Captain Traore said, ‘It’s not a priority – security is the priority.”
He continued, “Individual freedoms must not take precedence over collective freedoms.”
Voice of America reports, “Traore said security was improving and the army had gained ground. But the outlook is very challenging. The decade-long insurgency has killed thousands and displaced millions of people across Burkina Faso, and neighboring Mali and Niger. All three are now run by military officers who took power by force since 2020.”
The leader of Burkina Faso – along with Niger and Mali – is disillusioned with France. Internally, many people understand aspects of his anti-French tone and pan-Africanist ideas.
Lee Jay Walker says, “Sunni Islamic terrorist groups utilize Libya (North Africa) and Nigeria (West Africa) to spread regional mayhem throughout the Sahel and Lake Chad region. This concerns criminal activity, terrorist networks, weapons, the spreading of Islamist Takfiri ideology, and so forth.”
Recently the nations of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger signed the Alliance of Sahel States.
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