On this day in 1987, African revolutionary Thomas Sankara was killed in a Western-backed coup. After becoming President of Burkina Faso in 1983, he became a symbol of African liberation and socialism. He implemented a program influenced by Marxism, pan-Africanism, and women’s liberation. However, forces within the state collaborated with Western powers to overthrow and assassinate Sankara and roll back the societal gains that had been won up until 1987.
Ibrahim Traoré, the current pan-Africanist leader of Burkina Faso, has taken the country in an anti-colonial direction, ejecting the French, and forming an alliance with other Sahel countries that are also ejecting the West. He released a statement today in commemoration of Sankara.
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Today, October 15, the people of Burkina Faso remember the cowardly and heinous assassination of President Captain Thomas Sankara, Father of the Democratic and Popular Revolution of August 4, 1983, and 12 of his companions.
On this day marking the 37th anniversary of this tragic event, I pay a heartfelt tribute to this great visionary who has left an indelible mark, and continues to mark, the history of our Nation through his integrity, patriotism, and unwavering commitment to a dignified, free, and sovereign Burkina Faso.
His struggle and vision remain a guiding reference that directs our actions and fuels our commitment and determination for the reclamation of national territory and the building of a new Burkina of peace, security, prosperity, and progress for all Burkinabè.