Posted
on August 5, 2015
Way
back in 2010, I wrote about Burkina Faso's Republic Day.
At
that point, the Republic of Burkina Faso wasn't as much of a republic
as its name suggested. A republic is a nation in which the power of
governance is held by the people and their elected representatives.
However, Burkina Faso had at that time a leader who had ousted the
former president through military force – what is called a coup
d'état.
And the new president, Blaise Compaoré ruled non-stop from 1987
until 2014 – that's 27 years of unbroken power!
I'm
not positive if there were truly free elections during all these 27
years, but I did read that it was widespread protests, not a peaceful
election, that finally drove Compaoré out of office.
Less
than a year ago, in October of 2014, demonstrations and riots broke
out in protest over changing a law about term limits so that
President Compaoré could continue in office. After protestors burned
government buildings, Compaoré decided to dissolve the government
and declared a state of emergency. He even fled to a neighboring
country, Ivory Coast.
But
he refused to resign the presidency.
At
the end of the month (10/31/14), Compaoré finally bowed to the
pressure and resigned. Now there is a transition government, and
there are plans for an election this October – actually, on my
birthday, October 11, 2015!
By
the way...
 |
| A scene from the capital |
- Today is considered Burkina Faso's Independence Day because, on this date in 1960, the Republic of Upper Volta won its full independence from France. Almost exactly 24 years later, the nation changed its name from Upper Volta to Burkina Faso.
- The name for the people of this nation is Burkinabé.
- The capital city, Ouagadougou, means literally “You are welcome here at home with us.”
Here
are some wonderful sights to see in Burkina Faso:
The
stone tours of Sindou Peaks
Bobo
Diolasso Grand Mosque
Hopefully
this lake / tower / housing / offices complex is being built. It is
called the Tena Tower Project, and it is a really
environmentally-forward-thinking design by architect Manuelle
Gautrand.
Banfora
Natural Waterfall
Houses
of the Gourounsi people
Also
on this date:
Plan
ahead:
Check out my Pinterest boards for:
And
here are my Pinterest boards for:
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