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Short History Of Burkina Faso and Culture
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Until the end of the 19th century, the history of Burkina Faso was dominated by the empire-building Mossi, who are believed to have come from central or eastern Africa sometime in the 11th century. For centuries, the Mossi peasant was both farmer and soldier, and the Mossi people were able to defend their religious beliefs and social structure against forcible attempts to convert them to Islam by Muslims from the northwest.
When the French arrived and claimed the area in 1896, Mossi resistance ended with the capture of their capital at Ouagadougou. In 1919, certain provinces from Cote d'Ivoire were united into a separate colony called the Upper Volta in the French West Africa federation. In 1932, the new colony was dismembered in a move to economize; it was reconstituted in 1937 as an administrative division called the Upper Coast. After World War II, the Mossi renewed their pressure for separate territorial status and on September 4, 1947, Upper Volta became a French West African territory again in its own right.
A revision in the organization of French Overseas Territories began with the passage of the Basic Law (Loi Cadre) of July 23, 1956. This act was followed by reorganizational measures approved by the French parliament early in 1957 that ensured a large degree of self-government for individual territories. Upper Volta became an autonomous republic in the French community on December 11, 1958.
Upper Volta achieved independence on August 5, 1960. The first president, Maurice Yameogo, was the leader of the Voltaic Democratic Union (UDV). The 1960 constitution provided for election by universal suffrage of a president and a national assembly for 5-year terms. Soon after coming to power, Yameogo banned all political parties other than the UDV. The government lasted until 1966 when after much unrest-mass demonstrations and strikes by students, labor unions, and civil servants-the military intervened.
The military coup deposed Yameogo, suspended the constitution, dissolved the National Assembly, and placed Lt. Col. Aboukar Sangoule Lamizana at the head of a government of senior army officers. The army remained in power for 4 years, and on June 14, 1970, the Voltans ratified a new constitution that established a 4-year transition period toward complete civilian rule. Lamizana remained in power throughout the 1970s as president of military or mixed civil-military governments. After conflict over the 1970 constitution, a new constitution was written and approved in 1977, and Lamizana was reelected by open elections in 1978.
In 1984, the country changed its name to Burkina Faso (roughly 'Land of Dignity'). The Sankara government laid down a new political direction for the country, which had previously pursued an orthodox pro-Capitalist scheme of economic development. Sankara openly modelled himself on Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings in neighbouring Ghana and adopted a radical nationalist stance. Particular emphasis was put on the development of the rural economy. However, growing tensions within the ruling National Revolutionary Council came to a violent climax in October 1987, when Sankara was killed in a revolt led by his second-in-command, Captain Blaise Compaoré. Under pressure from abroad, principally France, a pluralist system of government was adopted with the new 1991 constitution (endorsed by popular referendum). Elections in 1998 and 2000 returned Compaoré and his party with substantial majorities but their integrity was undermined by opposition boycotts amid allegations of fraud of malpractice. By contrast, the most recent national assembly poll, in May 2002, was a relatively transparent affair; the Campaoré political vehicle, now named the Congrès pour la Démocratie et le Progrès, won a narrow victory after its representation was cut in half from its previous level.
In general, Burkina Faso has enjoyed a fairly stable political environment since 1991, with just a single failed coup organised by members of the security service in 1996. Compaoré's foreign policy was initially dominated by the war in Liberia. Burkina Faso initially backed the rebel movement led by Charles Taylor but later switched in favour of the ECOMOG-based West African peace initiative (see Liberia). Elsewhere in the region, relations with Mali and Niger have been strained by problems associated with the Tuareg (a nomadic tribe whose traditional territories straddle all three countries) and associated border disputes. More serious is Burkina Faso's involvement in the upheaval in Côte d'Ivoire. There are also worries about the fate of the large Burkinabè population in that country. Relations with France, the former colonial power, which still retains considerable influence in the region, are fairly good. The major long-term domestic problem facing the government is the prevalence of HIV/AIDS, which now afflicts an estimated 7 per cent of the population. Recent political developments show two villages are in dispute along the border with Benin; Benin accuses Burkina Faso of moving boundary pillars; Burkina Faso border regions remain a stagnant area for Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire rebels and an asylum for refugees caught in local fighting; the Ivorian Government accuses Burkina Faso of sheltering Ivorian rebels. The next local election will fall on February 2006.
