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Burkina Faso

Agroecology Is A Form Of Resistance And Decolonization

In Burkina Faso, agroecology flourishes as an act of resistance. In a country where more than 80% of the active population makes their living off agriculture, peasant movements and social organizations have defended the production of healthy food and food self-sufficiency as a path to liberation from the wounds left by French neocolonialism. Leading this effort is the Yelemani Association, founded in 2009 by Blandine Sankara, sister of revolutionary leader and former president Thomas Sankara, who governed the country from 1983 to 1987, when he was assassinated.

Burkina Faso Is Moving Towards Self-Sufficiency In Food Production

Dependence on foreign aid, political instability, chronic poverty, and the effects of climate change are among the obstacles preventing Burkina Faso from achieving its longed-for food sovereignty. Currently, about 80% of the population of the Sahelian nation is involved in agricultural activity, which accounts for a third of the GDP. Even so, the country still imports more than 200,000 tons of rice per year. In response to this challenge, President Ibrahim Traoré’s government launched the so-called Agricultural Offensive in 2023, which has been revolutionizing the rural environment and serving as a model for the continent.

Burkina Faso Is A Place Of Dignity, Not Expulsion

“Burkina Faso is a place of dignity … not a place of expulsion,” said its Foreign Minister Karamoko Jean-Marie Traoré, rejecting US President Donald Trump’s deportation deal. Deeming Trump’s proposal for Burkina Faso to accept foreign nationals he is deporting from the US as “indecent”, he said it was “totally contrary to the value of dignity, which is … the very essence of the vision of Captain Ibrahim Traoré.” Coming to power in 2022 after the ouster of Roch Kaboré’s unpopular regime, propped up by France, Traoré expelled French troops, consolidating his mass support in the country. His avowed anti-imperialism and pan-Africanism have won him admirers across Africa and Black and Afro-descendant communities in the West.

Venezuela Closes Embassies In Norway And Australia

On Monday, Venezuela’s Foreign Ministry announced that it has begun the first phase of a comprehensive restructuring of its foreign service, ordering the closure of its embassies in the Kingdom of Norway and Australia. “As part of the strategic reallocation of resources, the closure of the embassies in the Kingdom of Norway and Australia has been ordered,” the ministry said in a statement. Venezuela explained that bilateral relations and consular assistance for the Venezuelan community in Norway and Australia “will be efficiently addressed through concurrent diplomatic missions, the details of which will be announced in the coming days.”

France Is A State Sponsor Of Terror, AES Countries Declare

“Terrorism is being used” by imperialist forces “to pillage African resources,” said Burkina Faso’s Prime Minister Rimtalba Ouédraogo in his address at the 80th UN General Assembly (UNGA). “A case in point is France,” whose troops Burkina Faso expelled in early 2023. Mali, which had also expelled French troops the year before, had sought a meeting of the UN Security Council in 2022, “so that my country could provide irrefutable proof of France’s support for terrorist activities,” recalled its Prime Minister Abdoulaye Maïga in his address. “So far, this request has not been followed up on,” while France continues its “sabotage”.

AES Countries Exit ICC, Denounce It As Instrument Of Neo-Colonial Repression

The Alliance of Sahel States (AES) announced its immediate withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday, condemning it as a tool of “imperialism”, silent about the worst crimes by the West and its allies while selectively pursuing its opponents. Ratifying the Rome Statute in the early 2000s, its three member countries – Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger – have been members of the ICC for over three decades. “However, over time, they have come to observe that this jurisdiction has transformed into an instrument of neo-colonial repression in the hands of imperialism, thereby becoming the global example of selective justice,” states the AES communique on September 22.

Thomas Sankara’s Legacy Is Alive In The Sahel

In the months after the 1987 coup in Burkina Faso that killed President Thomas Sankara, screen printers in the capital, Ouagadougou, began to churn out shirts with Sankara’s face on them. The image soon spread throughout the country. Blaise Compaoré, Sankara’s former minister of justice, went on to rule the country until 2014. He was suspected from the outset of orchestrating Sankara’s murder, but it would take the Burkinabé courts until 2021–2022 to find him guilty. By then, he had long fled to Côte d’Ivoire, where he remains a fugitive. Throughout his time in office, Compaoré claimed to be a follower of Sankara – a political legacy he could not afford to disavow.

Brother Of Pan-Africanist Leader Thomas Sankara Grateful For Traore

We’re standing in front of the Thomas Sankara Memorial, in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso’s capital. Inaugurated on May 17 in the presence of various African heads of state and public figures, the site symbolizes a collective desire to preserve the legacy of the Burkinabé pan-Africanist leader Thomas Sankara and his 12 comrades who were assassinated in the 1987 coup d’état. The massacre, orchestrated by Sankara’s then-ally Blaise Compaoré – who became president and ruled until 2014 with support from France – interrupted a wave of transformative reforms meant to eliminate the scars of neocolonialism in the Sahel nation. In just four years, Sankara redistributed land to peasants and raised the literacy rate from 13% in 1983 to 73% in 1987. His radical transformation also extended to public health: 2.5 million children were vaccinated against meningitis, yellow fever, and measles.

Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Traoré, And The Land Of The Upright People

Since his ascension to power on September 30, 2022, Captain Ibrahim Traoré has become a powerful symbol of Pan-Africanism and a stark contrast to the previous state of affairs in Burkina Faso. His leadership embodies unquestionable patriotism, committed sovereignty, and a clear vision for the future. The emergence of Captain Ibrahim Traoré and a similar style of leadership in the Sahel has reignited confidence in Pan-Africanism and inspired the youth throughout Africa. This beacon of hope has triggered aspirations among citizens across the continent regarding how their countries should be governed. Indeed, due to his unwavering commitment and patriotism, Captain Ibrahim Traoré has become a star, an inspiration, and a champion of anti-imperialism, posing a genuine threat to imperialism in Africa.

Using Lessons From The Horn Of Africa To Protect Alliance Of Sahelian States

The Sahel region, stretching between the Sahara and the savannas of Africa, is once again emerging as a battleground, not only of geography but of ideas, sovereignty, and neocolonial entrenchment. The formation of the Alliance of Sahelian States (AES) , uniting Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger into a confederation, marks a bold attempt to reclaim Pan-African agency and assert sovereignty free from foreign domination. Officially established on July 6, 2024, in Niamey, Niger, the AES reflects a transitional phase toward a unified federation, a development met with celebration across Africa and the Global South, but with growing alarm in Western capitals.

Burkina Faso: They’re Not Vassals

In the middle of April, the provisional government of Burkina Faso, led by Captain Ibrahim Traoré, announced that it had uncovered and dismantled a plot to “sow total chaos” in Burkina, in yet another “attempt to destabilize republican institutions.” The masterminds of the plot are said to have benefited from the help of neighboring Côte d’Ivoire, a veritable French neo-colony. In Burkina Faso, thousands of people demonstrated on April 30 in Ouagadougou and other cities in support of the government, which previously revealed that it had foiled a “great conspiracy” hatched in Ivory Coast and rejected interference by the United States of America.

Propaganda Watch: Kagame Is Not Traoré

Anti-imperialists, socialists, and peace and justice communities across Africa and the world are inspired by the newly federated Alliance of Sahel States and by its leaders, especially Burkina Faso’s charismatic Ibrahim Traoré. Seeing this groundswell of support, Paul Kagame’s propagandists have rushed to liken him to Traoré. Others may sincerely imagine a likeness that doesn’t in fact exist. Kagame has ruled Rwanda for 30 years, since seizing power at the end of his four-year war to re-establish Tutsi dominance in July 1994. Traoré has been in power for less than three years, since seizing power in a popular coup in September 2022.

Terrorism We Are Witnessing Today Comes From Imperialism

The “terrorism we are witnessing today comes from imperialism, and we are fighting it,” Burkina Faso’s charismatic president, 37-year-old Capt. Ibrahim Traoré told Vladimir Putin on May 10. The Russian president in turn assured him, “We are united by a common goal of fighting terrorism and extremism. We will continue to help the Republic in… suppressing the radical (Jihadist) groups that are still active in certain parts of Burkina Faso.” The leaders met in Moscow a day after attending the Victory Day Parade on May 9, commemorating the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany by the Soviet Union in 1945.

Time For All Anti-Imperialists And Justice Loving People To Defend Burkina Faso

It is no surprise to the Black Alliance for Peace’s (BAP) Africa Team and U.S. Out of Africa Network (USOAN) that aggression is stepping up against the countries in the anti-imperialist Alliance of Sahel States. This was reflected in the flagrantly baseless accusations against Burkina Faso’s leader Ibrahim Traoré. On April 3, 2025, U.S. AFRICOM Commander Michael Langley testified to the Senate Armed Services Committee and claimed without evidence that interim President Traoré is misusing the country's gold mineral wealth in exchange for protection. Langley provided no details on how these supposed exchanges are carried out or from what Traoré needs protection.

Washington Is Worried About Burkina Faso’s Young Revolutionary Leader

Burkina Faso’s Ibrahim Traoré is remaking his nation, and in the process, making enemies in the West. Since taking power in 2022, the young military leader has expelled French troops, ejected Western corporations, and aligned his country with Russia, Cuba, and Venezuela. Promoting pan-African unity and national self-reliance while surviving coup attempts, Traoré is positioning himself as a radical anti-imperialist and has drawn fire from Washington and Paris. MintPress News explores the project underway in Ouagadougou and the global forces trying to stop it.
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