Sankarism

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Sankarism (also written Sankaraism [1] ) is a term sometimes applied to denote a left-wing ideological trend within the politics of Burkina Faso, a landlocked country in West Africa, as well as the policies of the military government led by Captain Thomas Sankara. [1] Sankara came to power in what was then the Republic of Upper Volta in a popularly supported 1983 military coup, and ruled until his assassination in a coup led by Blaise Compaoré in 1987. [2]

Contents

There is a strong political dissonance between the movements which ascribe to Sankara's political legacy and ideals, a fact which the Burkinabé opposition politician Bénéwendé Stanislas Sankara (no relation) described in 2001 as being "due to a lack of definition of the concept." [3] The "Sankarists" range from communists and more moderate socialists [4] to nationalists and populists. [5]

History

During his time in power, Sankara – a well-known war veteran noted for his charisma – attempted to bring about what he called the "Democratic and Popular Revolution" (Révolution démocratique et populaire), a radical transformation of society with a focus on self-sufficiency. [6] A number of organizations were formed to implement this revolution, among them the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution, the Popular Revolutionary Tribunals and the Pioneers of the Revolution. A vast number of reforms were enacted in the newly renamed Burkina Faso between 1983 and 1987, including mass vaccination programs, [7] [8] [9] reforestation, [10] elimination of slums through new housing developments, [11] and the development of national infrastructure such as railway networks. [9] Most of these were undone after the military coup which ousted and killed Sankara. Prior to his death, the Burkinabé government faced significant allegations of human rights abuses from Amnesty International and other international organizations, including extrajudicial executions, arbitrary detentions and torture of political opponents.[ citation needed ]

Even after the death of Thomas Sankara his legacy lived on, much due to his charismatic personal image. Sometimes dubbed the "Che Guevara of Africa" due to his similarities in style to the Argentinian revolutionary and the inspiration he took from the Cuban Revolution, Sankara became known for his frugal living, motorcycle riding, guitar playing, and opposition to the cult of personality, all personal traits which set him aside from contemporary African statesmen. For example, when asked why he didn't want his portrait hung in public places, as was the norm for other leaders on the continent, he replied "There are seven million Thomas Sankaras." Ideologically, Sankara was a pan-Africanist and anti-imperialist who sought to reclaim the African identity of his nation and opposed neocolonialism, and although he was believed to be a communist for studying the works of Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin, he often refused to put his political ideology under one title using both Christian and various secular ideologies of leftist leaders in order to determine his political actions. [12] [13]

One of the first groups to connect ideologically with the label of "Sankarism" was the Sankarist Movement, formed in exile in Paris only weeks after Sankara's assassination on 15 October 1987. [14] Since then, self-identified Sankarist political parties and other organizations have been a common feature within the Burkinabé opposition movement against the government of President Compaoré. Many Sankarist leaders have a past in either Sankara's government or in the organizations he created. For example, Ernest Nongma Ouédraogo – leader of the Sankarist Pan-African Convention – was Minister of Security under Sankara, and Sams’K Le Jah – leader of the Citizens' Broom (Le Balai Citoyen) – received his political education as a teenager in the Pioneer movement. [5]

The Sankarists have been prominent in both the 2011 Burkinabé protests and the 2014 Burkinabé uprising. The latter successfully overthrew President Blaise Compaoré in late October 2014, forcing the leader to resign and flee the country to the Ivory Coast and causing a military takeover. Thomas Sankara has been cited as a major inspiration for the protesters, [15] some going as far as dubbing the uprising the "Revolution 2.0" in reference to Sankara's "Democratic and Popular Revolution" during the 1980s. [16]

Since the September 2022 Burkinabé coup d'etat which installed Captain Ibrahim Traoré as Head of State, the policies of Burkina Faso's government have been likened to those of Thomas Sankara by both domestic and foreign observers. [17] [18] Burkina Faso's current interim prime minister, Apollinaire J. Kyélem de Tambèla, was at one point personally invited by Sankara to join his cabinet, [19] and has since stated that Burkina Faso "cannot be developed outside the path set by Thomas Sankara." [20] The legacy of Sankara has been invoked in public speeches by Traoré, [21] [22] and the government's policies of populism, geopolitical non-alignment and nationalization of foreign assets have been compared to those of the Sankara government. [23] [24] [25]

Sankarist organisations

Burkina Faso

Historical and current Sankarist groups include:

Abroad

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) is a Black nationalist, far-left political party in South Africa, founded in 2013 by Julius Malema, the controversial former President of the African National Congress Youth League. The party is currently the third-largest party in both houses of the South African parliament, receiving 1,169,259 votes and a 6.35% share of the vote in the 2014 general election. The EFF claims to take significant inspiration from Sankara in terms of both style and ideology. [5] In a May 2014 column, the prominent EFF member Jackie Shandu declared his party a "proudly Sankarist formation". [26] Expelled from that party, Andile Mngxitama founded Black First Land First in 2015, with black consciousness and Pan-Africanist policies and a Sankarist leadership ethos. [27]

Didier Awadi, a Senegalese hip hop musician and one of the most prominent rappers in Francophone West Africa, describes Thomas Sankara as his greatest inspiration politically. [28] He has recorded several songs referring to Sankara, and visited the killed leader's family in Burkina Faso. In 2003 he formed "Studio Sankara", a music label and recording studio. [29]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Burkina Faso</span>

The history of Burkina Faso includes the history of various kingdoms within the country, such as the Mossi kingdoms, as well as the later French colonisation of the territory and its independence as the Republic of Upper Volta in 1960.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Sankara</span> President of Burkina Faso from 1983 to 1987

Thomas Isidore Noël Sankara was a Burkinabè military officer, Marxist revolutionary and Pan-Africanist who served as President of Burkina Faso from his coup in 1983 to his assassination in 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blaise Compaoré</span> President of Burkina Faso from 1987 to 2014

Blaise Compaoré is a Burkinabé-Ivorian former politician who served as the second president of Burkina Faso from 1987 to 2014. He was a close associate of the first president, Thomas Sankara, during the 1980s and in October 1987 he led a coup d'état during which Sankara was killed. Subsequently, he introduced a policy of 'rectification', overturning the leftist and Third Worldist policies pursued by Sankara. He won elections in 1991, 1998, 2005, and 2010, in what were considered unfair circumstances. His attempt to amend the constitution to extend his 27-year term caused the 2014 Burkinabé uprising. On 31 October 2014, Compaoré resigned, whereupon he fled to the Ivory Coast. In April 2022, he was found guilty by a special military tribunal of complicity in Sankara’s murder. He is also the longest-serving president of Burkina Faso.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union for Rebirth / Sankarist Party</span> Political party in Burkina Faso

The Union for Rebirth / Sankarist Party was a political party in Burkina Faso.

Bénéwendé Stanislas Sankara is a Burkinabé politician who served as the President of the Union for Rebirth / Sankarist Party (UNIR/PS) party throughout its entire existence. From 2021 to 2023, he served as President of the newly formed Union for Rebirth / Patriotic Sankarist Movement (UNIR/MPS).

Articles related to Burkina Faso include:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 Burkinabé parliamentary election</span>

Parliamentary elections were held in Burkina Faso on 2 December 2012. They were the first elections held since the National Assembly dissolved the National Electoral Commission in 2011, following fraud allegations concerning the 2010 presidential elections. Municipal elections for over 18,000 councillors were held simultaneously. The elections were held amidst a period of political uncertainty, following protests against President Blaise Compaore's regime.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 Burkina Faso uprising</span> Uprising that overthrew President Blaise Compaoré

The 2014 Burkina Faso uprising was a series of demonstrations and riots in Burkina Faso in October 2014 that quickly spread to multiple cities. They began in response to attempts at changing the constitution to allow President Blaise Compaoré to run again and extend his 27 years in office. Pressure for political change came from civil society and in particular from the country's youth. Following a tumultuous day on 30 October, which included the involvement of former Defence Minister Kouamé Lougué and the burning of the National Assembly and other government buildings as well as the ruling Congress for Democracy and Progress party's headquarters, Compaoré dissolved the government and declared a state of emergency before eventually fleeing to Côte d'Ivoire with the support of Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara.

The Committees for the Defense of the Revolution were systems of local revolutionary cells, established in Burkina Faso by the Marxist-Leninist and pan-Africanist leader Thomas Sankara, President of the country from 1983 until his assassination in 1987. Committees were established in each workplace. They were inspired by the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution in Cuba, and functioned as "organs of political and social control."

The Popular Revolutionary Tribunals were a system of courts, through which the workers and peasants of Burkina Faso were intended to be able to participate in and monitor the trials of criminals in the new Marxist–Leninist and pan-Africanist government of Thomas Sankara and his National Council for the Revolution. Among these were members of the previous government, corrupt officials, "lazy workers", and supposed counter-revolutionaries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pioneers of the Revolution</span> Youth organization in Burkina Faso, founded by Thomas Sankara

The Pioneers of the Revolution was a youth organisation in Burkina Faso, modelled along the pattern of the pioneer movements typically operated by communist parties, such as the Vladimir Lenin All-Union Pioneer Organization and the Young Pioneers of China. The Pioneers of the Revolution organised children of all ages. Much like many other young pioneer movements, the most distinct sign of the Pioneers were their red scarves, combined with rudimentary uniforms and yellow berets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burkina Faso–Libya relations</span> Bilateral relations

Burkina Faso–Libya relations refers to the current and historical relationship between Libya and Burkina Faso. Libya maintains an embassy in the Burkinabé capital of Ouagadougou, and Burkina Faso has an embassy in the Libyan capital of Tripoli.

Le Balai Citoyen, is a political grassroots movement in Burkina Faso, which was part of the opposition against President Blaise Compaoré. It was co-founded by two musicians, reggae artist Sams’K Le Jah and rapper Serge Bambara ('Smockey') in the Summer of 2013. They organized several protests in early 2014, for example hosting a joint rally with the newly formed Movement of People for Progress, filling a 35,000-capacity sports stadium to its rafters.

Serge Bambara is a hip hop artist, actor and political activist from Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. Born in what was then the Republic of Upper Volta, the son of a Bissa father and a French mother, he moved to France to study in 1991. In 1999 he signed a contract with EMI and launched a first single, featuring the singer Lââm. In 2001 he moved back to Burkina Faso and started the studio Abazon. He has released the albums Epitaphe, Zamana, Code noir and Cravate Costards et Pourriture, and cooperated with the prominent Senegalese rapper Didier Awadi.

Karim Sama, more commonly known by his stage name Sams'K Le Jah, is a reggae musician, radio host and political activist from Burkina Faso. He was born in the neighbouring Ivory Coast, before coming to Burkina Faso in 1985. During his teens he was a member of the Pioneers of the Revolution, a youth movement created by Captain Thomas Sankara, a radical left-wing revolutionary who came to power in 1983 military coup. A member of the Rastafari movement as well as a Sankarist, he upholds both Sankara and Haile Selassie.

The 1982 Upper Voltan coup d'état took place in the Republic of Upper Volta on 7 November 1982. The coup, led by Colonel Gabriel Yoryan Somé and a slew of other junior officers within the military, many of them political radicals, overthrew the regime of Colonel Saye Zerbo. Zerbo had previously taken power just under two years prior to his own downfall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1987 Burkina Faso coup d'état</span> Coup that brought Blaise Compaoré to power

The 1987 Burkina Faso coup d'état was a bloody military coup in Burkina Faso, which took place on 15 October 1987. The coup was organized by Captain Blaise Compaoré against incumbent far-left President Captain Thomas Sankara, his former friend and associate during the 1983 upheaval.

On 4 August 1983, a coup d'état was launched in the Republic of Upper Volta in an event sometimes referred to as the August revolution or Burkinabé revolution. It was carried out by radical elements of the army led by Thomas Sankara and Blaise Compaoré, against the regime of Major Jean-Baptiste Ouédraogo. Ouédraogo had been brought to power in a 1982 coup with the Conseil de Salut du Peuple (CSP), a body composed of military officials of different ideological backgrounds. The CSP chose Sankara as Prime Minister of Upper Volta in January 1983. As his tenure progressed, Ouédraogo found himself unable to reconcile the conservative and radical factions of the CSP, whose disagreements were leading to a political stalemate. On 16 May he purged his government of pro-Libyan and anti-French elements, disbanded the CSP, and had Sankara and several other important officials arrested. This move sparked discontent among Sankara's supporters. Sankara was eventually released while one officer, Compaoré, began to organise military resistance to the government.

References

  1. 1 2 Levy, Brian; Kpundeh, Sahr John, eds. (2004). Building State Capacity in Africa: New Approaches, Emerging Lessons. Washington D.C.: World Bank Publications. p. 138. ISBN   082-136-000-0.
  2. ↑ Bonkoungou, Mathieu (17 October 2007). "Burkina Faso Salutes "Africa's Che" Thomas Sankara". Reuters . Archived from the original on 9 December 2012.
  3. ↑ "Opposition leader advocates "Sankarism"". PanaPress . Dakar. 5 November 2000. Archived from the original on 6 November 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  4. ↑ Gandaogo. "Convention Panafricaine Sankariste, CPS" [Sankarist Pan-African Convention, SPC]. thomassankara.net (in French). Archived from the original on 20 June 2010. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Duval Smith, Alex (30 April 2014). "'Africa's Che Guevara': Thomas Sankara's legacy". British Broadcasting Corporation . London. Archived from the original on 2 November 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  6. ↑ Zeilig, Leo (2018). A Certain Amount of Madness: The Life, Politics and Legacies of Thomas Sankara. Pluto Press. doi:10.2307/j.ctt21kk235. ISBN   978-0-7453-3757-9. JSTOR   j.ctt21kk235.
  7. ↑ "Vaccination commando: Burkina Faso". Salubritas. 8 (4): 1. October 1985. ISSN   0191-5789. PMID   12340574. Archived from the original on 10 March 2021.
  8. ↑ Kessler, Susi (1987). "Speeding up child immunization" (PDF). World Health Forum. 8. World Health Organization: 216–220.
  9. 1 2 Murrey, Amber (2020), Oloruntoba, Samuel Ojo; Falola, Toyin (eds.), "Thomas Sankara and a Political Economy of Happiness", The Palgrave Handbook of African Political Economy, Palgrave Handbooks in IPE, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 193–208, doi:10.1007/978-3-030-38922-2_10, ISBN   978-3-030-38922-2, S2CID   226439167 , retrieved 31 December 2020
  10. ↑ Dodman, Benjamin (17 January 2021). "Can the 'Great Green Wall' carry out Sankara's ecological, pan-African dream?". Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  11. ↑ "Africa's Che Guevara and Burkina Faso - African Agenda – A new perspective on Africa". africanagenda.net. 9 January 2020. Archived from the original on 16 February 2020.
  12. ↑ Peterson, Brian (2 March 2021). Thomas Sankara : A Revolutionary in Cold War Africa. Indiana University Press. pp. 12–14. ISBN   9780253053770.
  13. ↑ Sankara, Thomas (2007). Prairie, Michel (ed.). Thomas Sankara Speaks: the Burkina Faso Revolution: 1983-1987. United States: Pathfinders Press. pp. 20–21.
  14. 1 2 3 4 Hughes, Arnold (1992). Marxism's Retreat from Africa. London: Psychology Press. p. 100. ISBN   071-464-502-8.
  15. ↑ Kobo, Kingsley (31 October 2014). "Burkina Faso: Ghost of 'Africa's Che Guevara". Al Jazeera . Doha. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  16. ↑ Cummings, Basia (30 October 2014). "Burkina Faso's revolution 2.0". The Guardian . London. Archived from the original on 11 November 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  17. ↑ Okoth, Brian (15 Aug 2023). "Ibrahim Traore: Why Burkina Faso's leader attracts attention". TRT Africa. Archived from the original on 28 Feb 2024. Retrieved 5 Apr 2024.
  18. ↑ Atimniraye, Richard (7 Aug 2023). "Africa reimagined: Burkina Faso's Ibrahim Traoré advocates for resilience, recognition, and resistance". GlobalVoices. Retrieved 5 Apr 2024.
  19. ↑ Sylvestre-Treiner, Anna; Wendpouiré Nana, Michel (25 Oct 2022). "Burkina Faso: Apollinaire Kyélem de Tambèla, Captain Traoré's surprise prime minister". The Africa Report. Archived from the original on 1 Apr 2023.
  20. ↑ Radio Omega (23 Oct 2022). "Burkina : Le nouveau Premier ministre compte réduire les salaires des ministres" [Burkina: The new Prime Minister intends to reduce the salaries of ministers]. leFaso (in French). Retrieved 5 Apr 2024.
  21. ↑ Harsch, Ernest (12 Nov 2023). "Thomas Sankara: How the Leader of a Small African Country Left Such a Large Footprint". E-International Relations. Retrieved 5 Apr 2024.
  22. ↑ Rédaction Africanews (5 Oct 2023). "Burkina Faso: former president Thomas Sankara elevated to the rank of "national hero"". africanews. Archived from the original on 27 Mar 2024. Retrieved 5 Apr 2024.
  23. ↑ Toumi, Abdennour (4 Nov 2022). "West Africa: Thomas Sankara's ghost haunts Burkina Faso". Daily Sabah. Retrieved 5 Apr 2022.
  24. ↑ Norton, Ben (30 Jul 2023). "Burkina Faso's new president condemns imperialism, quotes Che Guevara, allies with Nicaragua, Venezuela, Cuba". Geopolitical Economy. Retrieved 5 Apr 2024.
  25. ↑ Mednick, Sam; Kabore, Arsene (24 Feb 2023). "Iconic West African leader Sankara reburied in Burkina Faso". AP News. Retrieved 5 Apr 2024.
  26. ↑ Shandu, Jackie (22 May 2014). "The Sankarist makings of the EFF". Daily Maverick . Johannesburg . Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  27. ↑ "Black First! – Land First! A revolutionary Call". News24. 13 August 2015. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  28. ↑ "Didier Awadi avoue sa vénération pour Sankara" [Didier Awadi confesses his veneration for Sankara]. www.seneweb.com (in French). Seneweb.com. 16 October 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
  29. ↑ Brahm, Laurence J. (2014). Fusion Economics: How Pragmatism is Changing the World. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 125. ISBN   978-113-744-418-9.
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