PRESS RELEASE
On 28 November 2017, on official visit to Burkina Faso, Emmanuel Macron, the French President, promised the release of the secret documents “In response to requests from the Burkina Faso justice system, I have taken the decision that all documents produced by French administrations during the Sankara regime and after his assassination, […] considered to be state secrets, be declassified for consultation “.
A series of articles in the twice monthly, highly reputed, Burkina Faso periodical Courrier Confidentiel, divulged numerous revelations, supported by witness statements, that tend to indicate that the French President’s promise has not been kept.
Several Burkinese military and gendarme sources affirm that DGSE agents present on Gendarme premises were destroying documents on 16th October 1987, the day after the assassination of Thomas Sankara. The name of captain Paul Barril was mentioned. These facts, if confirmed, would be proof of close cooperation, in the plot to remove and assassinate Thomas Sankara, between the French and Burkinese specialized services and Blaise campaore who replaced Thomas Sankara as Burkina Faso President.
However, it would appear that no officially declassified documents mention this collaboration. An article dated 5th March affirms that documents that were in fact sent were not released from declassified archives but were Diplomatic archives.
Of course this statement needs to be confirmed. Such confirmation would itself require sincere cooperation between Burkinese and French authorities, this does not appear to be the case.
At a time when the image of France in West Africa is in a phase of serious decline such contempt by French authorities towards the Burkinese people will only hasten the erosion that is spreading through Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. President Macron is supposed to represent the French people. He cannot allow himself to make promises to a whole people and not keep those promises.
We demand that French authorities immediately declassify and send all the documents concerning the assassination of Thomas Sankara to Burkina Faso justice authorities.
We demand that the elected members of the French institutions and representatives of the French people call out for France to keep its promises.
After the long dark years of the Blaise Capaore regime that always blocked the course of justice it is now France that has become the main obstacle. This must stop.
Le 15 mars 2021
In Ouagadougou, Bobo Dioulasso, Paris, Berlin, Barcelone, Dakar, Ottawa, Turin, Bamako, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Ajaccio, Montpellier, Nîmes,Toronto
International Network Justice for Sankara Justice for Africa
Contact : contactjusticepoursankara@gmail.com
Translation : Mike Krolikowski.
