World Leaders Condemn Burkina Faso Coup

World leaders condemned a coup in the West African nation of Burkina Faso, saying Thursday that a power seizure by the presidential guard is a major step backward for a country that so recently managed to peacefully oust an autocrat.
The coup—which started Wednesday with the arrest of the interim president and prime minister and was confirmed in a television and radio announcement on Thursday—comes just weeks before elections aimed at ushering in a new era of democracy.
“It’s extremely frustrating, the way our struggle for democracy gets frustrated time and time again,” said Jibrin Ibrahim, a fellow at West Africa’s Center for Democracy and Development. “My sense is that this coup cannot stand. At the local level, there is a lot of resistance.”
“The international community will also not have it,” he added.
The United Nations, the African Union and the West African economic bloc issued a joint statement calling the coup a “flagrant violation” of the constitution and demanding the release of the country’s leadership. The organizations called the arrests unacceptable and said the coup leaders would be held accountable if the hostages come to any physical harm.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed “outrage” at the arrests in a separate statement. The U.S. government also denounced the coup and called for the release of those detained.
“We call for an immediate end to violence, urge the military personnel involved to return to their primary mission, and reaffirm our steadfast support for the civilian transitional government to continue its work of preparing for free, fair, and credible elections on October 11,” State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement.
Burkina Faso is slated to hold its first truly open elections in decades on Oct. 11 following the ouster of the president of 27 years Blaise Compaore last year. The demonstrations that forced him from power were seen at the time as a possible start to an African version of the Arab Spring. After he stepped down, a transitional government was put in place to usher in democratic elections.
The coup leaders are part of a presidential guard unit that remained loyal to Mr. Compaore and which has publicly come out against the transitional administration. Lt. Col. Mamadou Bamba read a statement on the radio and television saying they were now in control of the country and identified themselves as the National Council for Democracy, according to the Associated Press. They said the transitional government had been dissolved.
Col. Bamba denounced election rules that blocked members of Mr. Compaore’s party from running, along with anyone who supported his effort to amend the constitution so he could run again. He said that the coup was the beginning of a “coherent, fair and equitable process” that would lead to inclusive elections, according to the AP.