AFP, ABIDJAN
As part of their clampdown on dissent, Burkina Faso’s military rulers’ latest targets have included an influential imam, several worshipers and students who criticized the junta.Captain Ibrahim Traore seized power in a coup nearly four years ago and now says that he is not presiding over a democracy.His supporters on social media regularly applaud the arrest and abduction of critics of the junta’s “popular progressive revolution.”
Captain Ibrahim Traore, the head of Burkina Faso’s junta, poses for a photograph at a summit in Niamey on July 6, 2024.
In what has now become a well-trodden pattern, masked men, sometimes in civilian clothing, arrive and detain anyone questioning the effectiveness of those in power, especially over the jihadist violence that has plagued the west African country for a decade.The lucky ones are convicted and end up in prison.
Others are conscripted and shipped off to fight the jihadists at the front, some not to be seen again.In the latest round-up, Sunni imam Mohamad Ishaq Kindo was detained last week and taken to an unknown destination.Long seen as a junta supporter, he criticized a draft law regulating the exercise of religious freedoms in a country where about 60 percent of the population is Muslim.“The terror has reached its peak,” an ally of the preacher told reporters on condition of anonymity. “Brutally abducting a religious leader and preventing worshipers from gathering for prayer by firing tear gas even inside the mosque is taking things way too far.”After his arrest, the imam’s supporters demonstrated to call for his release and several were themselves detained.Images on social media later showed them dressed in military uniforms and undergoing physical training at a camp in the capital.“If an individual breaks the law, the justice system should deal with it. Why resort to such barbaric practices?” Kindo’s ally said. “What this regime is putting the people of Burkina Faso through is unbearable, all under the pretext of fighting terrorism, when we can’t even see any results.”In September 2022, Traore had justified toppling the previous rulers for their inability to put an end to the jihadist attacks. He promised to do so within months.Nearly four years on, groups affiliated to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group control large swathes of the country, and have imposed a blockade on several cities.A researcher in Ouagadougou, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said Kindo’s arrest reflected a desire to strictly define the framework of religious discourse.Public authorities, including those before Traore, believed that “in the face of terrorism, the only legitimate words that can be recognized from religious leaders are those that contribute to tolerance, social cohesion and peace,” the researcher said.The imam’s arrest was not an isolated case.The biggest student union, the General Union of Students of Burkina, has also been suspended and its leader arrested.The union had denounced arbitrary arrests and accused the junta of “obvious inability to restore security.”A union official said that “what this regime wants is the elimination of all student movements and the establishment of a single, uniform way of thinking.”The researcher said that the clampdown against the imam and others was not likely to turn people away from the junta, which was welcomed into power.“I don’t think these demonstrations can be powerful enough to cause the regime to lose significant support within the Muslim community,” the researcher said.
