Burkina Army Pledges 'Consensus' Govt as AU Issues Two-Week Deadline
Burkina Faso's military promised Monday to hand power to a "consensus" leader following the popular uprising that deposed Blaise Compaore, as African nations gave the regime two weeks to return to civilian rule.
The army has stepped into a power vacuum left by Compaore, who was forced to resign last week in the wake of violent demonstrations at his attempt to extend his 27-year-rule that some have likened to the Arab Spring.
It named Lieutenant Colonel Isaac Zida as interim head of state, sparking angry protests and prompting the international community to threaten sanctions if the army refused to back down and hand power back to the civilians.
The army later said that "power does not interest us" and pledged to install a unity government with a "broad consensus".
But the African Union kept the pressure on, slapping a 14-day deadline on the military top brass at a crisis meeting in Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.
"The African Union is convinced that the change has been against democracy," said Simeon Oyono Esono, head of the AU's Peace and Security Council.
Esono said the AU, which has been backed by the United Nations, the United States and the European Union, took into account the origin of the regime change in a popular revolt when deciding how long to give the army to reverse course.
"After that period we are going to apply sanctions," he said.
Zida had promised the new government would be "a transitional body within a constitutional framework" as he addressed diplomats in a morning meeting at the foreign office ahead of the AU's announcement.
"This transitional body will be headed by a person appointed by the consensus of all actors in public life," he said.
He gave no timetable for the transition but said he wanted a new regime in place within the "shortest possible" period.
Traffic flowed normally in the streets of the capital Ouagadougou after the latest protests on Sunday, with the largest market ending a six-day shutdown and banks open, according to an AFP journalist.
The army reopened the country's land borders "to allow the resumption of economic activities and the free movement of people and goods", it said in a statement signed by Zida.
Troops on Sunday had cracked down on several thousand protesters gathered at a rally against the military takeover in the city's central square.
Some protesters had also headed to the national television station headquarters where two opposition leaders made separate attempts to go on air to declare themselves interim chief.
Former defense minister Kouame Lougue -- whose name was chanted by thousands in the streets following Compaore's downfall -- told AFP: "The people have nominated me. I came to answer their call."
But the TV technicians walked out, also foiling a bid by Saran Sereme, a former member of the ruling party, to make her claim as leader of the transition.
One person was killed close to the television headquarters when soldiers fired shots in the air to disperse protesters. The army said the victim was likely struck by a stray bullet.
If the army refuses to hand power back, "the consequences are pretty clear", said U.N. envoy for west Africa Mohamed Ibn Chambas.
"We want to avoid having to impose sanctions on Burkina Faso."
Hundreds of thousands of protesters, furious at plans to prolong Compaore's rule in the poor, landlocked country, massed on the streets of Ouagadougou on Thursday, some going on a rampage and setting the parliament and other public buildings ablaze.
Under Burkina Faso's constitution, the speaker of parliament was supposed to step in as interim head of state. But the army instead named Zida, the second-in-command of the presidential guard.
Zida, 49, beat an earlier claim to the job by army chief Nabere Honore Traore, winning the military's endorsement on Saturday.
He said he was appointed to ensure a "smooth democratic transition" and promised to consult with the opposition and civil leaders.
Around 30 people were killed in the week of violent protests that forced Compaore out, opposition figures said. Hospital sources told AFP that there had been at least six deaths, including two by gunshot wounds.
Burkina Faso is a former French colony that was known as Upper Volta before changing its name in 1984.
Compaore was only 36 when he seized power in a 1987 coup in which his former friend and one of Africa's most loved leaders, Thomas Sankara, was ousted and assassinated.
He and his wife have taken refuge in neighboring Ivory Coast where they are being put up in a luxury government mansion in the capital Yamoussoukro.
Events in Ouagadougou are being keenly followed across sub-Saharan African, where several leaders are trying to tinker with constitutions in bids to cling to power.
In deeply divided Mauritania, the opposition National Forum for Democracy and Unity called for President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz to "learn the lessons of the very serious events taking place in Burkina Faso".
Source: Agence France Presse
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