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General News of 2014-10-31
Interior Minister, Mark Woyongo says Ghana will not send former Burkinabe President, Blaise Compaore, away if the beleaguered former leader comes here.
Embattled Compaore was forced to resign as the President of Burkina Faso after two days of violent protests against plans to extend his stay in office.
The constitutional amendment he was championing would have enabled him to run for elections next year for another five-year term. After staging a coup to depose former head of state Thomas Sankara, Blaise Compaore ruled for 27 years.
But his “undemocratic rule” came to a head today as he grudgingly stepped down on Friday. His decision follows the dissolution of both government and parliament by the army. The creation of a transitional government to serve until 2015 elections was announced by army chief Gen. Honore Traore, who said it would "be put in place in consultation with all parties".
Mr Compaore is believed to be on his way to Ghana which is south of Burkina Faso.
He is expected to enter Ghana through an unapproved route, according Ghana’s Minister of Interior, based on information he picked up from Ghanaians returning from Burkina Faso.
“They have also confirmed that there is some amount of looting in the capital. They also confirmed that they met Blaise Compaore and his wife on the outskirt of Pou which is about 15 kilometers from Navrongo (Ghana)…so Blaise Compaore is said to be between Pou and Ouagadougou.”
“We will have no choice but to welcome him; I think that is the practice, we can’t ask him to go back, we have to receive him,” Mark Woyongo told Joy FM’s Top Story on Friday.
He said the country was initially worried, fearing there could be a spillover of human movement to Ghana but luckily, he said, there are few vehicular movement to and from Burkina Faso.
But Mr. Woyongo said the Police have been asked to team up with Immigration to effectively monitor along Ghana’s eastern border with Burkina Faso.
He has also had talks with the Upper West Region Minister, the police commander as well as other agencies to put contingency plans in place for returning Ghanaians. Any Ghanaian needing help should report to the nearest district assembly for assistance, he said.
The Interior Minister also discounted any security threat the development in Burkina Faso could pose to Ghana.
However, he appealed to those living along Ghana’s borders to be very vigilant because, “some miscreants, some terrorists might want to use the opportunity to come into our country. They must cooperate and report any suspicious movement to the security agencies”.
Meanwhile, Security Analyst, Dr. Kwesi Aning says with the resignation of Mr. Compaore, the real challenge now is finding the “critical identifiable stakeholders” in the political game in Burkina Faso.
He called on ECOWAS and AU to send a clear signal and message on the need for all in Burkina Faso to communicate the same message and work towards democracy.
He was however skeptical about the willingness of the army to let go power, especially now that their leader, Honore Traore has “smelled and tasted” power; the youth of Burkina would also not care much about who governs them so far as there is good governance, he analysed.
Some Burkinabes in Ghana who demonstrated at the Burkina Faso Embassy in Accra earlier, today demanding the resignation of Blaise Compaore, are now asking the Embassy to immediately remove the pictures of Mr. Compaore inside the Embassy because he is no longer their leader.
General News of 2014-10-31
Interior Minister, Mark Woyongo says Ghana will not send former Burkinabe President, Blaise Compaore, away if the beleaguered former leader comes here.
Embattled Compaore was forced to resign as the President of Burkina Faso after two days of violent protests against plans to extend his stay in office.
The constitutional amendment he was championing would have enabled him to run for elections next year for another five-year term. After staging a coup to depose former head of state Thomas Sankara, Blaise Compaore ruled for 27 years.
But his “undemocratic rule” came to a head today as he grudgingly stepped down on Friday. His decision follows the dissolution of both government and parliament by the army. The creation of a transitional government to serve until 2015 elections was announced by army chief Gen. Honore Traore, who said it would "be put in place in consultation with all parties".
Mr Compaore is believed to be on his way to Ghana which is south of Burkina Faso.
He is expected to enter Ghana through an unapproved route, according Ghana’s Minister of Interior, based on information he picked up from Ghanaians returning from Burkina Faso.
“They have also confirmed that there is some amount of looting in the capital. They also confirmed that they met Blaise Compaore and his wife on the outskirt of Pou which is about 15 kilometers from Navrongo (Ghana)…so Blaise Compaore is said to be between Pou and Ouagadougou.”
“We will have no choice but to welcome him; I think that is the practice, we can’t ask him to go back, we have to receive him,” Mark Woyongo told Joy FM’s Top Story on Friday.
He said the country was initially worried, fearing there could be a spillover of human movement to Ghana but luckily, he said, there are few vehicular movement to and from Burkina Faso.
But Mr. Woyongo said the Police have been asked to team up with Immigration to effectively monitor along Ghana’s eastern border with Burkina Faso.
He has also had talks with the Upper West Region Minister, the police commander as well as other agencies to put contingency plans in place for returning Ghanaians. Any Ghanaian needing help should report to the nearest district assembly for assistance, he said.
The Interior Minister also discounted any security threat the development in Burkina Faso could pose to Ghana.
However, he appealed to those living along Ghana’s borders to be very vigilant because, “some miscreants, some terrorists might want to use the opportunity to come into our country. They must cooperate and report any suspicious movement to the security agencies”.
Meanwhile, Security Analyst, Dr. Kwesi Aning says with the resignation of Mr. Compaore, the real challenge now is finding the “critical identifiable stakeholders” in the political game in Burkina Faso.
He called on ECOWAS and AU to send a clear signal and message on the need for all in Burkina Faso to communicate the same message and work towards democracy.
He was however skeptical about the willingness of the army to let go power, especially now that their leader, Honore Traore has “smelled and tasted” power; the youth of Burkina would also not care much about who governs them so far as there is good governance, he analysed.
Some Burkinabes in Ghana who demonstrated at the Burkina Faso Embassy in Accra earlier, today demanding the resignation of Blaise Compaore, are now asking the Embassy to immediately remove the pictures of Mr. Compaore inside the Embassy because he is no longer their leader.
