Aug 31, 2023
[This episode was conducted bilingually in French & English and there is also a French version of the episode here]
In this episode we speak with Inemesit Richardson and Wendlassida Simporé of the Thomas Sankara Center for African Liberation and Unity in Burkina Faso. They are also both members of the All African People’s Revolutionary Party.
The Thomas Sankara Center for African Liberation and Unity is a Pan-African library and political education center in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
The Thomas Sankara center is a free community lending library supplying books about Pan-Africanism, socialism and Third World liberation. They host film screenings, debates and other free events. They also run an after-school young pioneers children's education program for primary school students ages 8-14 and have a work-study circle for adults which meets regularly to critically study revolutionary books and put theory into praxis in their community.
We talk to both of our guests about recent events in the region. In particular, about the most recent coup in Niger. They discuss the pulse on the ground with regards to Burkina Faso’s current leadership, these anticolonial coups, the region’s relationship to Russia, and the role of the CFA Franc in France’s neocolonial system in the region. We recorded this conversation on August 10th and there have been multiple developments since then, we’ll include some additional articles in the show notes. It should be noted that when we discuss a potential ECOWAS invasion during the episode, that this has not actually occurred yet, although ECOWAS is sanctioning Niger and threatening to use force to overthrow the current leadership. Mali and Burkina Faso have vowed to defend Niger’s leadership with military force. And there is ongoing discussion about the development of a regional federation.
We will include a link to where you can support the work of the Thomas Sankara Center in Burkina Faso.
In this French language version of the episode, you will hear Inemesit translate the questions into French, and you will hear both Inemesit and Wendlassida answer the questions in French as well. There is also an English language version of this episode.
Links:
Thomas Sankara Center for African Liberation and Unity in Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso & Mali vow to defend Niger’s new leadership with force