Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Ouagadougou (Agenzia Fides) - "The military is certainly willing to give power to a transitional civilian government. It is therefore a good thing that there is a Charter governing the transitional period", said His Exc. Mgr. Paul Yembuado Ouédraogo, Archbishop of Bobo-Dioulasso and President of the Episcopal Conference of Burkina Faso and Niger, in an interview with RFI.
The Charter of transition, a sort of provisional Constitution that will provide the institutional framework for the next 12 months until the election of 2015, was approved by political, civil society and religious community representatives on Sunday, November 9th. The Constitution is now being examined by the provisional military junta, led by Lieutenant Colonel Isaac Zida, who took power on 1 November in the aftermath of the resignation of President Blaise Compaoré. At the end of this process, the military should hand power to civilians, also because the Country risks the threat of sanctions from the African Union, in the event that the military were to refuse.
The problem, says Mgr. Ouédraogo, is to find the "rare bird", that is to say "the man or woman capable of managing the transition". "I am confident", added the President of the Episcopal Conference.
"We have a number of technocrats who have worked for this Country as technocrats, and not as militants", during the 27-year rule of Compaoré. In this regard, Mgr. Ouedraogo believes it is necessary to incorporate also members of the former presidential majority in the reconstruction process of the Country, so that "we do not build Burkina against them. We will do it together. Each person must make the necessary forms of conversion to offer the image of a reconciled nation that is built in peace and justice". (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 12/11/2014)
