Editing Thomas Sankara (section)

==Presidency==
{{see also|History of Burkina Faso#Burkina Faso}}

A [[1983 Upper Voltan coup d'état|coup d'état]] organized by Blaise Compaoré made Sankara President on 4 August 1983 at the age of 33. The coup d'état was supported by [[Libyan Arab Jamahiriya|Libya]], which was at the time on the verge of war with France in [[Chad]] (see [[history of Chad]]).

Sankara identified as a revolutionary and was inspired by the examples of Cuba's [[Fidel Castro]] and [[Che Guevara]], and Ghana's military leader [[Jerry Rawlings]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Egypt & Africa – Thomas Sankara|url=https://africa.sis.gov.eg/english/figures/politics/thomas-sankara/|access-date=1 January 2021|website=}}</ref> As President, he promoted the 'Democratic and Popular Revolution' ({{lang|fr|Révolution démocratique et populaire}}, or RDP). The ideology of the Revolution was defined by Sankara as [[Anti-imperialism|anti-imperialist]] in a speech on 2 October 1983, the {{lang|fr|Discours d'orientation politique}} (DOP),<ref>{{cite web|author-last=Jaffré|author-first=Bruno|date=23 April 2015|title=The Political Orientation Speech Thomas Sankara|url=https://www.thomassankara.net/the-political-orientation-speech-thomas-sankara/?lang=en|access-date=7 May 2021|website=My Blog|language=en-US}}</ref> written by his close associate [[Valère Somé]]. His policy was oriented toward fighting corruption and promoting reforestation.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.france24.com/en/africa/20210117-can-great-green-wall-carry-sankara-s-ecological-pan-african-dream|title=Can the 'Great Green Wall' carry out Sankara's ecological, pan-African dream?|author-first=Benjamin|author-last=Dodman|date=17 January 2021|access-date=24 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128012101/https://www.france24.com/en/africa/20210117-can-great-green-wall-carry-sankara-s-ecological-pan-african-dream|archive-date=28 January 2021|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 4 August 1984, the first anniversary of his accession, he renamed the country Burkina Faso, meaning 'the land of upright people' in [[Mooré]] and [[Dyula language|Dyula]], the two major languages of the country. He also gave it a new flag and wrote a new national anthem (''[[Ditanyè]]'').<ref>{{cite web|date=4 August 2021|title=Le 4 août 1984, Thomas Sankara rebaptisait la Haute-Volta en Burkina Faso|trans-title=On August 4, 1984, Thomas Sankara renamed Upper Volta in Burkina Faso|url=https://www.burkina24.com/2021/08/04/le-4-aout-1984-thomas-sankara-rebaptisait-la-haute-volta-en-burkina-faso/|access-date=6 January 2022|website=L'Actualité du Burkina Faso 24h/24|language=fr-FR}}</ref>

===Council of the Revolution===
When Sankara assumed power on 4 August, he named the leadership of the country the Council of the Revolution (CNR). This was a way for Sankara to signal that he was going to try for political and social change. The CNR composed of both civilians and soldiers, all ordinary people. But the member count was secret for security reasons and known only to Sankara and others in his inner circle.

The CNR regularly met to talk about important plans and decisions for the country. They helped give advice and direction to the government's actions. They voted on suggestions and decisions from governments officials; the decision making was [[collective]]. On some occasions, they overruled even proposals favoured personally by Sankara.<ref name=":0"/>

===Healthcare and public works===

Sankara's first priorities after taking office were feeding, housing, and providing medical care to his people who desperately needed it. He launched a mass vaccination program aimed at eradicating [[polio]], [[meningitis]], and [[measles]]. From 1983 to 1985, 2 million Burkinabé were vaccinated, significantly improving public health outcomes.{{sfn|Murrey|2018|p=73}}<ref name=":6"/><ref name=":7"/><ref name=":5">{{cite book|author-last=Harsch|author-first=Ernest|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hGDGBAAAQBAJ|title=Thomas Sankara: An African Revolutionary|date=1 November 2014|publisher=[[Ohio University Press]]|isbn=978-0-8214-4507-5|location=|pages=38|language=en}}</ref>

Prior to Sankara's presidency, the infant mortality rate in Burkina Faso was about 20.8%. During his time in office, it fell to 14.5%, highlighting the effectiveness of his health initiatives.{{sfn|Murrey|2018|p=171}} His administration was also the first African government to publicly recognize the [[Epidemiology of HIV/AIDS|AIDS epidemic]] as a major threat to Africa, showcasing his forward-thinking approach to public health.<ref>{{cite book|title=HIV/AIDS, illness, and African well-being|author-first1=Toyin|author-last1=Falola|author-first2=Matthew M.|author-last2=Heaton|publisher=University Rochester Press|date=2007|isbn=978-1-58046-240-2|pages=290}}</ref>

In addition to healthcare, Sankara focused on large-scale housing and infrastructure projects. He established brick factories to help build houses and reduce urban slums. This initiative provided affordable housing and created jobs, contributing to economic stability.<ref name="africanagenda.net">{{cite web|url=http://africanagenda.net/africas-che-guevara-and-burkina-faso/|title=Africa's Che Guevara and Burkina Faso – African Agenda – A new perspective on Africa|website=africanagenda.net|date=9 January 2020}}</ref>

To combat deforestation, Sankara initiated "The People's Harvest of Forest Nurseries," supplying 7,000 village nurseries and organizing the planting of several million trees. This reforestation effort not only aimed to restore the environment but also to create sustainable agricultural practices. His administration connected all regions of the country through an extensive road and rail-building program. Over {{Convert|700|km|abbr=on}} of rail was laid by Burkinabé people, facilitating manganese extraction in 'The Battle of the Rails,' without any foreign aid or outside money. These initiatives demonstrated his belief that African countries could achieve prosperity without foreign assistance.<ref name=":3"/>

Sankara also prioritized education to combat the country's 90% illiteracy rate. His administration implemented successful education programs, resulting in significant improvements in literacy. After his assassination, teachers' strikes and the new regime's unwillingness to negotiate led to the creation of 'Revolutionary Teachers.' In 1996, nearly 2,500 teachers were fired due to a strike, prompting the government to invite anyone with a college degree to teach through the revolutionary teachers' program. Volunteers received a 10-day training course before starting to teach.<ref name="UprightDVD"/>

===Agriculture===
In the 1980s, more than 90% of the populace were still agrarian farmers. Less than 6 percent of land that could be [[Irrigation|irrigated]] was receiving irrigation, while the rest relied on rain, which was highly unreliable and inadequate. Only 10% of the population had animals for plowing, whilst the rest relied on individual use of short hoes to plow. Few [[Livestock|livestock herders]] had access to [[fodder]]; they had to roam the countryside in search of grazing land and watering spots. Because of this, hunger remained prevalent. In years of drought, the rural population was threatened by famines.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Harsch|first=Ernest|title=Thomas Sankara an African revolutionary|date=1 November 2014|publisher=Ohio University Press|isbn=978-0821421260|edition=Illustrated|pages=94–95|language=en}}</ref>

In Sankara's five-year plan, some 71% of projected investments for the productive sectors were allocated to agriculture, livestock, fishing, wildlife and forests. In 3 years, 25% more land was irrigated because of volunteer projects. In Sourou Valley, a [[dam]] was built within a few months almost entirely by volunteer labour. The use of fertilizers increased by 56%. Hundreds of tractors were bought and imported for large-scale cooperative projects.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Harsch|first=Ernest|title=Thomas Sankara an African revolutionary|date=1 November 2014|publisher=Ohio University Press|isbn=978-0821421260|edition=Illustrated|pages=96|language=en}}</ref>

Hundreds of village cereal banks were built through collective labour organised by the CDRs to help farmers store and market their crops. In the past, farmers would have no way to store surplus grains and had to sell them to local merchants, who would sell the same crops back to the same village for twice the cost.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Harsch|first=Ernest|title=Thomas Sankara an African revolutionary|date=1 November 2014|publisher=Ohio University Press|isbn=978-0821421260|edition=Illustrated|pages=97|language=en}}</ref>

In August 1984, all land was [[Nationalization|nationalized]]. Previously, local chiefs had decided who could farm. In some areas, private land ownership had begun to arise. The total cereal production rose by 75% between 1983 and 1986.<ref name=":1"/> In four years, UN-analysts declared Burkinian agriculture as productive enough to be "food self-sufficient".<ref>{{Cite news|date=3 January 2020|title=Thomas Sankara, l'écologiste|url=https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2020/01/03/thomas-sankara-l-ecologiste_6024742_3212.html|newspaper=Le Monde.fr}}</ref>

===Environment===
In the 1980s, when ecological awareness was still very low, Thomas Sankara was one of the few leaders to consider environmental protection a priority. He engaged in three major battles: against [[Wildfire|bush fires]], 'which will be considered as crimes and will be punished as such'; against [[Open range|cattle roaming]], 'which infringes on the rights of peoples because unattended animals destroy nature'; and against the chaotic cutting of firewood, 'whose profession will have to be organized and regulated'.

As part of a development program involving a large part of the population, ten million trees were planted in Burkina Faso in fifteen months during the 'revolution'. To face the advancing desert and recurrent droughts, Thomas Sankara also proposed planting wooded strips of about fifty kilometers, crossing the country from east to west. He thought of extending this vegetation belt to other countries.

Beginning in October 1984, over the space of fifteen months Sankara's government planted ten million trees in a campaign of [[reforestation]]. Sankara said "In Burkina wood is our only source of energy. We have to constantly remind every individual of his duty to maintain and regenerate nature".{{sfn|Peterson|2021}}

===People's Revolutionary Tribunals===
Shortly after attaining power, Sankara constructed a system of courts known as the [[Popular Revolutionary Tribunal]]. The courts were created originally to try former government officials in a straightforward way so the average [[Demographics of Burkina Faso|Burkinabé]] could participate in or oversee trials of enemies of the revolution.<ref name="UprightDVD"/> They placed defendants on trial for corruption, tax evasion, or counter-revolutionary activity. Sentences for former government officials were light and often suspended. The tribunals have been alleged to have been only [[show trial]]s,<ref>{{cite book|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|date=2012|chapter=Burkina Faso: Coups, 1966–1987|title=Encyclopedia of Conflicts since World War II|editor-last1=Ciment|editor-first1=James|editor-last2=Hill|editor-first2=Kenneth|location=London|publisher=[[Routledge]]|page=339|isbn=978-113-659-621-6}}</ref> held very openly with oversight from the public.

According to the [[United States Department of State|US State Department]], procedures in these trials, especially legal protections for the accused, did not conform to international standards. Defendants had to prove themselves innocent of the crimes they were charged with committing and were not allowed to be represented by counsel.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ecoi.net/local_link/239057/348288_en.html|title=Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 1986|author=US Department of State|date=1 February 1987|website=www.ecoi.net|access-date=29 January 2015|archive-date=2 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150202103711/http://www.ecoi.net/local_link/239057/348288_en.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> The courts were initially highly admired by the Burkinabé people but were eventually labeled corrupt and oppressive. So-called 'lazy workers' were tried and sentenced to work for free, or expelled from their jobs and discriminated against. Some created their own courts to settle scores and humiliate their enemies.<ref name="UprightDVD"/>{{better source needed|date=March 2021}}

===Revolutionary Defence Committees===
The [[Committees for the Defense of the Revolution]] ({{lang|fr|Comités de Défense de la Révolution or CDRs}}) were formed as mass armed organizations. The CDRs were created as a counterweight to the power of the army as well as to promote political and social revolution. The idea for the Revolutionary Defence Committees was taken from Cuban leader Fidel Castro, whose [[Committees for the Defense of the Revolution]] had been created as a form of 'revolutionary vigilance'.<ref>{{cite web|author-last1=Baggins|author-first1=Brian|title=Establishing Revolutionary Vigilance in Cuba|url=https://www.marxists.org/history/cuba/archive/castro/1960/09/29.htm|website=marxists.org}}</ref>

===Relations with the Mossi people===
A point of contention regarding Sankara's rule is the way he handled the [[Mossi people|Mossi ethnic group]]. The Mossi are the largest ethnic group in Burkina Faso, and they adhere to a strict, traditional, hierarchical social systems.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Mossi people|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Mossi|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|language=en|access-date=12 May 2020}}</ref> At the top of the hierarchy is the [[List of rulers of Wogodogo|Morho Naba]], the chief or king of the Mossi people. Sankara viewed this arrangement as an obstacle to national unity, and proceeded to demote the Mossi elite. The Morho Naba was not allowed to hold courts. Local village chiefs were stripped of their executive powers, which were given to the CDR.<ref>{{cite journal|author-last=Wilkins|author-first=Michael|date=1989|title=The Death of Thomas Sankara and the Rectification of the People's Revolution in Burkina Faso|journal=African Affairs|volume=88|issue=352|pages=384|doi=10.1093/oxfordjournals.afraf.a098188|jstor=722692|issn=0001-9909}}</ref>

===Women's rights===
Sankara had extensively worked for women's rights and declared "There is no true social revolution without the liberation of women".<ref>{{cite web|title=Thomas Sankara|date=January 2005|url=https://newint.org/columns/speechmarks/2005/01/01/thomas-sankara|publisher=[[New Internationalist]]}}</ref>

Improving women's status in Burkinabé society was one of Sankara's explicit goals, and his government included a large number of women, an unprecedented policy priority in West Africa. His government banned [[female genital mutilation]], [[forced marriage]]s and [[polygamy]], while appointing women to high governmental positions and encouraging them to work outside the home and stay in school even if pregnant.<ref name="UprightDVD"/><ref name=":5"/> Sankara promoted [[Birth control|contraception]] and in 1986 all restrictions on contraception were removed.<ref>{{cite book|title=Historical Dictionary of Burkina Faso|date=2013|publisher=Scarecrow Press|page=lvi}}</ref> He also established a Ministry of Family Development and the Union of Burkina Women.{{sfn|Murrey|2018|p=217}}

Sankara recognized the challenges faced by African women when he gave his famous address to mark [[International Women's Day]] on 8 March 1987 in Ouagadougou. Sankara spoke to thousands of women, saying that the Burkinabé Revolution was 'establishing new social relations', which would be 'upsetting the relations of authority between men and women and forcing each to rethink the nature of both. This task is formidable but necessary'.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pambazuka.net/en/category/features/89359|author-first=Ama|author-last=Biney|title=Revisiting Thomas Sankara, 26 years later – Pambazuka News|date=24 October 2013|website=pambazuka.net|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150425025633/http://www.pambazuka.net/en/category.php/features/89359|archive-date=25 April 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> In addition to being the first African leader to appoint women to major cabinet positions, he recruited them [[Women in the military|actively for the military]].<ref name="UprightDVD"/>

===Agacher Strip War===
{{main|Agacher Strip War}}
[[File:Moussa Traoré (1989) (cropped).jpg|left|thumb|209x209px|Moussa Traoré]]
Following the 1974 clashes between Burkina Faso and Mali over the disputed territory of the Agacher Strip, the [[Organisation of African Unity]] had created a mediation commission to resolve the disagreement and provide for an independent, neutral demarcation of the border. Both governments had declared that they would not use armed force to end the dispute.{{sfn|Naldi|1986|pp=971–972}}

But by 1983 the two countries disagreed about the work of the commission.{{sfn|Naldi|1986|p=972}} Sankara personally disliked Malian President [[Moussa Traoré]], who had taken power by deposing [[Modibo Keïta]]'s left-leaning regime.<ref name=michaud>{{cite news|author-last=Michaud|author-first=Paul|title=Burkina/Mali: Who started the war|newspaper=New African|pages=29–30|date=1986|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3xLtAAAAMAAJ}}</ref> On 17 September Sankara visited Mali and met with Traoré. With Algerian mediation, the two agreed to have the border dispute settled by the [[International Court of Justice]] (ICJ) and subsequently petitioned the body to resolve the issue.{{sfn|Imperato|2019|loc=The Border Dispute with Burkina Faso}}

In July 1985 Burkina Faso declared the Malian secretary general of the [[ECOWAS|Economic Community of West Africa]], Drissa Keita, a ''[[persona non grata]]'' after he criticized Sankara's regime. In September Sankara delivered a speech in which he called for a revolution in Mali. Malian leaders were particularly sensitive to the inflammatory rhetoric, as their country was undergoing social unrest.{{sfn|Salliot|2010|p=23}}{{sfn|Englebert|2018|pp=154–155}}{{sfn|Murrey|2018|pp=46–47}} Around the same time, Sankara and other key figures in the CNR became convinced that Traoré was harbouring opposition to the Burkinabé regime in [[Bamako]] and plotting to provoke a border war, which would be used to support a counterrevolution.<ref name=roger>{{cite news|author-last=Roger|author-first=Benjamin|title=Il y a trente ans éclatait la "guerre de Noël" entre le Mali et le Burkina Faso|trans-title=Thirty years ago the "Christmas war" broke out between Mali and Burkina Faso|newspaper=Jeune Afrique|language=fr|date=25 December 2015|url=https://www.jeuneafrique.com/288381/politique/il-y-a-quarante-ans-eclatait-la-guerre-de-noel-entre-le-mali-et-le-burkina/|access-date=7 November 2020}}</ref>

[[File:Burkina-Mali boundary dispute, US Department of State map.jpg|thumb|[[United States Department of State]] map showing the competing claims of Mali and Burkina Faso in the Agacher Strip]]
Tensions at the border began to rise on 24 November when one Burkinabé national killed another near the border in [[Soum Province]]. Malian police crossed the boundary to arrest the murderer and also detained several members of a local Committee for the Defence of the Revolution who were preparing a tribunal. Three days later Malian police entered Kounia to 'restore order'. Burkina Faso made diplomatic representations on the incidents to Mali, but was given no formal response.

At the beginning of December, Burkina Faso informed Mali and other surrounding countries that it was conducting its decennial national census from 10 to 20 December.<ref name=AfricaAsia/> On 14 December military personnel entered the Agacher to assist with the census. Mali accused the military authorities of pressuring Malian citizens in border villages to register with the census, a charge which Burkina Faso disputed.<ref name=quarterly>{{cite news|title=Burkina and Mali fight a destructive border war|newspaper=Quarterly Economic Review of Togo, Niger, Benin, Burkina|issue=1|pages=25–26|publisher=Economist Intelligence Unit|date=1985|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c1YWAQAAMAAJ}}</ref> In an attempt to reduce tensions, ANAD (a West African treaty organization) dispatched a delegation to Bamako and Ouagadougou to mediate. President of Algeria [[Chadli Bendjedid]] contacted Sankara and Traoré to encourage a peaceful resolution.<ref name=quarterly/> At the request of ANAD members, Burkina Faso announced the withdrawal of all military personnel from the disputed region.<ref name=institute>{{cite news|title=A war beyond the Burkina-Mali border|newspaper=Africa Special Report|page=39|publisher=Institute of African American Relations|date=1986|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LCkRAQAAMAAJ}}</ref>

Despite the declared withdrawal, a 'war of the communiques' ensued as Burkinabé and Malian authorities exchanged hostile messages.{{Sfn|Salliot|2010|p=23}} Feeling threatened by Sankara, Traoré began preparing Mali for hostilities with Burkina Faso. Three ''groupements'' were formed and planned to invade Burkina Faso and converge on the city of [[Bobo-Dioulasso]]. Once there, they would rally Burkinabé opposition forces to take Ouagadougou and overthrow Sankara.<ref name=maliactu>{{cite web|url=https://maliactu.net/mali-moussa-traore-une-armee-pour-defendre-chaque-millimetre-carre-du-territoire-national/|author-last=Diarra|author-first=Diaoullèn Karamoko|title=Mali: Moussa Traore: Une armée pour défendre chaque millimètre carré du territoire national|trans-title=Mali: Moussa Traore: An army to defend every square millimeter of the national territory|date=14 August 2017|website=MaliActu|access-date=7 November 2020|language=fr}}</ref>

Former Sankara aide Paul Michaud wrote that Sankara had intended to provoke Mali into conflict with the aim of mobilizing popular support for his regime. According to Michaud, "an official—and reliable—Malian source" had reported that [[mobilization]] documents dating to 19 December were found on the bodies of fallen Burkinabé soldiers during the ensuing war.<ref name=michaud/>

Sankara's efforts to provide evidence of his bona fides were systematically undermined. 'It is hard to believe that the Malian authorities are unaware that the rumors circulating are false,' says U.S. Ambassador [[Leonardo Neher]]. In contrast to Michaud's assertion, a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) cable states, 'The war was born of Bamako's hope that the conflict would trigger a coup in Burkina Faso.'<ref name="monde-diplomatique.fr">{{cite news|title=Mais qui a assassiné Thomas Sankara ?|url=https://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/2021/10/JAFFRE/63630|work=Le Monde diplomatique|date=1 October 2021|language=fr}}</ref>

At dawn on 25 December 1985, about 150 [[Malian Armed Forces]] tanks crossed the frontier and attacked several locations. Malian troops also attempted to envelop Bobo-Dioulasso in a [[Pincer movement|pincer]] attack. The Burkina Faso Army struggled to repel the offensive in the face of superior Malian firepower and were overwhelmed on the northern front;<ref name=roger/> Malian forces quickly secured the towns of Dionouga, Selba, Kouna, and Douna in the Agacher.{{sfn|Imperato|2019|loc=The Border Dispute with Burkina Faso}} The Burkinabé government in Ouagadougou received word of hostilities at about 13:00 and immediately issued mobilization orders. Various security measures were also imposed across the country, including nighttime [[Blackout (wartime)|blackouts]].

Burkinabé forces regrouped in the Dionouga area to [[Counterattack|counter-attack]].<ref name=AfricaAsia/> Captain Compaoré took command of this western front. Under his leadership soldiers split into small groups and employed [[Guerrilla warfare|guerrilla tactics]] against Malian tanks.<ref name=roger/><ref name=AfricaAsia>{{cite news|title=Burkina and Mali – War to What End?|newspaper=AfricaAsia|volume=2|pages=46–48|publisher=Sociéte d'éditions Afrique, Asie, Amérique latine|date=February 1986|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kmKFAAAAIAAJ}}</ref>

Immediately after hostilities began, other African leaders attempted to institute a truce.{{sfn|Imperato|2019|loc=The Border Dispute with Burkina Faso}} On the morning of 30 December, Burkina Faso and Mali agreed to an ANAD-brokered ceasefire.<ref name=AfricaAsia/> By then Mali had occupied most of the Agacher Strip.{{sfn|Naldi|1986|p=972}} More than 100 Burkinabé and approximately 40 Malian soldiers and civilians were killed during the war.<ref name=roger/> The Burkinabé towns of Ouahigouya, Djibo, and Nassambou were left badly damaged by the fighting.<ref name=quarterly/>

At an ANAD summit in [[Yamoussoukro]]{{sfn|Imperato|2019|loc=The Border Dispute with Burkina Faso}} on 17 January 1987, Traoré and Sankara met{{sfn|Rupley|Bangali|Diamitani|2013|p=lvi}} and formalized an agreement to end hostilities.{{sfn|Imperato|2019|loc=The Border Dispute with Burkina Faso}} The ICJ later split the Agacher; Mali received the more-densely populated western portion and Burkina Faso the eastern section centred on the [[Béli River]].{{sfn|Salliot|2010|p=22}}<ref name=watson>{{cite news|last=Watson|first=Nyle|title=Burkina–Mali: ICJ Boundary Decision Backs Both Sides|newspaper=Geographic Notes|issue=6|pages=18–20|publisher=Office of the Geographer, [[United States Department of State]]|date=15 July 1987|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GnA9EFkn8o8C}}</ref> Both countries indicated their satisfaction with the judgement.{{sfn|Salliot|2010|p=22}}

Burkina Faso declared that the war was part of an 'international plot' to bring down Sankara's government. It rejected speculation that it was fought over rumoured mineral wealth in the Agacher.{{sfn|Johnson|1986|p=296}} The country's relatively poor performance in the conflict damaged the domestic credibility of the CNR.{{sfn|Uwechue|1991|p=600}} Some Burkinabé soldiers were angered by Sankara's failure to prosecute the war more aggressively and rally a counteroffensive against Mali.{{sfn|Murrey|2018|p=47}}

The conflict also demonstrated the country's weak international position and forced the CNR to craft a more moderate image of its policies and goals abroad. In the aftermath, the Burkinabé government made little reference to supporting revolution in other countries,{{sfn|Englebert|2018|pp=154–155}} and its relations with France modestly improved.{{sfn|Murrey|2018|p=48}} At a rally held after the war, Sankara conceded that his country's military was not adequately armed and announced the commutation of sentences for numerous political prisoners.{{sfn|Johnson|1986|pp=298–299}}

===Relations with other countries===

Thomas Sankara defined his program as anti-imperialist. In this respect, [[France]] became the main target of revolutionary rhetoric. When President [[François Mitterrand]] visited Burkina Faso in November 1986, Sankara criticized the French for having received [[P. W. Botha]], the [[Prime Minister of South Africa]], which still enforced [[apartheid]]; and [[Jonas Savimbi]], the leader of [[UNITA]], in France, referring to both men as 'covered in blood from head to toe'. In response, France reduced its economic aid to Burkina Faso by 80% between 1983 and 1985.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.telerama.fr/cinema/films/capitaine-thomas-sankara,483035.php|title=Capitaine Thomas Sankara de Christophe Cupelin – (2014) – Film documentaire|via=www.telerama.fr}}</ref>

{{ill|Guy Penne|fr}}, President Mitterrand's advisor on African affairs, organized a media campaign in France to denigrate Thomas Sankara in collaboration with the [[DGSE]]. It provided the press with a series of documents on supposed atrocities intended to feed articles against him.<ref name="monde-diplomatique.fr"/>

Sankara set up a program of cooperation with [[Cuba]]. After meeting with [[Fidel Castro]], Sankara arranged to send young Burkinabés to Cuba in September 1986 to receive professional training and to participate in the country's development upon their return. These were volunteers recruited on the basis of a competition; priority was given to orphans and young people from rural and disadvantaged areas. Some 600 teenagers were flown to Cuba to complete their schooling and receive professional training to become doctors (particularly gynecologists), engineers, or agronomists.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2020/08/11/les-burkinabes-formes-a-cuba-sont-restes-fideles-a-sankara-et-a-la-mission-qu-il-leur-avait-confiee_6048706_3212.html|title="les Burkinabés formés à Cuba sont restés fidèles à Sankara et à la mission qu'il leur avait confiée"|newspaper=Le Monde.fr|date=11 August 2020}}</ref>

Denouncing the support of the [[United States]] to [[Israel]] and [[South Africa]], he called on African countries to boycott the [[1984 Summer Olympics]] in [[Los Angeles]]. At the [[United Nations General Assembly]], he denounced the [[United States invasion of Grenada|invasion of Grenada by the United States]]. The latter nation responded by implementing trade sanctions against Burkina Faso. Also at the UN, Sankara called for an end to the veto power granted to the great powers. In the name of the 'right of peoples to sovereignty', he supported the national demands of the [[Western Sahara]], [[Palestine]], the Nicaraguan [[Sandinista National Liberation Front|Sandinistas]], and the South African [[African National Congress|ANC]].

While he had good relations with Ghanaian leader [[Jerry Rawlings]] and Libyan leader [[Muammar Gaddafi]], Sankara was relatively isolated in West Africa. Leaders close to France, such as [[Félix Houphouët-Boigny]] in [[Ivory Coast]] and [[Hassan II of Morocco|Hassan II]] in [[Morocco]], were particularly hostile to him.<ref>Amzat Boukari-Yabara, ''Africa Unite ! : Une histoire du panafricanisme,'' Paris: La Découverte, 2014</ref>

===Criticism===
The British development organization [[Oxfam]] recorded the arrest of trade union leaders in 1987.<ref>{{cite book|first=R.|last=Sharp|title=Burkina Faso: New Life for the Sahel? A Report for Oxfam|location=Oxford|publisher=[[Oxfam]]|date=1987|pages=13}}</ref> In 1984, seven individuals associated with the previous régime in Burkina Faso were accused of treason and executed after a summary trial. Non-governmental organizations and unions were harassed or placed under the authority of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution, branches of which were established in each workplace and which functioned as 'organs of political and social control'.<ref>{{cite book|first=R.|last=Otayek|chapter=The Revolutionary Process in Burkina Faso: Breaks and Continuities|editor-first1=J.|editor-last1=Markakis|editor-first2=M.|editor-last2=Waller|title=Military Marxist Régimes in Africa|location=London|publisher=Frank Cass|date=1986|pages=95}}</ref>

Three days after Sankara had assumed power in 1983 through the popular revolution, the National Union of African Teachers of Upper Volta (SNEAHV) called Sankara and his government [[Fascism|fascist]] and called upon workers to be ready to fight for their freedom. As a result, the government ordered the arrest of 4 key figures of the SNEAHV, one was released shortly after. In response, the SNEAHV called upon a national teachers' strike to protest the arrests. The government saw this as something that endangered the politically weak Upper Volta which had already faced 5 coups since its independence. Therefore, the minister for National Education called upon directors of [[private school]]s "not to use the services of the strikers in their establishments".<ref>{{Cite web|title=Interim Report - Report No 236, November 1984|url=https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=1000:50002:0::NO:50002:P50002_COMPLAINT_TEXT_ID:2901203|access-date=3 April 2024|website=International Labour Organisation}}</ref> The call affected 1300-1500 teachers.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Impressions on the movement for global justice in Africa - International Viewpoint - online socialist magazine|url=https://internationalviewpoint.org/spip.php?article1032|access-date=2024-04-03|website=internationalviewpoint.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=The 1983 putsch installs Thomas Sankara and a historical Revolution with committees in defense of the revolution (CDR) and popular tribunals (TDR) begins.|url=https://www.blaisecompaore.com/en/political-and-military-career/1983-1987-the-revolution/|access-date=2024-04-03|website=Blaise Compaore|language=en-GB}}</ref>

[[Popular Revolutionary Tribunal]]s, set up by the government throughout the country, placed defendants on trial for corruption, tax evasion or 'counter-revolutionary' activity. Procedures in these trials, especially legal protections for the accused, did not conform to international standards. According to Christian Morrisson and Jean-Paul Azam of the [[OECD|Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development]], the 'climate of urgency and drastic action in which many punishments were carried out immediately against those who had the misfortune to be found guilty of unrevolutionary behaviour, bore some resemblance to what occurred in the worst days of the [[French Revolution]], during the [[Reign of Terror]]. Although few people were killed, violence was widespread'.<ref>{{cite book|first1=C.|last1=Morrisson|first2=J.-P.|last2=Azam|title=Conflict and Growth in Africa|volume=I: 'The Sahel'|location=Paris|publisher=[[OECD]]|year=1999|page=70}}</ref>