Burkina Faso Revolution Day Date: August 4
Burkina Faso celebrates Revolution Day as a public holiday.
Anniversary of the Revolution is a national holiday to commemorate the revolution that took place on August 5, 1960. Former Upper Volta is now known as Burkina Faso. It was named Burkina Faso after the 1983 revolution that saw the rise of Thomas Sankara to power. Burkina Faso means “the land of upright people”.
Burkina Faso Revolution Day History
Full independence was attained in 1960. The country saw its first military coup in 1966, and civilian rule returned in 1978. Another revolt took place in 1980, led by Saye Zerbo but he was later overthrown in 1982. In 1983, a counter coup was launched under the leadership of the charismatic Captain Thomas Sankara to power. On this day, the country was renamed as Burkina Faso. As mentioned before it means “the land of upright people”, in More and Dioula which are the major native languages of the country. Literally, “Burkina” mean the “men of integrity” in More language, and the meaning of “Faso” is “father’s house” in Dioula.
The Republic of Upper Volta gained freedom in 1960. The first president was Maurice Yameogo of the Voltaic Democratic Union. After he came to power, every political party was banned by Yameogo. The government survived until 1966. After that when the mass unrest grew out of control military intervened.
The military revolt deposed Yameogo. The constitution was suspended and the National Assembly was dissolved. Lt. Col. Sangoule Lamizana was placed at the head of the government. The army was there in power until 1970. After that, the constitution was ratified and Lamizana remained the head of the mixed civil military government throughout the 70s.
On November 25, 1980, the Col. Saye Zerbo overthrew the President Lamizana and left him in the bloodless coup. The 1977 constitution was eradicated and the Military Committee of Recovery for National Progress was established as the main governmental body.
CSP (Council of Popular Salvation) overthrew Zerbo in 1982. Unrest continued to grow amongst the moderates and the radicals in the CSP. Capt. Thomas Sankara, the then prime minister was arrested. The efforts to release him resulted in another military coup.
Following the coup, Sankara formed the CNR (National Council for the Revolution) and made himself the president. He was strongly anti-corruption. Sankara did a lot to “mobilize the masses”. For this purpose, he established CDR (Committees for the Defense of the Revolution). They had another function of implementing the revolutionary programs of the CNR. The exact membership of the CNR could never be known. It remained a secret till the end. The CNR contained the two small Marxist-Leninist groups. Sankara himself, Compaore, Maj. Jean-Baptiste Lingani and Capt. Henri Zongo – all the leftist military officers, who dominated the regime.
Burkina Faso Revolution Day Traditions and Activities
On August 4, 1984, the “land of honorable people”, Burkina Faso, emerged out of Upper Volta. Sankara, on this very day launched a movement to mobilize the masses. The enigmatic leader sought by word, and by deed to initiate this massive boot strap development revolution. The fellow citizens of Sankara still commemorate the endeavors of their strong ideological leader on Revolution Day.
Other interesting posts:
- Rectification Day in Burkina Faso
- Burkina Faso Commemorates the Proclamation of the Republic
- Burkina Faso Observes Revolution Day
- Burkina Faso Independence Day
- Syria Observes March Revolution Anniversary
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