Nouna massacre : message from REFERENCES

Since 2016, Burkina Faso has been plunged into an extremely serious security, humanitarian, and political crisis. The already fractured social fabric has deteriorated further in recent months with the spread of hate speech and violent radical and ethnicist rhetoric. For the first time in Burkina Faso, individuals are openly threatening to physically harm other citizens on the basis of their opinions, with complete impunity.

It was in this context that, on the night of December 30 to 31, the despicable murder of 28 Burkinabe citizens took place in Nouna, against a backdrop of ethnic stigmatization. Our Network condemns in the strongest possible terms this unacceptable barbaric act of murder, which undermines our ability to live together in harmony.

REFERENCES urges the judicial and political authorities to do everything in their power to ensure that the investigation is conducted with the utmost diligence. Indeed, the fact that the investigation into the killings in Yirgou, similar to those in Nouna, has not yet been concluded is sowing doubt in the minds of many Burkinabé as to whether the truth about this new tragedy will ever come to light.

We encourage the government to get the process of reconciliation and social cohesion back on track, the foundations for which were laid by the ministry dedicated to this cause, in a participatory dynamic involving local communities and all sections of Burkinabe society. It is indeed illusory to think that, divided, our nation will be strong enough to win the relentless war it is waging against terrorism.

We strongly urge civil society organizations to exercise restraint and responsibility in exercising freedom of expression so as to respect the core values of secularism in our country and peaceful coexistence between religions and ethnic groups, which have always been the foundation of our society.

We recommend that top priority be given to the inclusion of all socio-professional and political components of the country, in order to bring together the intelligence and energy of all the sons and daughters of Burkina Faso in the search for solutions to the serious multidimensional crisis that threatens the very survival of our nation.

Together, we will rise to the challenge of leaving future generations a unified, reconciled, and prosperous Burkina Faso.