Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders Annual Report 2003 - Burkina Faso

Pressure against MBDHP¹⁴

Mr. Antoine Sore, section chairman of the Burkina Movement for the Defence of Human and Peoples' Rights (Mouvement burkinabé pour la défense des droits de l'Homme et des peuples – MBDHP) in Boulgou and life sciences teacher, was subjected to pressure at his workplace.

Mr. Sore was assigned to the Tenkodogo municipal high school for the 2003-2004 school year. The schoolchildren's parents' association, with the support of the school's vice principal, refused his joining the staff and sent a letter of protest to the regional high commissioner for Secondary Education. Although Mr. Sore had never taught in this school before, the parents claimed that he was a poor teacher. Under such pressure, and because he was not even sent his teaching schedule, Mr. Sore was not able to start his job when school began on 6th October. On 17th October, the school principal refused to issue him the certificate confirming his assumption of duties.

Mr. Sore was finally appointed to an administrative position by order of the ministry of Secondary, Higher, and Scientific Education dated 9th December 2003.

Curtailment of freedom of demonstration¹⁵

On 13th December 2003, which marked the fifth anniversary of the death of the journalist Norbert Zongo, the Action group against impunity (Collectif contre l'impunité) composed of 70 associations headed by MBDHP, organised several commemorative events. A demonstration was held and a wreath laid without any incidents, but the information session scheduled by the group afterwards had to be cancelled because Mr. Simon Campaoré, the mayor of Ouagadougou, refused to give them a meeting place.

[Refworld note: This report as posted on the FIDH website (www.fidh.org) was in pdf format with country chapters run together by region. Footnote numbers have been retained here, so do not necessarily begin at 1.]

14. See Annual Report 2002.

15. See Annual Report 2001.