Trial boosts interest in Thomas Sankara, Burkinabe Revolution

Vol. 85/No. 40 - November 1, 2021

The military trial that began Oct. 11 of Blaise Compaore and 13 others for the Oct. 15, 1987, assassination of Thomas Sankara, then president of Burkina Faso, and the overthrow of the popular revolution he led, is increasing interest in…


The murder of Thomas Sankara: a popular revolution overturned

Vol. 85/No. 37 - October 11, 2021
“The democratic and popular revolution needs a convinced people, not a conquered people,” says the sign above, quoting revolutionary leader Thomas Sankara under his photo. It’s carried in a June 29, 2013, protest against Blaise Compaore, who led the 1987 counterrevolution.

(For a French version of this article, click here.) Blaise Compaore, the iron-fisted ruler of Burkina Faso for almost three decades, will stand trial along with 13 others before a military tribunal Oct. 11 for the 1987 assassination of former…


Thomas Sankara: ‘We are heirs of the world’s revolutions’

Vol. 85/No. 36 - October 4, 2021
Vaccinated children, families gather in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, in August 1986 to celebrate their revolution. Popular revolutionary government led by Sankara mobilized working people to advance mass health campaigns, women’s equality and other social measures.

The French edition of We Are Heirs of the World’s Revolutions: Speeches from the Burkina Faso Revolution 1983-87 by Thomas Sankara is one of Pathfinder’s Books of the Month for September. In August 1983 Sankara led an uprising in the…


‘Imperialism is an arsonist setting fire to our forests’

Vol. 84/No. 40 - October 12, 2020
Burkinabe women building terrace to prevent spread of the desert, 1986. Revolution led by Thomas Sankara mobilized peasants, workers, women to take control of their lives, country.

Thomas Sankara Speaks is one of Pathfinder’s Books of the Month for October. Sankara was the exemplary leader of a revolution in Burkina Faso, one of the poorest countries in Africa, from 1983 to 1987. His speeches explain how the…


Sankara: ‘We draw lessons from all the world’s revolutions’

Vol. 84/No. 32 - August 17, 2020
Popular uprising in Madagascar, which toppled government in 1972, had deep impact on Thomas Sankara, who was a military cadet there. He heard from fellow students about 1968 workers general strike in France, above. Transferred to France by the army, he scoured Paris for books by Karl Marx and other revolutionaries. He learned importance of studying history of class struggle.

Thomas Sankara Parle, the French edition of   Thomas Sankara Speaks: The Burkina Faso Revolution 1983-87, is one of Pathfinder’s Books of the Month for August. In 1983 Sankara led an uprising in the former French colony of Upper Volta, bringing…


Toilers face brutal attacks from governments in Africa

Vol. 84/No. 15 - April 20, 2020

“Imperialism is determined, it has no conscience, it has no heart,” explained Thomas Sankara, the leader of the popular revolutionary government in Burkina Faso in 1985. “Fortunately the more we’ve discovered how dangerous an enemy imperialism is, the more determined…


Crisis in West Africa rooted in decades of colonial rule

Vol. 84/No. 12 - March 30, 2020
Thomas Sankara, above, led popular revolution in 1983-87 bringing the toilers to power in Burkina Faso. There is no comparable revolutionary leadership anywhere in West Africa today.

A humanitarian crisis is spreading in the Sahel region of West Africa, affecting the lives of millions of toilers. Over the past few years there has been a sharp increase in operations by various reactionary armed groups, killing thousands of…


NY meeting discusses Sankara’s legacy today

Vol. 83/No. 48 - December 30, 2019
Panelists at “Legacy of Thomas Sankara” meeting held Dec. 8 in Harlem. From right, Boukary Sawadogo, professor at City College of New York; Issa Zoungrana, representative of Stand for Life and Liberty; Inem Richardson, student at Barnard College; chairperson Boukary Salogo; Basninwende Isonore Dianda, grade school teacher in Harlem; and Peter Thierjung, Socialist Workers Party.

NEW YORK — “Thirty-two years ago Thomas Sankara was assassinated. Today our voices are raised with his ideas,” said chairperson Boukary Salogo, opening a Dec. 8 program here in Harlem featuring a panel of speakers on “Thomas Sankara’s Legacy Today.”…


NY event discusses ‘Thomas Sankara’s Legacy Today’

Vol. 83/No. 47 - December 23, 2019

NEW YORK — Some 100 people attended a program at the Harlem YMCA here Dec. 8 on “Thomas Sankara’s Legacy Today: Sankara Everywhere, Sankara Nowhere.” Speaking were Basninwende Isonore Dianda, a teacher; Inem Richardson, a Barnard College student and researcher;…


French rulers expand military intervention into West Africa

Vol. 83/No. 46 - December 16, 2019

French ground troops are being deployed to Burkina Faso. This is the first major dispatch of imperialist troops to that West African country, an attempt to shore up a weakening capitalist regime in a region racked by instability. The deployment…