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afrol.com, 21 February - The Burkinabe government has announced that it will organise a "Day of national forgiveness" on 30 March to overcome the political crisis that has ridden the country since the assassination of journalist and editor Norbert Zongo and three others in December 1998. The opposition sees the initiative as another move towards impunity and is protesting. Norbert Zongo, editor-in-chief of the newspaper l'Indépendant, was renowned for his independence and criticism of the government. In particular, he had persistently pursued the death in custody in January 1998 of R. David Ouédraogo, the chauffeur of President Compaoré's brother and presidential adviser, François Compaoré. Investigations of his death showed links to the president's brother, but ended up without prosecutions. This again sparkled widespread outrage and social unrest in Burkina Faso, with calls for an end to impunity for human rights violations. The demonstrations in turn led to arrests and intimidation of leading opposition political figures and human rights defenders. The government has attempted to defuse the political and social crisis. Finally, last week, Warrant Officer Marcel Kafando was charged with the murder of Norbert Zongo and three companions in a move hailed as "a bold step toward wiping out impunity" by the Burkinabe authorities. Amnesty International welcomed the indictment. Also Reporters Without Borders (RSF), a media rights group, which has been active in researching the Zongo affair, welcomed the indictment. But, said Robert Menard, RSF's general secretary in a press release, "since Kafando has been charged, the investigating team cannot ignore the role of Blaise and Francois Compaoré in this murder." This however seems exactly what the Burkinabe government intents, according to the country's opposition. While a government statement referred to a "mutual agreement between the political parties and the government" on the Day of Forgiveness, several opposition parties are alienated by the move. Most of the parties calling for "forgiveness" belong to the government, although some smaller opposition parties agreed. Other opposition leaders told AFP in Ouagadougou that they demanded "justice before the reconciliation". Most of the significant opposition parties are grouped together in the Groupe du 14 février, 14 February Group, in their fight for reconciliation and against impunity. This group has refused to participate in the Committee of Prominent People, the Collège des sages, to examine the causes of the crisis and propose solutions until justice was done. The Collège des sages has advised President Compaoré to condemn the unpunished political crimes (176 since 1960, according to the Committee) and "to assume all responsibility for these acts in the name of the State". President Compaoré's "Forgiveness Day" thus is not considered enough neither by the Committee nor the 14 February Group. The Committee's report even concluded saying "you have to be tried before you can be forgiven." Halidou Ouedraogo, president of the 14 February Group, is clear in his rejection of the "Forgiveness Day". "We reject this sort of event, because the government ignored us and the pardon notion here is neither objective nor honest," he told IPS. The 14 February Group demands the resignation of President Compaoré and the prosecution of those involved in political crimes, and in thus supporting the claims by RSF. "RSF cannot accept that the Burkinabe courts try only those who carried out the murder when those who ordered it continue to rule the country," says the media organisation's general secretary, Robert Menard. RSF believes that the accused chauffeur "Kafando could not have acted without the approval of his superiors." His superiors were the president's brother and other top officials.
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