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Ibrahim Traoré has emerged as a anti-Western hero preaching self-reliance and resilience with fans across Africa and beyond (www.wsj.com)

submitted 2 days ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 day ago (1 children)

The article is paywalled. It has been quite a while since I heart news from Burkina Faso, I'm really wondering how things are going in there. I also wish to see more of Traorè's thoughts on political matters (aside from his anti-colonialism, which is great!), but all I've been seeing was some AI voiceover of debatable source. I still like him, just wish we had more updates from non biased journalists.

As of now, I still believe that as long as the current leadership of BK persists, the people in there will have nothing but benefits as time goes on.

I hope we'll soon be able to call Burkina Faso the sixth state that is AES.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I added the archived link in the body of the post.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 day ago

Thank you, didn't notice.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (5 children)

I really want to like Traore', but the fact that he seems to be vehemently homophobic, disgusts me.

I'm open to being proven wrong, and I'm not saying that he doesn't deserve critical support at a time like this, but as a fellow BIPOC and a LGBT comrade, it angers me that Traore' is even considering or not immediately striking down this series of policies that will punish LGBT people.

I'm in no way saying that he himself is solely responsible for it, and I understand that MAYBE it's a luxury to live in the first world and criticize national liberation/socialist movements, leaders, and groups, but it's fucking disgusting that he seems to be homophobic, when Thomas Sankara would probably have told him off for it, who Traore' claims to admire.

I'm not trying to be a douchebag, and I hate qualifying my statement so much, but JFC, he is sooo close to getting it right. I believe in ruthless criticism of all things. I'm concerned about the LGBT people and comrades who could be hurt or imprisoned over this, nor am I saying that the capitalist imperialist fascist west should be let off the hook for their centuries of homophobia or their dangling of LGBT rights over the heads of African peoples, but fucking hell.

I'm not expecting Traore' to be perfect, and maybe he hasn't given this comparatively much thought, given he has a country to run, or maybe this is more on the socially fascist inner circle or interlopers that know nothing but the white supremacist colonial hatred drilled into their heads for a long time, but I don't find this to be rational or excusable.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I hate the realpolitik of this perspective but BF from what I know is still pretty socially conservative. There was a study done a while ago there saying something like only 8% of people would "accept a homosexual as a neighbour". Regardless of what Traore thinks it may just not be politically feasible for him to retain support from broad swathes of his coalition if he comes out swinging for LGBT rights in BF, and if his mandate collapses or his allies turn against him shit could get bad for him pretty fast.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I get the political angle, but I at least feel like he should just veto or refuse to sign, or say, "we have more important problems."

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 day ago

Well it's not done until it is, so we will have to see.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 days ago

Can you link me to homophobic sentiments he's expressed?

Also this is a reminder against heroizing. Our gods are human, and we're messy.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 days ago

https://fpif.org/just-uganda-behind-christian-rights-onslaught-africa/

[–] [email protected] 14 points 2 days ago (1 children)

It’s not even him pushing the legislature you’re thinking of and he still has yet to sign it even after all this time. He hasn’t really said anything in favor or against lgbt, though it wouldn’t be a surprise if he was with the heavily Christian/Muslim population of Burkina Faso.

At the moment for the lgbt in Burkina Faso their biggest concern is not being captured or attacked by the terrorist militias backed by the West.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 day ago

I remember him saying something about traditional values, and what surprised me was that it wasn't from MAGA-coms.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I'm not seeing anything about laws that could cause the imprisonment of LGBT people. Where are you getting this? Like, I wouldn't be shocked if same sex marriage isn't legal or if laws for trans people changing their birth certificates aren't on the books yet but I see nothing that encourages the active imprisonment or disenfranchisement of LGBT people outside of having a somewhat more conservative culture would cause as a matter of expectation. Although I will admit I didn't look particularly hard at such issues as they have bigger things on their plate at the moment but still. If you have a source on that I'd appreciate it.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago

I'm simply saying homosexuality wasn't much of an issue in much of Africa until missionaries kept pounding the idea. Obviously not having spent time there, I can't know.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 2 days ago

In August, jihadists massacred hundreds of villagers in Barsalogho, a remote town in north-central Burkina Faso.

I can't possibly imagine who's funding them.