By using this website you agree that we use cookies. You can find out more in the privacy policy.
Bombay Durpun - 'Great sadness' for artists after French venue ransacked in Burkina coup
-
-
Choose a language
Automatically close in : 3
Wie gewohnt mit Werbung lesen
Nutzen Sie Bombay Durpun mit personalisierter Werbung, Werbetracking, Nutzungsanalyse und externen Multimedia-Inhalten. Details zu Cookies und Verarbeitungszwecken sowie zu Ihrer jederzeitigen Widerrufsmöglichkeit finden Sie unten, im Cookie-Manager sowie in unserer Datenschutzerklärung.
Use Bombay Durpun with personalised advertising, ad tracking, usage analysis and external multimedia content. Details on cookies and processing purposes as well as your revocation option at any time can be found below, in the cookie manager as well as in our privacy policy.
Utilizar Bombay Durpun con publicidad personalizada, seguimiento de anuncios, análisis de uso y contenido multimedia externo. Los detalles sobre las cookies y los propósitos de procesamiento, así como su opción de revocación en cualquier momento, se pueden encontrar a continuación, en el gestor de cookies, así como en nuestra política de privacidad.
Utilisez le Bombay Durpun avec des publicités personnalisées, un suivi publicitaire, une analyse de l'utilisation et des contenus multimédias externes. Vous trouverez des détails sur les cookies et les objectifs de traitement ainsi que sur votre possibilité de révocation à tout moment ci-dessous, dans le gestionnaire de cookies ainsi que dans notre déclaration de protection des données.
Utilizzare Bombay Durpun con pubblicità personalizzata, tracciamento degli annunci, analisi dell'utilizzo e contenuti multimediali esterni. I dettagli sui cookie e sulle finalità di elaborazione, nonché la possibilità di revocarli in qualsiasi momento, sono riportati di seguito nel Cookie Manager e nella nostra Informativa sulla privacy.
Utilizar o Bombay Durpun com publicidade personalizada, rastreio de anúncios, análise de utilização e conteúdo multimédia externo. Detalhes sobre cookies e fins de processamento, bem como a sua opção de revogação em qualquer altura, podem ser encontrados abaixo, no Gestor de Cookies, bem como na nossa Política de Privacidade.
The day after Burkina Faso's latest coup, protesters attacked the French Institute, wrecking not just a symbol of the country's former colonial power but also a valued showcase for artists and free expression.
Text size:
Demonstrators left charred walls, smashed windows and books strewn across the floor of the cultural centre in Ouagadougou, Burkina's capital.
Standing in front of a pile of paintings, artist Ali Ouedraogo said it was "a great sadness" to see the Institute in such a state.
"We've been coming to this place for years -- it's become a second home for us," he said. It is "a loss for Burkinabe, especially artists."
"This is the work of real monsters," said William Somda, who organises cultural events.
"Nothing today justify the destruction of a venue that is so important to the cultural, academic, professional and artistic world."
The Institute was just one of the French buildings targeted during the turmoil, which began on the evening of September 30.
Demonstrators also attacked the French embassy in the capital the Institute in Burkina's second largest city, Bobo-Dioulasso.
They accused Paris -- which has a military presence in the West African country -- of protecting former junta leader Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, who seized power in January before being ousted by junior officers led a 34-year-old captain, Ibrahim Traore.
In a statement read out on national television, the officers said Damiba was suspected to have taken refuge at a French military base "to plan a counteroffensive to stir up trouble in our defence and security forces."
Damiba denied he was at the base but provided no further details about his whereabouts at the time. It later emerged he had fled to neighbouring Togo after a prolonged standoff.
France bluntly denied that it had been harbouring him.
Anti-French sentiment was palpable on the streets at the height of the turbulence.
Demonstratorschanted: "France out." Some waved Russian flags.
The road leading to the Institute is still littered with broken glass, smashed computers and burnt air conditioning units.
In the entrance hall, there are burnt gates and baggage scanners.
Police have cordoned off the building, AFP saw on Wednesday.
"The damage is enormous," said the centre's manager, Thierry Bambara. "We'll have to wait for a complete assessment before we can put a figure on it."
"All the buildings were ransacked," from the centre's language unit to its performance areas, he said.
In the Institute's library, the floor is a clutter of keyboards, CDs, toppled shelves and books covered in soot.
Burkina Faso is one of the world's poorest countries, ranked 182nd out of 189 nations under the UN's Human Development Index. High-quality concert venues and libraries are rare.
"The ransacking... is a tough blow for us," said Burkinabe musician Kantala. "Our plans are taking a hit -- we're not sure we can find a replacement for what this place offered us."