“Hands off Ibrahim Traoré!”
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The streets of London echoed with chants of “Hands off Ibrahim Traoré!” yesterday as thousands gathered outside the US Embassy in Vauxhall, joining a global wave of solidarity with Burkina Faso’s revolutionary leader.
From Ouagadougou to Accra, from Liberia to the heart of Britain, a defiant message rang clear: Africa rejects imperialist interference.The protests were not just about one man, but a continent’s unshackling—a revolt against the neocolonial grip that has suffocated the Sahel for decades.
A plot thwarted, a struggle exposedOn April 21, Burkina Faso’s military foiled yet another coup attempt—the 20th against Captain Traoré since he took power.
The government called it an effort to “sow chaos” and reverse the nation’s sovereign path.Observers see an even darker pattern: a coordinated assault by foreign powers terrified of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES)—Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger—whose expulsion of French troops marked a seismic shift in West Africa.
Days before the coup plot, US AFRICOM Commander General Michael Langley stood before the US Senate, accusing Traoré of “misusing gold reserves for personal protection.
”The smear was textbook: demonise a leader, justify intervention. Then, Langley jetted to Côte d’Ivoire—a known haven for Burkina Faso’s exiled coup plotters, including Blaise Compaoré, the assassin of revolutionary icon Thomas Sankara. “Coincidence?” scoffed a protester in London.
“This is regime change by any means.”The people’s anger: “We know this game”Other protestors were equally as forthright.“Langley’s accusations are a smokescreen,” argued one. “If Traoré is using gold to protect himself, who can blame him?
They’ve tried to kill him 20 times! This is the same playbook they used on Gaddafi—paint the leader as corrupt, then overthrow him.” The parallels are chilling.
Libya’s destruction began with similar narratives. Now, Burkina Faso’s economic strides—GDP rising under Traoré, farmers empowered, resources processed locally—threaten Western exploitation.
Another protestor pointed to Langley’s Ivorian rendezvous with France’s puppet, Alassane Ouattara: “They claim they’re ‘fighting terrorism,’ but why has insecurity worsened after $65m in AFRICOM ‘aid’? They’re funding chaos to justify invasion.”
The suspicion is visceral: Ouattara, whose 2011 power grab relied on rebel violence, now harbours Traoré’s would-be assassins. For many, Traoré embodies a legacy of martyred Pan-Africanists. Sankara, Lumumba, Nkrumah—their crime was wanting resources to serve Africans.The AES nations, once pillaged for French uranium and US gold, now dare to say no. The backlash is predictable—and deadly.A call to action: “Africa’s future is non-negotiable”The London protest was more than a rally; it was a warning.
The plotters, regrouping in Côte d’Ivoire, are backed by powers who’ll never tolerate African self-determination.But the people are watching, a movement is rising. The AES nations, though besieged, have shown a path: kick out foreign armies, reclaim resources, unite.
The West’s desperation is palpable.But as the crowds in London shouted: “Hands off Africa!”—a continent’s defiant roar grows louder. The Sahel’s revolution won’t be silenced.
Source: The Voice
