EXTERNAL (for general distribution)AI Index: AFR 60/02/95

Distr: UA/SC

19 July 1995

Further information (1) on UA 114/95 (AFR 60/01/95, 22 May 1995) - Possible Extrajudicial Executions

BURKINA FASOBlaise Sidiani

Emile Zigani

School students Blaise Sidiani and Emile Zigani were shot dead by security forces in Garango, Boulgou Province, on 9 May 1995, during a demonstration. It appears that excessive force may have been used by the security forces.

In response to their appeals to the Burkinabè authorities, some Urgent Action participants received a reply from the Burkinabè diplomatic representative in their country. For example, the Ambassador in the Federal Republic of Germany replied (translation from French):

In response to your telex/letter of concern, I am pleased to be able to inform you that:

According to information which we have received as well as the contents of a communiqué issued by the government on the evening of 9 May 1995, our entire nation and the Head of State learned with great bitterness and dismay about the events which occurred in the town of Garango (Boulgou) during "a demonstration by school students against the refusal of their teachers to assess their students' achievements. It is this demonstration which degenerated into violence and acts of vandalism. This resulted in the deaths of two students; four members of the security forces were wounded".

Following this tragedy, the government set up a Commission of Inquiry in order to establish who was responsible with a view to bringing them to justice.

For my part, I wish to assure you that the punishment reserved for those responsible for these reprehensible acts will be appropriate to the crime and what is to be expected in a state of law.

The Embassy for its part will ensure that it obtains the results of the inquiry and details of the outcome of this affair; it will not hesitate to keep you informed.

Yours sincerely

Sophie Sow

Ambassador

The Commission of Inquiry is headed by a judge, Monsieur Boukari Diallo, and is expected to submit its conclusions at the end of July 1995. Gendarmes in Garango are reported to have been suspended from duty pending the outcome of the inquiry.

FURTHER RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Those Urgent Action participants who received a response from the Burkinabè diplomatic representative in their country should reply, thanking them for their letter, welcoming the news that a Commission of Inquiry into the deaths of Blaise Sidiani and Emile Zigani has been established by the Burkinabè Government and asking to be kept informed of its outcome.

Other Urgent Action participants may also write, preferably in French, to the authorities listed below:

- welcoming reports that a Commission of Inquiry, headed by a judge, has been established to investigate the deaths of Blaise Sidiani and Emile Zigani;

- asking to be kept informed of the results of this investigation.

APPEALS TO:

President

Son Excellence

Capitaine Blaise Compaoré

Président, Chef de l'Etat et du Gouvernement

La Présidence

BP 7031

Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

Prime Minister

Monsieur Marc-Christian Roch Kaboré

Premier Ministre

Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso