Africa-Press. The military regime in Burkina Faso has decided to suspend the activities of the “General Union of Students of Burkina” (Ugeb), the country’s largest student organization, for three months, subject to renewal.
The Ministry of Regional Administration announced the decision, justifying it by citing actions related to “glorifying terrorism.”
This decision comes amid increasing repression by the regime led by Ibrahim Traore, who came to power following a military coup in September 2022.
In recent weeks, nearly a thousand associations and organizations have been dissolved or suspended based on a new law concerning the freedom of association.
According to the student organization, around ten of its members, including union president Wilfried Bazou, were arrested on the night of Monday to Tuesday inside the union’s headquarters in Ouagadougou by armed men in civilian clothes.
The union confirmed in a statement that several students were taken to an unknown location, demanding their “immediate release.”
The union noted that on May 19, coinciding with the 36th anniversary of the assassination of their comrade Dabo Boukari, it issued a statement, as it does every year, which did not sit well with some supporters of the regime, according to the statement.
The union held the “National Movement for Salvation and Reform” regime, referring to the ruling military council, responsible for what it described as “serious violations of academic freedoms and privileges,” stating that it places national and international public opinion as witnesses to this.
It also called on students to mobilize and prepare for any directives or actions that may arise from the evolving situation.
Just days before the suspension decision, the union issued a statement criticizing “violations of democratic, union, and political freedoms” committed in the name of combating terrorism.
The student movement accused the military authority of a “clear inability to restore security” in the face of extremist violence affecting large parts of the country.
For its part, the public prosecutor in Burkina Faso announced on Wednesday the opening of a judicial investigation regarding the “writings and statements” attributed to the General Union of Students.
Human Rights Watch considered the suspension decision part of “a series of government crackdowns against freedom of association and expression.”
The rights organization confirmed in a statement that “silencing students will not resolve the security crisis and governance crisis” that Burkina Faso is experiencing.
Human Rights Watch pointed out that the government decree did not provide any clear explanation for the suspension decision, but it stated that the move appears to be linked to a statement issued by the student union criticizing the military council for its failure to restore security nearly four years after coming to power.
The international rights organization quoted a Burkinabe human rights activist living in exile as saying that the opening of the investigation reflects the extent of the threat facing the rule of law in Burkina Faso, noting that the judicial authorities have become “increasingly subject to the political and security agenda of the military council.”
The organization stated in its statement that the repression exercised by the military authorities in Burkina Faso has led to a rapid contraction of civil space.
It noted that since the military council seized power through a coup in 2022, authorities have stopped independent media, dismantled civil society organizations, restricted political pluralism, and pursued critics through intimidation and legal actions.
Journalists, opposition figures, civil society activists, and judges have faced threats, arbitrary arrests, forced recruitment, enforced disappearances, and torture, according to the statement.
Human Rights Watch emphasized that “silencing students will not contribute to solving the escalating security crisis and governance crisis in Burkina Faso, including the rise of attacks by armed groups.”
It also called on the Burkinabe authorities to lift the suspension of the General Union of Students immediately and to end the repression of independent voices and fundamental freedoms.
The General Union of Students of Burkina was established in 1960 and is one of the oldest and most influential student organizations in Burkina Faso.
For decades, it has advocated for improved study and living conditions for students, playing a prominent role in democratic mobilization, civil activism, and resistance to authoritarian rule.
Over the years, the union has become a significant voice in broader demands for accountability and social justice.
