The authorities of Burkina Faso have summoned the ambassador of the European Union (EU) in Ouagadougou to express their rejection of a resolution approved last week by the European Parliament, which denounces "the repression of civic space and fundamental freedoms" in this African country, governed by a military junta since the coups d'état of 2022.
The Burkinabe Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Marie Traoré Karamoko, conveyed an official protest to the representative of the community bloc, Philippe Bronchain, and made known the "disapproval," "disappointment," and, "above all, the unease" caused by the text promoted by French MEP Christophe Gomart.
The head of Burkina Faso's diplomacy maintained that the resolution is based on "erroneous information" and asserted that the country "has long been fighting against insecurity alongside Mali and Niger," according to a statement released by the Burkinabe Ministry of Foreign Affairs on social media.
"We believe that a parliamentarian who presents erroneous figures about a country he has not visited has tarnished the integrity of the European Parliament with a speech of a neo-colonialist nature," stated Karamoko, who insisted that the country "is fully sovereign in matters of internal policy."
In this vein, he lashed out at Gomart for his words during the resolution debate and accused him of omitting data to support his theses. "This deputy knows very well how the security situation the country is currently experiencing began," the minister pointed out.
"Setting aside NATO's responsibility in the destabilization of Libya, the consequences of which have fallen upon our countries, for him to come and speak so freely about the security situation seems, in a way, unhealthy," concluded Karamoko, who requested Bronchain to formally convey this complaint to the EU institutions.
The resolution, which passed with 476 votes in favor, eleven against, and 75 abstentions, urges the Burkinabe authorities "to defend freedom of association, assembly, and expression in the country," after censuring the "dissolution and suspension of civil society organizations."
Likewise, the European Parliament stressed that "freedom of the press is seriously threatened", for which MEPs called for "the lifting of restrictions imposed on the media and for journalists to be allowed to work freely and safely", in addition to demanding "independent" investigations into allegations of human rights violations.
In line with this, the text condemned "intimidation, illegal recruitment, harassment, arbitrary detention and forced disappearances in the country", and called on Ouagadougou to annul its decision to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC) and for the fight against terrorism to be carried out "with full respect for International Humanitarian Law".
Finally, MEPs expressed their "deep concern" about "Russia's influence in Burkina Faso since the expulsion of European forces", influence which, in their opinion, "is contributing to human rights violations and a drift towards authoritarianism".