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Burkina Faso opposition wants explanation on travel ban against leaders

Xinhua, June 16, 2016 Adjust font size:

Burkina Faso's political opposition has questioned the motive behind recent prohibition of two officials of the former ruling party, Congress for Democracy and Progress (CDP), from travelling to Abidjan.

"The opposition wishes to express its total disapproval of such arbitrary acts," the opposition parties said in a joint statement issued on Wednesday evening in Abidjan.

On June 4, the interim CDP president Achille Tapsoba and the party treasurer Zambende Theodore, were removed from a plane heading to Cote d'Ivoire, where the deposed president Blaise Compaore has been living since the fall of his regime in October 2014.

In the statement, the opposition equally castigated Burkina Faso's Justice Minister Simon Compaore for "turning himself into Burkinabe judiciary by giving himself the power to bar any opposition leader who wants to leave the country without clear reasons."

"The opposition wishes to stand in solidarity with CDP officials and encourages them to use all available legal means to shed more light on this matter," the statement concluded.

After the fall of Compaore's regime, following a popular uprising in October 2014, the former president fled to neighbouring Cote d'Ivoire.

Several of his close allies were arrested and detained, but in the last few weeks, some of them have been released on bail, raising some concerns among a section of the population.

In early June, tens of people held peaceful protests in front of the Ouagadougou court house against the release of former officials during Compaore's regime. Enditem