The largest film festival in Africa, Fespaco, opened on Saturday in Ouagadougou in the presence of the Prime Minister of Mali, a country guest of honor and shaken like Burkina Faso by jihadist violence.
“
Mali and Burkina Faso are two brotherly countries
” which “
are confronted today, as you know, with a security challenge.
Our fight for peace and sovereignty remains the priority
”, affirmed Choguel Kokalla Maïga, very applauded.
Burkina and Mali are led by putschist soldiers.
“
Our two countries are together, shoulder to shoulder, facing the terrorist hydra
,” added Choguel Maïga.
In this context, culture has a "
vanguard role to play in the peace process
", he argued.
Read alsoAfter Mali and Burkina, what rear base for the French army in the Sahel?
On a huge stage, around sixty dancers mimed fights to the rhythms of several drummers.
The host of the opening ceremony explained that the choreography wanted to show the "
courage and bravery
" of Burkinabe youth in the face of jihadism.
The performance, titled “
20 million VDP
” (Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland, civilian auxiliaries of the army), refers to the number of inhabitants of Burkina which has approximately 22 million inhabitants.
A dozen VDPs died in an attack in the north on Wednesday, following the deaths on February 17 and 20 of at least 70 soldiers in two attacks near Mali, also in the north.
In total, since 2015, the violence has left more than 10,000 dead in Burkina and some two million internally displaced people.
It was during “
this crisis that this 28th edition was placed under the theme of African cinemas and cultures of peace
”, declared Fidèle Aymar Tamini, president of the Fespaco organizing committee.
For his part, the Burkinabè Minister of Communication and Culture, Jean-Emmanuel Ouedraogo, affirmed that “
Mali and Burkina Faso were progressing together in common projects in terms of integration and cooperation
”.