Thomas Sankara spoke to a rally of several thousand people in
Ouagadougou on March 26, 1983. At the time, Sankara was prime
minister of the Council for the Salvation of the People. The CSP,
headed by President Jean-Baptiste Ouedraogo, had been established
following a November 1982 coup. This speech is translated from
Carrefour africain, April 1, 1983.

Thank you for having gathered here at this January 3 Square. I
congratulate you for responding to the call of the Council for the Sal-
vation of the People (CSP) because by doing this you have shown
that the people of Upper Volta are a mighty people.
When the people stand up, imperialism trembles. As it watches us,
imperialism is worried. It trembles. Even now imperialism is won-
dering how to break the ties being forged between the CSP and the
people. Imperialism is trembling. It is trembling with fear because
here in this very town of Ouagadougou we are going to bury it.
I congratulate you for coming to show those who disparage us, in-
side and outside the country, that they are wrong. They misjudged
us. They thought they could stop the CSP's march toward the people
with their maneuvers aimed at brainwashing and intimidating. But
you are here. You have shown that the opposite is true. And im-
perialism trembles and will tremble even more.
People of Upper Volta, represented by the town of Ouagadougou,
thank you — thank you for giving us the opportunity to give you
truthful information, information that comes from the people.
What is our purpose here?
Our purpose is to tell you exactly what our enemies want, what the
CSP wants, and what you, the people, have a right to. The people
love liberty and democracy and will thus combat all enemies of lib-
erty and democracy.
But who are these enemies of the people?
They are to be found both here at home and abroad. At this very
moment they are trembling, but you must expose them. You must
drive them back into their holes. The enemies of the people here in-
side the country are all those who have illicitly taken advantage of
their social position and their place in the bureaucracy to enrich
themselves. By means of bribery, maneuvers, and forged documents
they have become shareholders in different companies. They are now
involved in financing businesses and obtaining approval for this or
that enterprise — in the guise of helping Upper Volta. These are the
enemies of the people. They must be exposed. They must be com-
bated. We will combat them with you.
Who are the enemies of the people? They are that group of
bourgeois who enrich themselves dishonestly through fraud and brib-
ery, through the corruption of state officials, so that they can bring all
kinds of products into Upper Volta, increasing the price tenfold.
These are the enemies of the people. This section of the bourgeoisie
must be fought against, and we will fight against it.
Who are the enemies of the people? They are the men in politics
who travel through the countryside exclusively at election time.
These politicians are convinced that only they can make our country
work. The CSP, however, is convinced that Upper Volta' s seven
million people represent seven million political beings capable of
leading this country. These enemies of the people must be exposed
and combated. We will combat them with you.
The enemies of the people are likewise those who keep us in igno-
rance. Under the cover of spiritual guidance and tradition, they
exploit the people instead of serving their real spiritual needs and
their real social interests. They must be fought against, and we will
fight them.
Let me ask you: do you like these enemies of the people, yes or
no?
[Shouts of "No!"]
Do you like them?
[Shouts of "No!"]
So we must fight them.
Will you fight them here at home?
[Shouts of "Yes!"]
On with the fight!
The enemies of the people are also beyond our borders. Their base
is among unpatriotic people here in our midst at every level of our so-
ciety — civilian and military men, men and women, old and young,
in town and country alike. These enemies from abroad — neo-
colonialism, imperialism — are among us.
From its base among these stateless men, those who have rejected
their homeland, who have rejected Upper Volta, who have, in fact,
rejected the people of Upper Volta, this enemy abroad is organizing
a series of attacks. These will come in two stages. First will come the
nonviolent and then the violent stage.
At this moment, we are living through the nonviolent stage. This
enemy abroad — imperialism, neocolonialism — is attempting to
sow confusion in the minds of the Voltaic people. According to their
newspapers, radios, and televisions Upper Volta is all fire and blood.
Well, you are here, people of Upper Volta. Your presence proves
that imperialism is wrong and that its lies will never stick. You are
here. You are here and on your feet. It is imperialism's turn to trem-
ble today.
A foreign journalist in a faraway country, sitting in his swivel
chair in an air-conditioned office, dared to report that the CSP's in-
formational meetings have failed. Have they failed? You are here,
answer me.
[Shouts of "No!"]
Have they failed?
[Shouts of "No!"]
I hope that imperialism can hear you answer no. Say it again. Have
they failed?
[Shouts of "No!"]
You see, imperialism is wrong. But imperialism is a bad student.
Even though it's been defeated, though it's been sent out of the class-
room, it comes back again. It's a bad student. Imperialism never
draws the lessons from its failures. It's down in South Africa cutting
African throats — just because Africans there are thinking about
freedom, as you are today. Imperialism is down there crushing the
Arab peoples — that's Zionism.
Imperialism is everywhere, making us think like it, submit to it,
and go along with its maneuvers by spreading its culture far and wide
with the help of misinformation. We must bar the road to this im-
perialism.
As I said, it will proceed to a violent stage. It is this imperialism
that landed troops in certain countries we know. Imperialism armed
those who are killing our brothers in South Africa. Imperialism again
is the assassin of the Lumumbas, Cabrals, and Kwame Nkrumahs.
But I'll tell you something, in fact I'll promise you — because I
have confidence in you and you have confidence in the CSP — that
thanks to the education we will give our people, when this im-
perialism comes here we will bury it. We will bury it right here.
Ouagadougou will be its bolibana — the end of the road for im-
perialism.
Imperialism is using its more subtle methods to try to sow division
within the Council for the Salvation of the People. Already it has
managed to create anxiety and fear in the minds of the people. But
we are not afraid. For the first time in Upper Volta something funda-
mental is happening, something completely new. Until now, the peo-
ple have never had the power to establish political democracy. While
the army has always had the possibility of taking power, it has never
wanted democracy.
For the very first time we see an army that wants both power and
democracy, and that is genuinely seeking to ally with the people. For
the first time, too, we see the masses come out in impressive num-
bers and reach out to the army. We believe this army, which is taking
the destiny of the Voltaic people in its hands, is the people's army.
This is why I welcome the placards here that talk of the people's
army.
In order to weaken us, our enemies at home and abroad rely on a
certain number of factors. I'll mention some and leave you to com-
plete the list. They would have us believe that the CSP is blocking
the normal functioning of the state machinery because we've made
some decisions to the detriment of certain civil service executives.
We have taken such decisions because we think that there are those