Burkina Faso–Ghana relations

A West African Union, as it had existed as a Union of African States until the early 1960s between Ghana, Guinea and Mali, were trying to build the heads of state of Ghana and Burkina Faso mid-1980s.

Through military coups were in 1981 in Ghana and 1983 in Upper Volta ( since 1984 renamed Burkina Faso ) Jerry Rawlings and Thomas Sankara came to power. Both looked in the pan-African tradition of the former Ghanaian president Kwame Nkrumah and cultivated a friendship with Libya's revolutionary leader Muammar Gaddafi, both leaders pursued similar paths first socialist reforms in the interior and non-aligned external independence. Together with Benin and Burkina Faso and Ghana, Libya pursued closer political, economic and military cooperation between the "progressive states in West Africa " to.

A Joint Ministerial Commission of Ghana and Burkina Faso is therefore known already at its meeting on 31 March to 2 April 1985 in Ouagadougou for the political integration of both countries, Burkina Faso should draw up a draft constitution for a to forming supranational political body. On January 16, 1986 also came Rawlings paid a working visit to Sankara to Burkina Faso. Played an important role in the project, that on both sides of the border, at the mark already worked together for joint committees, many members of the people of the Mossi lived, the Sankara came from.

In view of the rapidly deteriorating relations between 1985 Burkina Faso and Mali sought Sankara military allies. During the war around the Agacher Strip in December 1985, within the West African Conseil de l' Entente Ivory Coast Mali supported, Burkina Faso found support in Ghana. At the next meeting of the Joint Ministerial Commission Burkina Faso and Ghana announced on August 16 at 1986 steps for further integration. The Commission agreed the formation of a " political body at a high level ", should develop the measures for the harmonization of currencies and trade, the energy sector, the transport sector and the education system. English and French should be in high schools, colleges and universities of the other State compulsory subject, and for the training of lawyers a common institution should be created. The armed forces of both countries held in September and October 1986 joint maneuvers, the respective " Committee for the Defense of the Revolution " should be merged. A complete unification of the two states in a union should be achieved within ten years.

At a further meeting between Rawlings and Sankara in Tamale in nordghanaischen Mossi area, both sides reaffirmed on April 11, 1987 reiterated their intention to cross the bilateral cooperation to a political integration of the two countries.

With the coup in Burkina Faso from 15 October 1987 to the assassination of Sankara the Union project came to a sudden end. A supported counter-coup some of Ghana Sankara supporters failed on 27 October. In December 1987, then met the joint boundary commission to the final mark of demarcation between the two countries, the project of a merger has not been taken up at a reconciliation meeting between Rawlings and Sankara's successor Blaise Compaoré in January 1988 in Tamale.

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