New Burkina opposition coalition slams 'pariah' status

Ouagadougou (AFP) - Eight opposition groups including the party of Burkina Faso's ousted strongman Blaise Compaore formed a "reconciliation coalition" on Sunday and accused authorities in the west African nation of treating rivals as pariahs.

Meeting in the capital Ouagadougou almost two years to the day since the fall of Compaore, who was driven from power in a popular uprising after 27 years, the grouping said it sought dialogue and better social cohesion a year after an abortive coup.

The "Coalition for Democracy and National Reconciliation" (CODER), groups a number of political groupings including Compaore's Congress for Democracy and Progress.

CODER "is not just a framework for dialogue, consultation and political action but also seeks to achieve cohesion, unity and national reconciliation," spokesman Ablasse Ouedraogo said.

In its launch manifesto, CODER blasted social and economic problems and attacked the judicial system, which it accused of being "almost exclusively concerned with punishing former allies (who) today are declared to be pariahs of the republic."

CODER also urged President Roch Marc Christian Kabore, elected last November, to open an "inclusive national dialogue, the only path which leads to peace and national unity."

Some of the coalition groups have ties with politicians who were involved in last year's putsch attempt.