Denouncing a “masquerade”, a collective of Malian civil society parties and organizations rejected the prospect of several years of military rule recommended following consultations organized by the junta. The stakeholders in this collective “vigorously denounce the masquerade of inter-Malian dialogue [lancée] by the authorities in place and reject its recommendations », they say in a press release consulted Monday May 13 on social networks and authenticated by Agence France-Presse (AFP). The military “want to stay in power forever by taking Mali and the Malians hostage”adds the press release.
Consultations organized by the junta and supposed to produce solutions to end the crisis were ” recommended “ Friday several additional years of military rule and a candidacy from the head of this junta, Colonel Assimi Goïta, for a future presidential election. The application of these conclusions leaves little doubt, Colonel Goïta having once again welcomed these “recommendations” Monday.
“We are going to take steps to implement the approximately 300 recommendations from Malians that you have just given me”, he said in Bambara, without going into detail, in a video posted on the presidency’s Facebook page after the submission of the recommendations. These recommendations “will be closely monitored”he declared in French on state television: “The happy outcome of this process gives us real hope for the lasting resolution of the conflict that we have been aiming for for more than a decade. »
Boycott
Since 2012, Mali has been plunged into a deep security and political crisis fueled by jihadism, violence by armed groups and independence demands in the North. The country experienced a double military coup, in 2020 and 2021, and the colonels who lead it failed to fulfill the commitment made to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to organize elections and give way to elected civilians by March 29, 2024.
Since 2020, they have increased their acts of rupture and turned militarily and politically towards Russia. They denounced the Algiers peace agreement signed in 2015 with separatist groups in the North and considered by international partners and the United Nations (UN) as a primary stabilization factor. They instead launched a “inter-Malian dialogue for peace” which ended on Friday. Much of what remains of the opposition boycotted this “dialogue”. The authorities have dissolved a number of critical organizations since 2020. They suspended party activities in April.
Some of these organizations and parties signed the press release published on social networks. Friday’s recommendations do not reflect “in no way the will of the people”they say, noting the sidelining of all opposition, and have not “given birth to no Malian peace initiative” despite the announced objective. According to them, the authorities ignore the daily difficulties of Malians, faced with insecurity, the high cost of living, unemployment and power cuts, and “have demonstrated their notorious incapacity to provide even the slightest beginning of a solution”.