Crisis in Mali: opponents of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta harden the tone

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The Malian president Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, to resolve the political crisis which shakes his country, met this Sunday in Bamako a delegation of the opposition gathered within the Movement of June 5-Rally of the patriotic forces. If he welcomed this meeting, his hosts held immediately after a meeting to mark their disappointment and even harden the tone.

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With our correspondent in Bamako , Serge Daniel

After Imam Mahmoud Dicko on Saturday, the head of state received representatives from the coalition of the June 5 Movement-Rally of Patriotic Forces coalition on Sunday, which brings together religious leaders and figures from civil society and the political world. Since June, this movement has taken to the streets of the capital tens of thousands of people opposed to the ruling power. According to the presidency, these consultations aim to decipher the political situation.

And for the Malian president, the meeting in itself is a victory for Mali. The official statement issued at the end of the meeting continues that during the interview, the Head of State reiterated to his hosts his desire to see them represent in the future government of national unity. What about the memorandum that the June 5 Movement sent him? He invited his interlocutors to initiate discussions on this subject with the presidential majority.

New event this Friday

On the side of the opponents the reading of the meeting is quite different. They believe that President IBK has ignored their requests contained in the memorandum, including the appointment of a Prime Minister of full power from their ranks to redress the country. The opposition even hardened the tone by demanding again the resignation of the head of state when this claim was no longer in their claims and was no longer present in the memorandum.

And as if the leaders of the June 5 Movement wanted to show their muscles again, they are announcing a new demonstration this Friday.

We indicated to him that we have a memorandum which has been drawn up and which has been transmitted through the moral authority of the movement, Imam Mahmoud Dicko, so we came to respond to his invitation to see the follow-up. give to this memorandum. The President of the Republic told us that he wanted us to discuss with the party which supports government action, in other words the party of the presidential majority, and that therefore what would be agreed with the party of the presidential majority and which falls within the framework of the laws and the Constitution, he will see a favorable response to this discussion. We listened to him courteously, we understood that in reality there was no discussion to make and the conclusion that we drew is that in reality the president simply reserved an end of inadmissibility of receive us at the memorandum that was sent to him.

Choguel Maïga, one of the M5 representatives

Alexandra Brangeon

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• Mali
• Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta

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