A demonstration in Bamako against France and President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, August 11, 2020. - AFP

The calls for dialogue by the Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the rain did not discourage opponents. Protests, without incident, resumed in Mali. Thousands of people gathered in Bamako on Tuesday, demanding the resignation of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta (IKB), accused by the opposition of having set up an “oligarchic and plutocratic” system.

A corrupt regime according to the opposition

In a statement, the Mouvement du 5 Juin / Rassemblement des forces patriotiques (M5-RFP), one of the leading groups in the protest, affirmed that the people were "entitled to the same respects expressed in favor of those of Burkina Faso, The Gambia. , from Algeria, but also from Lebanon in the face of corrupt leaders without a constructive vision ”. "This way of managing (…) has brought Mali to the edge of the abyss and today compromises stability in the Sahel, even in the sub-region".

Two months after the start of the demonstrations, the slogan is the same: "Our goal is the resignation of IBK and its regime", according to Issa Kaou Djim, the coordinator of the platform (CMAS) of support for Imam Mahmoud Dicko, a leading figure in the protest movement. “Even if we didn't like the ECOWAS way of doing things, we thank them for their gesture. But it is time that we talk to Malians, ”said Imam Dicko.

Fears of chaos

The signs brandished by the demonstrators targeted President Keïta, in power since 2013, but also his Prime Minister Boubou Cissé. This is the first demonstration against power since the truce announced on July 21 by the opposition for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.

The current crisis, which makes the international community fear that Mali is sinking into chaos, emerged in early June, after the invalidation of some thirty legislative results of March-April by the Constitutional Court. The disputed members of the court have since been replaced.

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  • Bamako
  • ECOWAS
  • Demonstration
  • West Africa
  • Mali
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