Not the first time public anger has brought down a government during a pandemic
The revolutionaries in Mali managed to overthrow the president, but they invaded the world against them
Happy soldiers to overthrow the president. EPA
The ousted president, Ibrahim Keita. Reuters
picture
It did not take long to overthrow the government of Mali in light of the Corona pandemic, which may have helped the putschists to do so, as protests erupted across this West African country weeks ago, ending up with a coup last Tuesday in the capital, Bamako, where the soldiers staged By fortifying the roads, and firing shots into the air, to cheer them up.
Shortly after midnight Wednesday, just hours after being held by rebel soldiers, Mali's president, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, put on a face mask and announced that he would resign. He said in a televised address: "I do not wish that blood will be spilled anymore in my quest to maintain power."
This may be the first coup in the era of the emerging corona virus, but it is not the first time that public anger has brought down a government during a pandemic, and it may not be the last. In Lebanon, the prime minister, Hassan Diab, resigned this month, after a massive explosion destroyed most of Beirut. Meanwhile, Belarusian protesters are still trying to topple their president, after the controversial election results.
The political tensions that forced Keita to leave his post in Mali are not new, nor are they directly related to the Corona virus, the anger at corruption and the fight against terrorism has been going on for years, but the epidemic that has spread around the world this spring may have accelerated tensions after Point of no return. It is a similar story in other countries, as this summer has been remarkable in terms of increasing the frequency of protests in the world, despite the epidemic.
American rallies flared up after the killing of a black American citizen, George Floyd, by police in Minneapolis, sparking global protests against racism. In Belarus, huge crowds rejected the August 9 elections, in which President Alexander Lukashenko declared he had won more than 80% of the vote. In Thailand, students demanded the resignation of the prime minister, Prayut Chan-ocha, who took power after a coup in 2014 and won the disputed elections last year.
Years of economic insecurity and political chaos led to massive protests in Lebanon long before the spread of the Corona virus, but the Beirut explosion, which killed more than 100 people and destroyed the capital, made protesters storm government buildings and demand the "resignation or suspension of the government." .
The seeds of Mali's coup were lurking years before the virus spread, Mali had suffered rebellion and instability for a decade. Keita came to office after the 2012 coup. Although he won the presidential elections in 2013 and again in 2018, the people's disappointment with him was constantly increasing.
During the seven years he led the country, his critics increasingly claimed that he could not lead the long battle against religious extremists linked to the terrorist organizations Al Qaeda and ISIS. Others pointed to allegations of corruption within the political elite associated with the president and his party, and then the Corona virus arrived. So far, Mali is one of the countries that have experienced a limited spread of the virus, compared to some countries, as only 2,666 cases, including 125 deaths, have been confirmed in a country with a population of 19 million, according to the latest government figures.
However, the epidemic has exacerbated the political and economic turmoil, as the Keita government has moved forward with its plans to hold parliamentary elections in March, despite the strict lockdown imposed by the virus. The kidnapping of the president of the opposition, Sumela Sisi, and the subsequent disappearances, the aspects of which are not clear yet, raises much controversy.
Election observers indicated that the turnout in the second round of the April 20 elections was less than 24%. Subsequently, Mali's Constitutional Court annulled the results, and the newly elected Keita government resigned after a massacre committed by a vigilante group that shocked the nation and left the country in a state of political deadlock.
The closure restrictions imposed for the first time in March led to more economic devastation in one of the poorest countries in the world, but the virus did not stop the escalation of extremist and rebel violence in the country, not even the presence of about 4,500 French soldiers, and many UN peacekeepers, who Many of them died from the Corona virus.
New military commanders in Mali have pledged to quickly return the country to normal life. "We can restore this country to its previous form," Colonel Ismail Waghi said in a televised speech. Leaders of the two coups say the elections will be held at an "appropriate time" and that they will not give up fighting the rebels and extremists.
However, the sudden nature of the coup drew worldwide condemnation from bodies such as the African Union and the European Union, and allies near and far. France, a major security partner of the country, was among the first countries to condemn the coup. While the US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, said that the United States seeks to "restore the constitutional government," the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, called for the immediate release of Keita and other former leaders.
Both the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States have suspended Mali's membership indefinitely. In a statement issued on Wednesday, the European Union for Economic and Financial Affairs raised the possibility of imposing international sanctions on the "financial military coups" that led the coup.
Mali plays a major role in the region, as well as in the international war against extremism, and its large size and location in the plains region, at the foot of the Sahara Desert, make it a link between West and North Africa. More recently, extremists have found their way through it to neighboring countries, such as Niger and Burkina Faso.
France, the former colonial power of Mali, sent troops to Mali in 2012 to help fight extremists who had taken over cities in the north of the country. Those forces have been there for seven years, in what has been called the "eternal war" against the extremists. The United States also has a small military presence in Mali, often to provide training and intelligence.
The protesters in Mali, who sought to overthrow Keita, were hoping for a better economic future and an end to the conflicts that have swept the country for years, but the coup that toppled the president may frustrate these two goals in the short term. Analysts warn that the coup could harm the gold trade on which the Malian economy depends in a way that the Corona virus has not done before. France may refuse to work with those who ousted a major ally, while US law prohibits aid to governments formed by military coups.
A financial coup could also offer hard lessons for other countries in political turmoil. The epidemic exposed inequality in societies and the failure of governments, but while the epidemic has made it easy to tear down old corrupt regimes, it is still difficult to form a new order in their place.
The lockdown restrictions imposed for the first time in March have resulted in further economic devastation in one of the world's poorest countries, but the virus has not stopped the rise in extremist and insurgent violence in the country, not even many UN peacekeepers.
The pandemic has exacerbated the political and economic turmoil, as the Keita government has moved forward with its plans to hold parliamentary elections in March, despite the strict lockdown imposed by the virus.
Mali plays a major role in the region, as well as in the international war against extremism, and its large size and location in the plains region, at the foot of the Sahara Desert, make it a link between West and North Africa.