Mali celebrates sixty years of its independence without pomp
The head of the junta, Assimi Goïta, during the ceremonies of 60 years of the independence of Mali, in Bamako, September 22, 2020. MICHELE CATTANI / AFP
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5 mins
In Bamako, the ceremonies for the independence day took place this Tuesday morning.
And it was Colonel Assimi Goïta, the head of the junta, who presided over the festivities.
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With our special correspondent in Bamako
,
Florence Morice
Mali is celebrating its 60th anniversary this Tuesday
.
A celebration of independence in a particular context, one month after the coup of August 18 which overthrew ex-president IBK, and the day after
the appointment of Bah N'Daw,
retired officer and former minister of Defense, as president of the transition.
The investiture of this one is scheduled for this Friday, and this morning, Bah N'Daw
was not present at the military challenge organized in Bamako for this 60th anniversary.
On the other hand, we noted the presence, in military uniform, of General Amadou Sanogo, author of the putsch that overthrew Amadou Toumani Touré in 2012. Detained for more than six years for the alleged assassination of anti-putschist soldiers, he remained very discreet since his provisional release last January.
The ceremony, this Tuesday, was rather sober, especially if we compare it to those, grandiose, of the fiftieth anniversary of Mali.
Officially, it is justified by the internal context but also because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In fact, almost everyone wore a mask.
It is Assimi Goïta, head of the junta that overthrew ex-president IBK, who chaired these short celebrations - less than an hour -, he who retains the post of vice-president in the transition.
His intervention was brief.
True to his reputation, Assimi Goïta did not stay more than a few minutes at the platform where the journalists were waiting for him.
He called on the Malians to “
sacred union
” and to support the foreign armed forces present in Mali as part of the fight against terrorism: “
We ask the Malian population to support the armed forces of defense and security.
And this is also an opportunity, for me, to ask the population to support our partners, with the Barkhane force, the Minusma, the G5 force, the Takouba force.
"
A message for ECOWAS
A message which is not insignificant when we know that the presence of French and UN soldiers for seven years in Mali is contested by part of the population.
Colonel Goïta's second message was addressed to ECOWAS, which until today had given the junta to designate a civilian president and prime minister on pain of strengthening the embargo in place for a month.
For Colonel Goïta, it is time to lift these sanctions: “
We have always placed the best interests of Mali.
We have never placed our personal interest.
This is why we have accepted the principles of ECOWAS.
Namely, the designation of a civilian president and the designation of a prime minister.
I think that in the days to come, ECOWAS must remove its sanctions for the happiness of the Malian population.
"
ECOWAS has not yet reacted
to the latest announcements and in particular to the appointment of a transitional president.
A source within the organization said yesterday that things were going "
in the right direction
".
But the ECOWAS waits before deciding on the appointment of a civilian Prime Minister.
Former Nigerian president expected in Mali
Goodluck Jonathan, the mediator, is expected in Bamako on Wednesday evening and must take stock with the junta on Thursday.
This is when she should see it more clearly, because there are still steps to take before having a precise idea of the face of this transition: the appointment of the Prime Minister, therefore, but also the distribution of positions. keys within the government and finally the division of roles between the president and the vice-president, who is thus Colonel Goïta, head of the junta, and who in the draft charter of the transition concentrates a lot of powers.
Too much for ECOWAS, which requested a review of this document on this point.
In Accra, last week, the heads of state of the sub-region also demanded the dissolution of the junta, the Committee for the Salvation of the People, as soon as this transition took office.
This Monday evening, many observers still feared that the choice of a former soldier for the presidency is a disguised way of getting around this requirement to "
keep control
".
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