Mali: seven people charged with undermining internal state security
The Malian Armed Forces (FAMa) patch worn by a soldier during Operation Barkhane in Ndaki, Mali, July 29, 2019. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
Text by: David Baché
5 mins
The Malian transitional government claims to have foiled a coup attempt "
on the night of May 11 to 12
", led by a "
small group of Malian anti-progressive officers and non-commissioned officers
", "
supported by a state western
”.
We now know more about the suspects.
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According to judicial sources, seven of them were presented on Tuesday, May 17 in the afternoon before the Court of Commune 6 in Bamako.
Charged with
undermining the internal security of the State and attempted destabilization
, they were placed under a warrant of committal.
The most senior of them is Colonel Amadou Keïta.
Rapporteur of the Defense Commission of the National Transitional Council (CNT), he is considered close to Colonel Malick Diaw, president of the CNT and member of the junta which brought to power the current Malian president,
Colonel Assimi Goïta
.
The other defendants are lieutenant, second lieutenant, chief sergeant and adjutant of the infantry, military security or cavalry.
A member of the Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA), the former rebels who signed the 2015 peace agreement, is also among the accused.
A CMA spokesperson says Baba Ahmed Ag Ahmeida was arrested on May 7, five days before the alleged coup attempt, and denies any involvement in a coup attempt.
France accused of being maneuvering
The Malian authorities have not communicated any details on the acts of these seven suspects, accused in the government press release of having wanted to "
break the dynamics of the refoundation of Mali
".
Bamako also points to the support of a Western country in this putsch attempt.
Drissa Meminta, spokesperson for the Yerewolo-Debout movement on the ramparts, which supports the transitional authorities and defends Mali's national sovereignty,
points to France
:
“
We are not surprised.
We were aware that the path we have taken is full of pitfalls and obstacles.
We were going to do everything to prevent us and Mali from evolving.
Imperialism has several branches.
First they try on the political side, and if that doesn't work, they try with terrorists or rebels.
We knew this was coming.
This is what everyone has been told: the Mali of today is different from the Mali of yesterday.
Today, we have authorities watching.
The only country that said it was going to isolate Mali is known to be France.
The only country that said it would do everything to destabilize Mali is France.
Behind this coup attempt hides France.
Joined by RFI, French diplomatic sources formally deny any link.
► To read also: Mali: Malians in France divided on support for the transitional authorities in Bamako
The opposition points to growing unease at the heart of the Malian army
Malian security and judicial sources believe that those arrested may have expressed disagreement and a form of dissatisfaction about the conduct of military operations on the ground, as well as about certain changes within the hierarchy.
One of these sources refers to a "purge" among dissenting voices within the army.
Ismaël Sacko, president of the African Social Democratic Party, is one of the leaders of the Framework which brings together the opposition parties to the ruling junta.
He believes that this announcement by the authorities masks above all a growing unease within the army.
“
We have all the elements which show that the command of the military chain is not respected and that it is not unanimous.
This could explain a possible coup attempt to end a tyrannical and dictatorial regime.
We have echoes according to which the chain of command is not well respected.
Proof of this is that they themselves accuse certain comrades of struggles within them.
This may also explain why Colonel Assimi Goïta preferred to entrust his security to
Wagner
, and that he himself, instead of taking up arms, preferred to bunker himself between the presidential palace and Kati.
This does not reassure,
says Ismaël Sacko
.
The statement said that there would be a foreign country at the base of this attempted coup. Why would there always be a foreign country behind any attempt that could destabilize their regime? Why don't they themselves understand that the majority of Malians who are silent are not in tune with these authorities? And that even within their ranks, there are people who do not share their way of leading?
»
► To read also: Mali: Jnim jihadists claim to have captured "Wagner soldiers"
“
No Malian can remain insensitive and inactive
”
Konimba Sidibé, president of the Movement for a Common Destiny (Modec), sees this coup attempt as "
harbinger of a crisis
".
A former minister and founding member of the M5, the movement from which the current Prime Minister came, he was suspended last month from the party's strategic office because of disagreements with Choguel Maïga.
"
I condemn this attempt at destabilization with the utmost vigor, but it denotes deep malaise, carrying an equally deep political crisis in the country
", Konimba Sidibé.
“
I urge the Malian political class to immediately meet the president of the transition to examine the situation in depth and identify the necessary and useful actions to consider in order to curb the looming crisis and preserve Mali, Malian women and Malians of highly damaging consequences.
It is a highly patriotic duty
,” he concludes.
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