Mali: the police react to the announcement of their militarization
Malian police in 2018, in Bamako.
(illustrative image) REUTERS / Luc Gnago
Text by: David Baché
2 mins
The police will soon become an integral part of the army.
A change of status announced just a week ago, last Wednesday, at the end of the Council of Ministers.
Objective: “to deploy the national police in the areas reconquered by the army.
However, this major change has so far not been the subject of any clarification from the Malian transitional authorities, nor any official reaction from the police unions.
RFI collected, on condition of anonymity, testimonies from police officers.
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None of the many police unions - there are twelve - contacted by RFI has yet an official position.
Everywhere, the “
reflections
” are “
still in progress
”.
It is therefore an understatement to say that the announcement does not arouse immediate enthusiasm.
And criticism of such a measure, which directly concerns the Malian defense and security forces, is obviously delicate in the current context.
However, even off the microphone, several police officers say they welcome this change in status.
"
We are ready to do anything to defend the homeland
", explains a policeman, "
becoming a soldier does not change anything for me
", says another, "
we are on a mission for the people
".
“
I'm waiting to find out more, tempers a commissioner, for the moment, we don't know anything about the bill.
And to point out that before taking this major decision, the Malian transitional authorities did not consult the police unions.
“
We are already in the north and in the center, policemen are already dying by jumping on mines, there was no need to change our status!
“, an officer is outright indignant, who also brushes aside the argument of the workforce: “
Many dearly trained soldiers do administrative work in the ministries in Bamako.
Several police officers
, unionized or not, believe that the authorities have the “
hidden aim
” of stifling any protest.
In the army, trade unions are prohibited, as is the right to strike.
Last month, the police unions had all mobilized around wage demands.
Once passed into the bosom of the army, this type of gathering will no longer be permitted.
"
We will no longer have the right to strike, our unions will be dissolved, it is a great fear
", recognizes a union leader.
Another, however, hopes that the militarization of the police will precisely be the occasion for a salary catch-up.
Another fear, the transposition of ranks: “
in the police, there are officers and non-commissioned officers, as in the army, but also commissioners.
What will become of them?
»
No deadline has yet been given for the presentation of the bill to the National Transitional Council.
"
The biggest risk is excessive violence
"
The militarization of the police must allow, according to the press release published last Wednesday, to "deploy the National Police in the areas reconquered by the Army." David
Baché
put the question to Arthur Banga, a researcher at the Félix Houphouët-Boigny University in Abidjan, a specialist in armies and defense issues.
This means that after an operation or a fight led by the armies, the combing and "holding the area" can be done by the police forces.
This should allow the army to progress more quickly, knowing that militarization supposes that at the level of equipment and training, there will be a transformation to precisely allow the police to be able to carry out much more military missions. .
So the idea is to deploy in areas where the police would be absent today, and to fill a void that today penalizes populations in very large parts of the territory...
Exactly.
First to be able to fill this vacuum, but then to be able to use the police in military operations.
The police will therefore have the task of securing, searching, and even supporting the army in purely military operations.
And it was necessary, for that, to pass the police into the bosom of the army? The current status of the police was not enough?
The idea is to give a much more legal status to this use of the font.
If you do not give this status, the police will be able to say one day: "it is not our role, we are not trained for that or we do not have the equipment for it."
But it can also create a mix of genres: we can no longer really tell the difference between the army and the police.
The biggest risk is that, precisely, on banal, normal police operations, we find a force having received military training with the use of excessive violence.
The risk is therefore the use of violence and respect for human rights.
The second problem is the question of proximity: by over-equipping the police, or by giving them purely military training, we can lose
Is there not also a risk for the rights of the police officers themselves, who will no longer have unions in particular?
Naturally!
From that moment, the police will no longer have the right to strike or any trade union rights.
She will lose the benefits of her current civil status.
Claims will be made as in the military, through the hierarchy, theoretically.
They will not be visible.
Obviously, the police will lose this advantage, and it's "all good" for the junta because it will lead to fewer demonstrations and disputes.
But it must be said that in the sub-region, in Côte d'Ivoire for example, the police are already militarized, and this has made it possible to use the police on the front lines.
Any leader prefers to have a police force that is not able to discuss, but we can also hear the operational reasons.
This means that normally after an operation or a fight led by the armies, the search of the area can be returned to the police forces.
This should allow the army to progress faster.
Knowing that militarization supposes that at the level of equipment, training, there will be a transformation to allow the police to be able to carry out much more military missions.
Arthur Banga, researcher at the Félix Houphouët-Boigny University in Abidjan, specialist in armies and defense issues.
David Bache
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