have the military just made a mistake by silencing political parties and associations?

In Mali, the junta has just suspended associative and political activities and banned journalists from covering news from the parties still represented in the country. The Malian military is tightening the screw even though it committed to putting power back in the hands of civil society.

This is very bad timing for Assimi Goïta and his colonels who impose silence and reject all forms of opposition, while the junta, since March 26, 2024, should be organizing elections and to restore the democratic process in Mali.

It was a promise made to the Malian population and a commitment to the Community of West African States, but Prime Minister Maïga, installed by the junta, says he wants to wait until the country is definitely stabilized. He adds that those who demand elections are playing the game “enemies of Mali”. By this name, it designates the jihadist movements, divided into several groups, which are engaged in a war against the Malian forces, as well as the coordination of the Tuareg movements of Azawad.

Broken promises

There are all the enemies of the Malian junta, like France or the UN pacification mission, who are no longer present on the territory today. This is also the case for certain opponents in exile, such as Doctor Oumar Mariko, who already explained, in January 2024, on the set of France 24, what the Malian military means by stabilizing the country. “The junta wants to clear its path, to be the sole master on board even though it has not taken any action that would allow Malians to be proud of it. In all the war zones, wherever the jihadists strike, the army lost ammunition and vehicles. It was Wagner who commanded the Malian army on the ground and his mercenaries even managed to fight off the Malian soldiers, who did not agree with the abuses against the populations. This is a reality that the junta wants to hide, but that we cannot hide.”

No one is in a position today to contradict or moderate the decisions and directions of the Malian government. By gagging nearly a hundred political parties and associations, the junta finished putting the country under lockdown. Without results, without improvements and by not keeping its commitments, Assimi Goïta continues to isolate itself and slide slowly, but surely, towards a dictatorial regime. This latest turn of the screw disqualifies all the representative voices of the Malian people, populations who until now were rather favorable to them.