The influential Malian imam, Mahmoud Dicko, warned the ruling military junta about the “current management” from the country that “do not go”, addressing Colonel Assimi Goïta. Trained in Saudi Arabia, Mahmoud Dicko is considered the leading figure in the 2020 protests against President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta (IBK) which led to his ousting by a putsch.
“I cannot be silent about the current management of the country, I have been an agent of change, people have died in front of my door and in front of my mosque. I cannot stay out of the suite.”, he declared on November 28, 2021 during a rare public appearance in the capital Bamako, adding to have unsuccessfully requested an audience with Colonel Goïta.“I see it’s not right. That’s why I decided to speak up, he said. We don’t get along with each other, we’re not with the rest of the world. We have to join hands otherwise the country is not on the right track. (…) The current isolation of the country cannot continue “, he added.
Mali is under sanctions from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) since the coup. But above all, he has to face criticism from the international community since he decided to turn to Russia in its fight against terrorism, au great chagrin of the European Union and France which deployed Operation Barkhane on its soil.
“We would like to be able to count on Russia, a realistic and pragmatic partner which has demonstrated its effectiveness in the fight against terrorism in other theaters of operation”said Abdoulaye Diop, the Malian Minister of Foreign Affairs, on November 11, 2021, during a trip to Russia. As part of this cooperation, the Malian authorities could resort to the private company Wagner, but they assure that no contract has not yet been signed. At the beginning of October, Mali nevertheless received the delivery of four Russian military planes. Economically, the country was also excluded from the African Growth Opportunities Act (AGOA), a law that allows countries in sub-Saharan Africa to export to the United States duty-free.
In his intervention, Mahmoud Dicko underlined that he was not calling for demonstrations, nor for overthrowing the current power. Mali has been in turmoil since the coup and Colonel Goïta, 37, has been the target of international criticism since he dismissed the civilian transitional government in May in a second coup.
The “National Assizes” which were to be held in December and after which the ruling junta was to fix the date of the elections, were postponed sine die last week. The Prime Minister installed by the junta, Choguel Kokalla Maïga who is close to Imam Dicko, insists on the holding of these meetings to decide on the consequences of the transition and the holding of elections supposed to guarantee a return to civil power .
Despite pressure from part of the international community, Bamako recently notified ECOWAS that Mali would be unable to organize these elections in February 2022, citing in particular the glaring insecurity in the regions. Mali has been the scene since 2012 of a nagging conflict with repeated attacks by jihadist groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State organization, coupled with violence against civilians perpetrated by armed groups, some self-proclaimed self-defense. Regular forces are also frequently accused of abuses.