ECOWAS envoys in Mali to ease heated political tension
Bamako, Mali (PANA) - A delegation of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) arrived here Thursday to help resolve the political crisis shaking Mali, official sources told PANA.
According to the same sources, the ECOWAS envoys immediately held talks with the Rally of Patriotic Forces (M5 RFP), bringing together religious associations and opposition political parties.
The MSRFP held a large rally on 5 June to denounce “the mismanagement” and “bad management of crises” which Mali has been going through for years, and called for the resignation of Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Kéita.
For an hour, the negotiators and political opponents reviewed the situation, with the former seeking to better understand the grievances and claims while the latter tried to convince them of the legitimacy of their revolt.
After the main M5 RFP leaders, the sub-regional mediators listened to influential Mahmoud Dicko, leading figure of the revolt, and representatives of the presidential majority.
Completing the series of talks with the different actors of the Malian political arena, the ECOWAS delegation largely shared with members of the framework for actions, mediation and alert composed of representatives of religious groups, notables and civil society organisations.
The ECOWAS delegation will then be received in audience by President Keita at the presidential palace of Koulouba on the mountains of Bamako.
Before flying to Mali, the delegation, composed of the ministers of foreign affairs of Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Niger and the chairman of the ECOWAS Commission, had been received earlier Thursday morning in Niamey by Nigerien President Issoufou Mahamadou, current chairman of ECOWAS.
“The objective of the meeting concerns Mali where there are presently political and social challenges, and as current ECOWAS chairman, President Issoufou charged us to travel there for mediation,” the Nigerian minister of foreign affairs Geoffrey, who chaired the delegation, said on their arrival in Bamako.
The coordination of movements, associations and sympathizers (CMAS) of Imam Mahmoud Dicko, the Front for the safeguard of Democracy (FSD), bringing together political parties, opposition particularly, and Espoir Mali-Koura (EMK) of former minister of Culture and Film director Cheick Oumar Sissoko, the main leaders of the protest, Wednesday rejected an offer for talks with President Keita.
They insisted that on Friday, 19 June, there would be a large rally at the Independence Square in Bamako to demand the resignation of President Kéita.
-0- PANA GT/IS/MSA/RA 18Jun2020
