Mali opposition rejects ECOWAS proposals to overcome crisis
The Malian opposition, grouped in the M5-RFP movement, categorically rejected the proposals made by the extraordinary summit of the Community of West African States (ECOWAS) held precisely to help emerge from the deep crisis in which Mali is immersed.
The proposals made by ECOWAS "do not correspond in any way to the hopes and aspirations of the Malian people, and furthermore they violate the laws and the Constitution of Mali which the movement respects," according to a statement by the M5-RFP issued in the last hours.
These proposals included the formation of a government of national unity, the resignation of 31 parliamentarians elected in April in dubious circumstances, the reshuffling of the Constitutional Court and the formation of a commission of inquiry into the latest violent events, but did not call into question the figure of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. An influential opposition group in Mali rejected a proposal by regional mediators on Sunday aimed at ending a political crisis in which at least 11 people have been killed this month during protests against President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.
The opposition movement "demands more than ever the resignation of Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and his regime," the statement said. It also reiterated its "determination to continue the fight to save Mali from its disappearance as a state, nation, democracy and secular republic.
But beyond this announcement, some cracks appear within the opposition movement, such as the withdrawal of the charismatic religious leader Mahmoud Dicko from its ranks, who has declared to be withdrawing from any protest activity and who wishes "not to be held responsible for the disturbances that may occur" from now on.
On the government side, there has not yet been a formal acceptance of the ECOWAS proposals, but last night the president unexpectedly appointed six ministers - five new ones and one repeat - to what appears to be the core of a future government of national unity.
The appointment, communicated by decree and without further explanation, means that in that future cabinet Ibrahim Boubacar Keita will reserve the most important ministries: Defence, Security (Interior), Foreign Affairs, Justice, Finance and Territorial Administration, so that the opposition and civil society will only have second-tier portfolios.
