Malians protested in large numbers against the ban

On Friday, a large number of Malians in Bamako and across the country responded to calls by the military junta to protest against West African sanctions and to face weak international pressure, AFP reporters reported.

Thousands of Malians dressed in the national colors of green, yellow and red gathered for weekly prayers in the capital, Independence Square.

Some protesters spent the night in Boulevard using this hotspot service for demonstrations in Mali.

There was also a large crowd in Timbuktu in Sangore Square in front of the mosque, several Timbuktians told AFP.

Images posted on social media show people marching behind the national flag in the streets of Guadeloupe on the border with Cte d’Ivoire. A similar scene in the south is in Bougouni.

The Malians, who were interviewed by an AFP reporter, said they took to the streets not to support military rule, but to defend the country.

Meanwhile, Colonel Azimi Koida, chairman of the military junta and interim president, confirmed the government’s “response plan” for West African sanctions, citing his services on Facebook. There are many elements of diplomacy or economics in this plan, and they say without details.

“The purpose of this plan should not be to create a stalemate with West African organizations,” he said, adding that Mali was “open to negotiations”.

The Malian government began on Monday, the day after the “serious” retaliation by the Cédéao organization in West Africa, calling for “public mobilization across the national area.”

Colonel Coyote, who brought Mali’s leader to power through a first coup in August 2020, ascended the throne for a second term in May 2021 as President of “Change”, urging the Malians to defend “(their) homeland”.

Mali, already mired in a serious security and political crisis since the eruption of independence and jihadi uprisings in 2012, has been facing tough sanctions from ECOWAS since Sunday. These punish the military’s plan to continue to rule for years, and the cancellation of the pledge to hold elections in February 2022 would have brought civilians back to the leadership of the country.

The closure of ECOWAS borders, the embargo on trade (excluding basic necessities) and the freezing of Mali’s assets in West African banks pose a serious threat to the economy of one of the world’s poorest countries, which is being violently tested. And the epidemic is heavily dependent on the mainland and the West African ports of Senegal and C டிte d’Ivoire.

West African companies and Air France have suspended flights to Bamako. The country is suffering from a lack of cash flow.

Mali was unable to complete an operation in the regional financial markets on Wednesday. It has been “cut off from the rest of the world,” says Gago Nubukpo, commissioner of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA).

Sanctions have raised the chorus of discontent in Mali. ECOWAS has been accused of being an instrument of foreign powers and an outdated club of leaders who have been cut off from the people.

– UN at work.

The junta wraps itself in national sovereignty. She asked for a further five years.

Citing persistent insecurity in two-thirds of the territory beyond the control of the authorities, he said that at present the Malians could not be called to the polls. She is asking for the opportunity to carry out the necessary reforms and hold undeniable elections accordingly.

No significant voice was raised in Mali to recognize ECOWAS. On the other hand, a certain number are concerned about Mali’s international isolation and are pushing for a resumption of talks with ECOWAS.

Colonel Coyote promised to be “open for conversation with ECOWAS”.

UN President Antonio Guterres on Thursday called on the Malian government for an “acceptable” election calendar, recalling that ECOWAS could gradually lift sanctions.

Mali’s partners, such as France and the United States, have offered their support for West African sanctions. The head of European diplomacy, Joseph Borel, on Thursday indicated that the EU would take action “in the same order” as ECOWAS.

No way out of the crisis is known at the moment. U.N. The Secretary-General said he would work with ECOWAS and the African Union to create the conditions for a return to a “fair and acceptable” position.