BAMAKO: The military government in Mali has begun talks with opposition groups on its promised transition to civilian rule after mounting pressure in recent weeks to yield power.
The military government’s leaders, who overthrew President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in a coup in August, pledged to step down after an undefined transition period. Keita left the country on Saturday for medical treatment in Abu Dhabi.
The coup prompted Mali’s neighbours and former colonial ruler France to demand a swift transfer of power to civilian rule, with fears the crisis could affect other states in the region.
The talks in Bamako on Saturday were to be held under the military government chief, Assimi Goita, but he was not present, a military source told AFP.
“Since 18 August, we are charting a new history for our country,” Malick Diaw, the military government’s No. 2. told the opening session.
Saturday’s summit was originally planned for last weekend but was called off at the last minute after a quarrel between the military and the June 5 Movement (M5-RFP), which spearheaded the protests that led to the toppling of Keita.
M5-RFP coalition protest
Less than an hour after the opening ceremony began, supporters of the M5-RFP coalition began to protest, accusing the military government of excluding them from most working groups. Supporters of M5-RFP in the conference hall shouted down the moderator onstage, bringing proceedings to a halt.
“This smells rotten,” Moussa Ouattara, an M5-RFP supporter, told AFP. “The CNSP is in all the groups but the M5-RFP is only in one group,” he said, referring to the National Committee for the Salvation of the People.
The moderator later announced that the M5-RFP would be able to participate in all the working groups, which calmed the coalition’s supporters and allowed the event to resume.
The M5-RFP voiced enthusiastic support for the coup but sharply criticised the military government last week after it was not invited to preliminary consultations about the transition.