Protesters prevented from handing to president IBK letter calling him to resign

20 Juin 2020

Bamako, Mali, June 20 (Infosplusgabon) – The security forces here Friday prevented representatives of the 5 June Movement from getting access to Koulouba, the presidential palace, to hand over a letter to President Ibrahim Boubacar Kéita (IBK) calling on him to resign.

The Rally of Patriotic forces (M5-RFP) was asked right after a large peaceful demonstration at the Independence Square in Bamako to hand over the letter to the president

However, influential imam Mahmoud Dicko, former chairman of the Malian High Islamic Council (HCIM), main initiator of the protest for several days against the president warned: "From now on, we think the people will disperse and that’s all. As long as we are not satisfied, this will continue and what was said (civil disobedience) will be applied in Mali".

On Friday, following an appeal by the movement, M5-RFP, thousands of people gathered at the Independence Square in central to demand once again the resignation of President IBK, accused of mismanagement and bad governance of the crises shaking Mali.

Speaking for more than 30 minutes, Imam Mahmoud Dicko took stock of the situation of the country since the 5 June demonstration.

"I took the floor on 5 June and called my elder brother IBK to listen to the people. I will be transparent with you. A week after, nothing had been said, nothing had been done as if it were not the sons of the country who demonstrated. Afterwards, people concerned with the future of the country called him and talked to him," Dicko said angrily.

On Tuesday, President Kéita and Dicko met at the residence of former Malian President Moussa Traoré at the request of the latter to talk to them in view to ease the heated political tension in Mali.

"I took the floor before the president himself, and I told him: “Koro (elder brother in bamanankan language), listen to the people”.

“I must not be hypocrite. I told him: if you don’t listen to your people, you’ll have the worse ending".

It was after this meeting that President IBK made the commitment to talk to the people.

"I lay the hand", he said in a message on Wednesday. “We lay the hand to someone who is far. Nothing concrete was said,” said Dicko.

Dicko then called people for calm. "The image they want to give us is violence, pillaging, no! We can show restraint and obtain what we want".

M5-RFP is composed of the coordination of associations, movements and sympathizers (CMAS) of Imam Mahmoud Dicko, the Front for the safeguard of democracy (FSD) bringing together several opposition political parties and the Movement ‘Espoir Mali Koura’ (EMK) of former minister of Culture and film director, Cheik Oumar Sissoko, as well as several civil society associations and trade-unions.

The objective of the rally was to have a change in Mali’s governance, particularly the resignation of President Kéita, who has been in power for seven years.

FIN/ INFOSPLUSGABON/HGB/GABON2020

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