UN chief demands ‘immediate, unconditional release’ of Mali’s President, cabinet members

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UNITED NATIONS, August 19 (APP): UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday called for the immediate restoration of constitutional order and the rule of law in Mali, after mutinying troops arrested the west African country’s leader and other senior officials on Tuesday.

Soldiers had initially staged a mutiny at a base near the capital, Bamako, before subsequently detaining President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and other members of his government, according to media reports.

“The Secretary-General strongly condemns these actions and calls for the immediate restoration of constitutional order and rule of law in Mali”, his Spokesperson said, adding that he was following the situation closely and with “great concern”.

“To this end, he demands the immediate and unconditional release of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and members of his cabinet,” the spokesman added.

In recent weeks, protests have been held in Mali to demand the President’s resignation, with widespread anger aimed at alleged corruption, mismanagement of the economy, and the progress of the counter insurgency against Jihadists in northern  and central regions.

The UN chief reiterated his call for a negotiated solution and peaceful resolution of differences.

Mr Guterres urged all stakeholders, particularly the defence and security forces, to exercise maximum restraint and uphold human rights.

The Secretary-General also expressed his full support to the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) who are working to find a peaceful solution to the crisis in Mali, including through the good offices of his Special Representative, Mohammed Ibn Chambas.

In an address to the nation early Wednesday morning, a spokesman for the coup plotters asked the many foreign forces that have been trying to stabilize the insecurity-wracked country for years including United Nations peacekeepers and thousands of French soldiers to continue supporting Mali.

The plotters said the arrests of the president and the prime minister, Boubou Cisse, on Tuesday night were justified by years of bad governance, corruption, nepotism and a deteriorating security situation.

“Political patronage, the family management of state affairs, have ended up killing any opportunity for development in what little remains of this beautiful country,” said the spokesman, Ismaël Wague, reading into a microphone from a sheaf of papers. He made the remarks while flanked by his fellow coup leaders, all military men, in uniforms and berets. “Mismanagement, theft and bad governance have become virtues.”

But the coup which resulted in the deaths of four people has drawn wide condemnation from a broad array of nations and international bodies, including the African Union, Ecowas (the regional group of West African countries), the United States and France, among others.

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