AFRICA/MALI - Political contrasts at the basis of the forced resignation of the Prime Minister

Bamako (Agenzia Fides) - A dispute between President Dioncounda Traoré, and members of the former military junta on the one hand and the Prime Minister on the other hand, led to the "forced" resignation on behalf of the latter. It is the prevailing interpretation in Bamako, as reported to Fides by Fr. Edmond Dembele, Secretary of the Episcopal Conference of Mali, with regards to the resignation of Premier Cheick Modibo Diarra. Diarra announced his resignation and that of his government on live TV, just hours after being arrested by the military that in March led a coup.
"The Prime Minister and members of the former military junta did not reconcile as before. And the relationship between the Premier and the President were not good. The important thing that probably led to the decision of the military to Diarra's forced resignation is the organization of the national consultations which were to start today," says Fr. Dembele. "It was Diarra who organized them and decided the contents and the way of conducting them, in a way that was judged unilaterally by different political forces. The largest political party in the Country had expressed opposition to the national consultations because judged this initiative as an attempt to weaken the President. "
The political tension had risen yesterday when members of the civil society had asked for the postponement of the national consultations. The Premier was therefore forced to resign by a wider range of members of the former military junta that had carried out the coup in March.
Fr. Dembele does not think that among the reasons for Diarra's forced resignation there are disagreements about sending a military force of ECOWAS to fight the Islamist groups who control the north of the Country. "The army does not reject international intervention. Agreements with ECOWAS have been reached. The latter accepted the conditions of the Malian army to give its consent to the deployment of West African troops in the Country, such as the command of the force of ECOWAS has its base on the outskirts of Bamako " says Fr. Dembele . (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 11/12/2012)