AFRICA/MALI - The Archbishop of Bamako participates in negotiations on the crises

Monday, 16 April 2012

Bomako (Agenzia Fides) - There was Mgr. Jean Zerbo, Archbishop of Bamako, in the delegation of civil society who attended the talks held last weekend in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) with the military junta and political parties in Mali, in order to find a way out of the crisis following the coup of 22 March. This is what was reported to Fides by sources of the Episcopal Conference of Mali.
"The meeting in Ouagadougou was intended to develop the next stages of transition and discuss the appointment of the future Prime Minister" specify the sources of Fides. "The Premier could be named today or tomorrow, while progress has been made to define the process of transition." The coup leaders have reached an agreement, negotiated by ECOWAS (West African economic community), to initiate a transition phase, whose first act was the appointment of an ad Interim Head of State, the President of Parliament Dioncounda Traore, who will lead the country for 40 days, after which new bodies of the government will be created.
"At a political level the situation is improving day by day, also in the north of the Country, which is in the hands of various armed groups" continue Fides sources. "The President ad interim has sent an envoy to Nouakchott (Mauritania) to meet the leaders of the MNLA (National Liberation Movement of Azawad, the " secular " independence movement that shares the control of the north with the jihadi groups). It seems that even with the jihadists there are preliminary contacts ".
"The main concern of the Government of Mali is to create humanitarian corridors to send food and medicine to the people of the north who are cut off from the rest of the Country. Negotiations are being carried out in this sense " our sources highlight.
"With the rebels of the MNLA one can reach an agreement even if it is not easy, because they have declared the independence of Azawad (northern Mali). We need to find a political formula that satisfies all parties. With the Islamists things are even more difficult because most of the inhabitants of the Country do not want an Islamic regime in power," concludes the source of Fides. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 16/4/2012)


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