Africa-Press – Mali. The solemn opening ceremony of the national phase of the Inter-Malian Dialogue for Peace and Reconciliation was held this Monday, May 6, 2024 at the Bamako International Conference Center (CICB), chaired by the President of the Transition, His Excellency Colonel Assimi Goita, Head of State. This important meeting, which will last until May 10, 2024, is crucial for the future of peace and national reconciliation in Mali.
The president of the Steering Committee of the Inter-Malian Dialogue, Ousmane Issoufi Maiga, underlined the inclusive dimension of the process, recalling the commitment made in December 2023 by the Head of State. The former Prime Minister recalled that the general objective of the dialogue is to contribute to the restoration of peace and social cohesion through lasting reconciliation without foreign interference. The aim is to allow the Malian people to reconnect with endogenous mechanisms for prevention, resolution and management of conflicts with a view to finding consensual solutions to the problems besetting our country.
He also stressed that this phase is the stage of synthesis and consolidation of the recommendations resulting from discussions in the municipalities, regions, embassies, consulates and universities of Bamako and Ségou. This approach ensures that no Malian is left behind in the quest for lasting peace.
The President of the Transition indicated that this dialogue will allow Malians to speak to each other frankly and propose solutions to definitively emerge from the crisis, mend the social fabric and strengthen living together.
For him, “Mali, once considered a peaceful and quiet country, has found itself for several years in a complex conflict situation over which we had no control.” “We had been reduced to being observers of the martyrdom of our people, for economic and geostrategic reasons to which we were totally foreign. Our Defense and Security Forces, from which all offensive capacity had been withdrawn, could in no way assume their sovereign mission of protecting the territory, the populations and their property,” lamented the Head of State.
“Conflicts, of various natures, have thus intertwined to make our country a land constantly in mourning. The solutions recommended by the international community have rather contributed to widening the areas of tension to affect a large part of the territory,” lamented Colonel Assimi Goïta, who maintained that it appeared that the measures taken as part of the fight against terrorism and to ensure national unity responded to an agenda contrary to the interests of the Malian people. This is how, in a burst of dignity, the Malian people decided to take their destiny back into their own hands and reconquer their entire territory, said President Goïta, for whom the resumption of Kidal and other cities of the Northern regions was a perfect illustration of this new state of mind.
He highlighted the Steering Committee’s commitment to respecting diversity of opinion and culture, and to prohibiting all forms of hate speech. The discussions addressed themes directly linked to the socio-economic and cultural life of Malians, including peace, national reconciliation, political, economic, security, and geopolitical issues. The conclusions, recommendations and resolutions of these discussions will be recorded in a final report which will be submitted to the Head of State.
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