Growing anger over crackdown on political opposition

Malian authorities this week announced that all political parties and political organisations were suspended until further notice, reports RFI. They said the move was needed to preserve public order. A broad coalition of parties had planned to protest the ban this past Friday in Bamako, but the march was forbidden by a decree from transitional President General Assimi Goïta. The decree cited the need to preserve public order. On Wednesday, the coalition said a new date would be announced soon. The coalition also accused authorities of trying to sabotage the protest. They said false information was shared online about the time and location of the march, and that threats were made on social media. They condemned efforts ‘at provoking violent clashes between Malians during the planned rally’.

Ousmane Diallo, a Sahel researcher with Amnesty International’s regional office for West and Central Africa, told RFI the junta’s decision ‘violates the principles of freedom of association, freedom of peaceful assembly and also freedom of expression, which are guaranteed by the Malian Constitution of 2023’. Anger has been growing since a national council of political actors recommended that Goïta stay in power for another five years and that all political parties be dissolved. Last week’s suspension of parties also applied to civil society groups and led to Mali’s biggest protest movement in years. Opposition leaders and activists are now trying to build on momentum from large public rallies in Bamako on 3 and 4 May. Amnesty International last month said it was alarmed by proposals to dissolve political parties in Mali, warning this would amount to a serious attack on freedom of expression and association. The group urged the authorities to stop what it called an escalating crackdown on civic space, and to respect the rights of all Malians, including critics, human rights defenders and opposition politicians.

Full RFI report