The challenge of mediation in Mali

“WE ARE PROTESTINGMRFP for Mali,” says Cheick Oumar Kanté on the streets of Bamako, the capital, “because Mali is on the road to extinction.” Since June 5th tens of thousands have taken part in demonstrations organised by a group of opposition leaders called the 5- and bolstered by the moral authority of a charismatic imam, Mahmoud Dicko. The protesters have been complaining angrily about the growing jihadist insurgency, Mali’s dire economy and recent dodgy elections. “Nothing works in this country any more,” says Ousmane Dembele, a demonstrator. Their main demand is for President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta to resign.The government’s response has lurched between concessions and violence. The protests had been largely peaceful until the weekend of July 10th, when security forces fired on the crowds, killing at least 11 people and wounding 85. Protesters lit fires in the National Assembly building and occupied the state television premises. After a truce for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, protests have been starting up again.