The beginning of talks with jihadist leaders as announced on Monday by Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta should necessarily lead to a ceasefire if they take place, security specialist Maurice Mahounon of Benin told APA.
By Oumar Dembélé
The dialogue could lead to “a ceasefire, a classic agreement as in wars,” according to the political scientist, who is also a specialist in defence and security in West Africa.
For him, this type of negotiation “has worked in Algeria, it can also work in Mali.”
Present at the 33rd summit of the African Union in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) on February 9 and 10, President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita officially announced the begining of a dialogue with jihadist leaders Iyad Ag Ghaly and Amadou Koufa.
A few days earlier, his predecessor and High Representative for the centre, Dioncounda Traoré, explained that he had mandated emissaries to make contact with the armed groups.
The Bamako initiative, which is “a good thing,” is thus “in line with the logic of Westerners, in this case France and the United States…officially that is the doctrine,” Maurice Mahounon observed, stressing that “we know what went quietly wrong with the release of the hostages.”
He added: “But if the number one Malian opts for this solution, then we must always try to see if the jihadist leaders are ready to seize this extended hand of Bamako”.
http://apanews.net/en/news/dialogue-with-jihadist-raises-great-hope-in-mali/
Even if they “are people with an ideology not shared by ordinary people,” the jihadists should express through this dialogue what they are asking for autonomy, development of their localities”.
“There are many things to put on the table to find out what they want completely,” Dr Mahounon added, noting, however, that Bamako “does not have control over all these movements (that) grow like mushrooms. But it’s already a step that can encourage others to come to the table as well.
Beyond the announced dialogue, President Keita also said that the Malian army should arrive on Friday in Kidal, a town in the north of the country that has been out of government control for six years.
ODL/te/lb/as/APA