Sissoko appointed Prime Minister of Mali. To everyone's satisfaction...
(BRUSSELS2) The very rapid appointment as Prime Minister of Django Sissoko, until then Mediator of the Republic, barely a few hours after the forced resignation of Cheick Modibo Diarra sparked a rapid reaction at European level. It must be said that if the method of departure from Diarra had caused a little trouble, it did not last very long. According to several sources, even, we are somehow quite happy with this outcome. Diarra was rather considered as a “hinderer” says one; he " slowed everything down ". His departure is rather good news ».
Calm in the European diplomatic service
The High Representative of the EU, Catherine Ashton therefore welcomed the rapid appointment of Django Sissoko. "We have had contact with him in the past as a mediator of the Republic and have been able to appreciate his consensual personality, his gifts as a negotiator and his good knowledge of Malian political life", according to his spokesperson. " We expect the rapid appointment of an inclusive government” he added.
Last warning for the military before the sanctions
The head of European diplomacy “However, regrets the conditions in which this change of Prime Minister took place and calls on the military to stop interfering in political life”. If they do not support the transition process, the High Representative is threatening to appeal the Council conclusions of October 15. She emits " the possibility of adopting targeted sanctions against those who would hinder the return to constitutional order”.
Once again, Catherine Ashton reiterated the precondition for intervention represented by a roadmap with a view to a complete return to order and providing for the holding of credible elections, the establishment of legitimate institutions, the reform of the army and security forces under civilian power and a strategy for the reunification of the country through dialogue.
An experienced Malian politician
Aged 62, Django Sissoko had been mediator of the Republic since May 2011. He spent 40 years in the service of Mali. A graduate in law and public administration in France, he studied in Caen, Paris and Rouen. Back in Mali, he quickly became Director of Penitentiary Services to Minister of Justice in 1984. In 1988, he became Secretary General to the Presidency of the Republic under the regime of Moussa Traoré, a soldier who was overthrown in 1991 after more 22 years in power. He also held the same position thereafter, from 2008 to 2011, under the presidency of Amadou Toumani Touré, deposed by the putschists last March.
Cheick Modib Diarra safe
Captain Sanogo, leader of the Malian putshists, assured that the former Prime Minister was "neither arrested nor under house arrest" and that his men were at his home simply to ensure his safety. The soldier also denied being opposed to the sending of an international force in northern Mali.
(completed by NGV)
