His Excellency Mr. Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, President of the Republic.
Upset by the recent military escalation in the north, the President of the Republic has finally returned to better feelings by involving the political class long ignored in the search for solutions to the major equations of the day.
Majority and opposition were thus entitled to all-out explanations from the highest authority on the painful events in Kidal and their repercussions on the future of the nation. It was also the occasion of major revelations on questions that torment: the underlying reasons for the debacle of the army, the circumstances of the resignation of Soumeylou Boubèye Maïga, the state of mind of the Head of State after a such a collective setback, etc.
It is a President of the Republic deeply affected, thoughtful, to inspire leniency for some time, who finally resolved to bring the political class back to its proper proportions in a republican regime.
In the wake of the events in Kidal – as well as the great disarray resulting from the attitude of external partners – the various components of the political class, once royally ignored in the making of major decisions, finally had the right to a call from the foot of the President of the Republic. The gesture is so highly political that many observers wonder why the Head of State wasted so much time before adopting this salutary posture of openness and sharing.
The approach essentially consisted of sharing with the entire political class, both the majority and the opposition, information on recent developments in the situation in Kidal and at the same time clarifying certain consecutive episodes.
An unpacking behind Soumeylou's back
In response to the many questions that concern both the majority and the opposition - in this case the loss of the army's previous positions and the unproductive sacrifice of its elements - the privileged interlocutor of the political formations, from concordant sources, attributed the setback to a malicious underestimation of the opponent's forces. Some of the guests of Koulouba IBK would have confided, from the same sources, that the regular army was confronted with rebel columns of no less than 6,000 men from the three main armed movements of Azawad.
According to the confidences reported, he is very angry with certain personalities in the capital for having played with the retention of information that they should have made available to the high authorities. He is no less angry with his former defense minister, Soumeylou B. Maïga. In particular, he is accused, rightly or wrongly, of having failed in the collegiality required in such circumstances for having avoided the displacement of Kidal without sharing information on the risks and the danger relating thereto with the other members of the delegation. governmental. From there to suspecting him of having wanted to organize a worst-case scenario against his companions, there is only one step that the President of the Republic only wanted to cross by innuendo.
What about the circumstances of SBM's resignation? On this, our sources report that the President of the Republic declared bluntly that the Minister of Defense did not resign on his own initiative and that he had indeed been invited to give up the apron. Clearly, the supreme commander of the armies have openly told him that he no longer has his confidence. Because, his explanations on the unfolding of events do not give him satisfaction.
As for the incongruous burning question of the score played by the political authority in the outbreak of hostilities on May 21, there was probably hardly any question of it throughout the discussions. However, this subject has been the main knot in the skein since it has been the subject of dispute between the PM and the resigning Minister of Defense. Which has also requested and obtained that the ambiguity be lifted through a parliamentary inquiry.
The confession of temptation to resign
Of resignation, it was probably not only a question of the Minister of Defense. Which, according to all evidence, unfairly bears the suspicions of having withheld information which could certainly have come from other administrative authorities present on the ground, namely: the governor of the Kidal region, the zone commanders or brigade, Serval or Minusma forces, etc. A collaborator, and not less, argues that the events in Kidal were going to carry away the head of government, IBK reported to his interlocutors. The speculations on the resignation of Moussa Mara were in fact clarified by the President of the Republic, thanks to his meeting with the components of the political class. IBK took the opportunity to confirm that Moussa Mara would have effectively thrown his approach if his intention had not been disapproved, because of its possible repercussions on the stability of the State.
But, by expressing his intention to bow out, the Prime Minister was probably unaware that the same idea was discreetly animating the supreme commander of the armies himself. This is at least the substance of the confession that the President of the Republic made to the presidential majority, specifying that this temptation crossed him after the trying episodes of Kidal. “I wanted to resign to give the Malians their honor,” he confided to them, before adding that he finally refrained from crossing the Rubicon because his approach could have been perceived as a betrayal.
He says that there was really enough for a Head of State, whose ambition to resurrect the dignity of fellow citizens was thwarted in eight months of management by a humiliating challenge to national sovereignty, a bitter setback of the army coupled with a resignation in front of the conditions of the armed rebellion.
Be that as it may, by having the humility to speak with the political class on the issue, the President of the Republic proves, if need be, a sublime ability to step back from his personal principles in the name of the interests well understood by the nation. Although his approach of openness is not necessarily shared within his family where some still feel it as humiliation. In Kéïta
Source : The Witness
