Jonathan led mediation team arrive Mali
By Our reporter
Aug. 22, 2020 -Following global outcry after the Junta in Mali that ousted President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, mediators from West Africa’s regional bloc led by Nigeria's former President, Goodluck Jonathan have arrived Mali for peace talks.
The Coup has been condemned by the the United Nations, African Union, ECOWAS and other World bodies.
Jonathan in a tweet said "We arrived in Bamako this afternoon to continue with the ECOWAS mediation and peace talks towards resolving Mali’s political crisis and restoring normalcy in this beautiful West African country.
"We’Il continue to engage Malian stakeholders until lasting peace is found,” said Jonathan.
Keita and Prime Minister Boubou Cisse were arrested alongside other government officials after the military took power on Tuesday following weeks of protests in the West African country.
Although the coup was celebrated by many in a country battling an Islamist insurgency and simmering political unrest, leaders from the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have taken a particularly hard line on the situation.
The ECOWAS body quickly shut borders and ended financial flows, a move diplomats said was as much about dissuading opponents at home as stabilising Mali.
The presidents of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea are among those pushing for a tough response as both have faced violent public protests to their third-term bids and want the bloc to show it will not tolerate power grabs in its own backyard.
All eyes are on the visit by an ECOWAS delegation led by Nigeria’s former President Goodluck Jonathan.
The ouster of Keita, known as IBK, has been welcomed by many in Mali, which was rocked by months of protests.
Protesters had called for his resignation over alleged corruption and worsening security in areas where affiliates of al-Qaeda and Islamic State are active.
Protesters said reinstating IBK is out of the question but the only thing they can achieve is the transition.
A junta of military officers has controlled the country since Tuesday when the mutineers detained Keita at gunpoint and forced him to resign.
They have promised to oversee a transition to elections and a spokesman has said they are open to talks with ECOWAS.
On Friday, thousands of the coup’s supporters gathered in a central square in Bamako, the capital, to celebrate the takeover.
There is no outward sign ECOWAS’s suspension of financial relations is yet being felt.