Yearbook 2011
Mali. According to Countryaah official site, Prime Minister Modibo Sidibé resigned in March after three and a half years in his post. No explanation was given, but it was speculated that he planned to run in the 2012 presidential election. She had previously worked as an expert in the presidential office, but also for brief periods was planning minister and minister for rural development. Visit ABBREVIATIONFINDER for the acronym of MLI that stands for the country of Mali.
An increased terror threat worried the authorities. In July, the army claimed to have attacked the al-Qaeda terrorist group in Islamic Maghreb when it tried to establish a base in a forest area near the Mauritania border, with all judging to be able to carry out attacks on the neighboring country. At the end of November, al-Qaeda robbed five tourists, including a Swedish, in northern Mali and killed a German man. Nothing emerged during the rest of the year about the condition of the abducted.
The revolt in Libya, which led to the fall of dictator Muammar al-Khadaffi, led hundreds of Tuaregs serving in al-Khadaffi’s security forces to return to Mali and neighboring Niger. There were reports that many joined the Tuareg rebel groups that had observed a ceasefire in recent years. The government and the military leadership in Mali feared that these groups would be radicalized and take up arms again. Despite previous peace settlements, the dissatisfaction among the Tuareg governments, which felt overruled by the state powers, never settled.
Amnesty International writes in its 1992 report on the imprisonment of several suspected oppositionists without charges or verdict. In addition, 14 death sentences were sentenced, all of which were turned into life imprisonment. The military also executed several dozen members of the Tuareg community without trial, the AI report concludes.
In March 1993, a group of students occupied the state radio, and in April large demonstrations were held against the government’s economic policy. Supported by the foreign financial institutions, Konaré continued the liberalization of the economy that Traoré had started. The president changed the tax system, reduced government spending, privatized state-owned enterprises and removed control over prices.
In February 1994, new demonstrations were conducted against the government. On the 15th, all educational institutions – except the primary school – were closed. Some observers reported on secret armed groups that had plans to attack property, belonging to Mali’s main foreign creditors.
In June, the government signed an agreement with MFUA, one of the rebel Tuaregs’ main groups. Despite the agreement, the violent events continued. In one of these in the cities of Gao and Beher, the police crackdown cost 200 people, including women and children.
In 1995, the government continued negotiations with other rebel Tuareg groups and with neighboring countries to open the way for the 120,000 Tuareg refugees in Algeria, Burkina Faso and Mauritania to return home. In October, a repatriation program was started, extending over 3 years.
The IMF approved the country’s third annual Structural Adjustment Program and foreign investors began to take an interest in Mali after new gold deposits were discovered.
A new peace agreement was signed on March 27, 1996. It put an end to the conflict between state and Tuareg. The government secured the return of 25,000 refugees from Niger. The deal also meant the demobilization of 2,700 partisans.
In May 1997, Alpha Oumar Konaré was elected President with 95.9% of the valid votes. In the July and August parliamentary elections, the ruling ADEMA won 130 of the seats in the new parliament. In both cases, the opposition boycotted the elections and turnout was sparse.
The opposition boycott of the elections coincided with an increase in street violence, which led to the resignation of Prime Minister Keita and his government in late 1997. A group of intellectuals demanded the release of several opposition leaders to reduce tension. Nevertheless, the president again appointed Keita as prime minister, and this appointed a new government.
In March 1998, the government postponed indefinitely the local elections scheduled for holding on April 19. According to the government, the postponement was because it would give the opposition better time to participate after parts of the opposition had already announced its boycott of the election. The election was later held in June and gave the incumbent government the victory. The opposition had boycotted the election, citing that no freedom of expression existed in the country. The production of rice increased sharply this year, and at the same time the government initiated a privatization of the state companies in electricity and water.
In January 1999, Moussa Traore and his wife were sentenced to death on charges of enrichment and abuse of trust. However, the sentence was subsequently turned into life imprisonment. In August, the trade union movement achieved a 7% increase in salaries for government employees, after striking for 2 days in July. In October, the country was shaken by a multi-day strike among health care workers.
In January 2000, a coup attempt was thwarted, but a few days later the president decided to incorporate a number of officers into the government. In February, Prime Minister Ibrahim Boubacar resigned after being accused in the press of being ineffective in combating poverty. In his place was appointed Mande Sidibe, an economist and former employee of the IMF.