Mali’s President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita on Saturday urged for dialogue with his opponents in a televised speech, hours after thousands of anti-government protesters marched through the capital with some thrashing into state television offices, reported France 24.
“I would like once again to reassure our people of my willingness to continue the dialogue and reiterate my readiness to take all measures in my power to calm the situation,” President Keita said in closing.
Keita”s address to the nation took a conciliatory gesture days after he had tried to appease the protesters by promising to revamp the constitutional court whose legislative election results back in April have been disputed by several dozen candidates.
The appeal was made after thousands of protesters came out on the streets on Friday.
Mali police fired bullets and tear gas to try to displace protesters demanding the resignation of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita over his failure to resolve the country’s economic woes and bloody jihadist conflict.
On Friday, protesters in large numbers tried to occupy buildings including the national assembly, the national broadcasting house, and two major bridges. Two sources said at least one person was killed outside the national assembly building.
Mali’s state television ORTM went off the air after hundreds of protesters occupied the building in the capital Bamako.
The latest anti-government protest is the third such demonstration in two months, significantly escalating pressure on the embattled leader. The protesters are demanding Keita’s resignation over the country’s long-running security issues, economic woes and perceived government corruption.
On Wednesday, President Keita proposed in a televised speech the appointment of new judges to the country’s constitutional court, which has been at the centre of controversy since April.
Notably, after a long-delayed parliamentary poll in March, the Mali court overturned the provisional results for about 30 seats on April 29, in a decision that triggered protests in several Malian cities.
