WIREDGOV

MEPs welcomed the results of the Mali donors conference but insisted on respect for the rule of law and human rights during their discussion on Thursday with the acting president, Dioncounda Traoré. Members of the security and defence, foreign affairs and development committees also stressed the need to establish genuine democracy and decentralisation. 
 

Mali could be "very satisfied" with the 3.25 billion euros pledged by the international donors, of which 520 million euros were promised by the EU, President Traoré said. He added that Mali had learned a great deal from its crisis, noting that if the "terrorists" had been able to gain ground in Mali it was "because there were problems and conditions" that allowed this, particularly regarding "governance and corruption" as well as a lack of education for young people and incomplete decentralisation.

MEPs stressed the need to link financial pledges to respect for the rule of law and human rights. They also pressed the president to guarantee that the perpetrators of the crimes observed in Mali were properly pursued and that the funds promised by the international donors would really be used to help the people.

Elections "as soon as possible"

Mr Traoré said the current transition "must be as short as possible" and presidential elections must take place by the end of July, followed by parliamentary elections, to give the elected authorities the "legitimacy and the time needed" to carry out reforms.

Responding to the concerns of MEPs about the feasibility of holding free elections in the near future, given the large number of internally displaced people and refugees, particularly in the camps, the president stressed that Malians would be able to vote "anywhere", in the presidential elections, including in the countries where they had taken refuge.

Completing decentralisation

To ensure that democracy in Mali would not be a mere formality, MEPs demanded a genuine transfer of powers and resources to the regional and local authorities, while also emphasising the importance of respecting Mali's territorial integrity.

"30% of the resources generated will be transferred to the regional and local authorities," Président Traoré declared, while admitting that this process had been slow up to now.

North of Mali: dialogue the only way forward

"There is no Tuareg problem in Mali today," Mr Traoré insisted, adding that the real aggressors were "terrorists, Jihadists and drug traffickers".

He believed that dialogue was the only option available to the Malian authorities in order to solve the crisis in the north, and this included dialogue with the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) and other "Malian" factions.

In the chair: Fiorello Provera (EFD, IT) and  Eva Joly (Greens/ALE, FR)