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BAMAKO - Hundreds of Malians took to the streets Monday to protestan agreement just signed between West African mediators and theleader of this March's military coup that keeps an interim civilianpresident in place for one year, to organize elections. A mobforced its way into the presidential palace and attacked theinterim president, who is being treated for injuries. Hundreds of protestors forced their way into the office of Mali'sinterim president, Dioncounda Traore, Monday, demanding he resign. The president's chief of staff, Souleymane Niafo, says that the mobbeat up the president. Niafo said Traore is now being treated fornon-life threatening injuries. Protestors showed a VOA reporter pieces of fabric they claimed tohave ripped from Traore's jacket. Many of the protestors had marched to the palace from a largegathering outside a conference center where the Coalition of MalianPatriotic Organizations, known as COPAM, was meeting inside toselect its own interim president, expected to be announced Tuesday. "Down with ECOWAS. ECOWAS cannot choose Mali'spresident," protesters shouted, growing increasingly heated atthe sight of a Western journalist. A few held small signs that read "Mali is a sovereign nation.Let us decide." Protesters used blue metal chairs and hunks of rock to barricadeintersections in the blocks surrounding the conference center. Meeting inside were political, labor and civil society leadersopposed to the deal struck between junta leader Captain AmadouSanogo and West African regional bloc ECOWAS. A leader of COPAM, politician Ahmed Ag Akeratane, says theysupported the National Committee for the Recovery of Democracy andthe Restoration of the State, or CNRDRE, as the junta is known. Hesays the CNRDRE may have signed an agreement with ECOWAS but thatdoesn't concern them. He says ECOWAS is not going to come and tellthem how to run their country. Monday marks two months since an army mutiny spiraled into animpromptu military coup. Soldiers, calling themselves the CNRDRE,ousted the nation's elected leader less than a month before apresidential election. Many in Mali cheered the coup back in late March. The event seemedto open the floodgates on a deep-seated frustration and distrust ofthe political elite that some say had long been seething beneathMali's democratic veneer. Since then, ECOWAS has pushed hard for a return to civilian rule. Sunday's agreement says interim President Diouncounda Traore willremain in charge of the transition. It recognizes Captain Sanogo asa former head of state, complete with all the accompanying statusand privileges. Interim president Traore is viewed by some as an ally of oustedpresident Amadou Toumani Toure. Traore's 40-day interim mandate, as prescribed by the constitution,was set to expire Tuesday. Captain Sanogo had proposed a national convention be held to selecta new leader for the transition. He bowed this weekend to ECOWASdemands that Traore stay in place. However, despite protests, not everyone is opposed the agreement. In a busy market in downtown Bamako, vendors said they are eager tosee life, and business, to get back to normal. Many pointed to thesecurity crisis in the north, where armed groups now controltwo-thirds of the nation's territory. Djibril Maiga says instead of continuing to bicker about politicshere in Bamako, they first need to save the north. However, hesays he does not support foreign troops coming in to help. He saysthe problem should be left to the Malian army. Armed groups in the north took advantage of the chaos in the daysfollowing the coup to quickly push south, effectively cutting thecountry in half. Tuareg separatists have declared an independent state, whileIslamist militants have rejected independence and begun imposingSharia law in northern towns. Tens of thousands of Malians havefled the region. I am an expert from window-rollerblinds.com, while we provides the quality product, such as Windows Shades Blinds , Decorative Trim Moulding Manufacturer, Electric Roller Blind,and more.
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