French officials joined Mali’s new president, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, at centre stage on Thursday as he was sworn in, marking the start of a new era of democracy after months of political chaos in the former French colony.
His inauguration, held at the 55,000-seat March 26 Stadium in Bamako, gathered leaders from a host of African countries. President Idriss Deby of Chad, the Ivory Coast’s Alassane Ouattara and Moroccan King Mohammed VI were among the 26 heads of state invited to welcome Mali’s new leader, elected by a landslide in August 11 elections.
But the ceremony held special significance for French President François Hollande, who launched military action in the country in January, aided by African troops, to oust Islamist groups linked to al Qaeda who occupied northern Mali last year.
Hollande said in his speech that the war on terror had been won in Mali and hailed the country’s return to democracy.
“We have won this war, we have chased out the terrorists; we have secured the north and finally … we have – you have – organised an uncontested election and the winner is now the president of Mali,” Hollande told the crowd.
“If there had not been an intervention, today the terrorists would be here in Bamako,” he said.
France’s latest engagement in Mali, however, was more than just a mission to free the former colony from the clutches of Islamist militants. And in a sense, Thursday’s ceremony marks the beginning, rather than the end, of a new era of French involvement in the country.
france24
Leave a Reply