The ruling junta in Mali continued to crack down on any form of contradiction on Thursday by banning the media from covering political parties. The colonels who overthrew civilian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta in August 2020 decreed on Wednesday the suspension of party activities.
This new turn of the screw comes as the military has just failed in its commitment, made under pressure from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), to give in to civilians by March 26, 2024. The president of the Convergence for the Development of Mali (Codem) party, Housseini Amion Guindo, called for “civil disobedience until the fall of the illegal and illegitimate regime (...)” The High Authority for Communication (HAC) followed in the footsteps of the head of the junta, Colonel Assimi Goïta, signatory of the decree targeting the parties. It does not specify what media outlets that infringe would be exposed to. The HAC “invites all media (radio, television, written and online newspapers) to stop all broadcasting and publication of the activities of political parties”