The coup against democracy in Mali

From a writer friend:

Here’s video of the coup announcement in Mali. Ridiculous. The screen is dark at first — they were having technical difficulties — but the image appears after 30 seconds or so. See the scene. As for the speech, it’s the usual pompous nonsense, poorly delivered by a junior officer out of his depth.

From a Malian friend:

In the last couple of hours, power has been usurped for a second time in our history by the military. They have overthrown the democratically-elected incumbent president who had a month left in office on his second and last term. We were preparing to vote on scheduled presidential elections in April …it’s a crushing blow to the democracy we built since the 1991 revolution which was won with the blood of 300+ students, trade union leaders and citizens protesting the 23 years of military rule of General Moussa Traore.

And here’s the second declaration, a short time ago. This one is briefer and given by Capt Sanogo who is the head of the junta:

More later.

Further Reading

Kwame Nkrumah today

New documents looking at British and American involvement in overthrowing Kwame Nkrumah give us pause to reflect on his legacy, and its resonances today.

Goodbye, Piassa

The demolition of an historic district in Addis Ababa shows a central contradiction of modernization: the desire to improve the country while devaluing its people and culture.