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Mali: Peace negotiations proceed despite obstacles ahead of July 28 elections
African Union mediators failed Wednesday to convince Mali’s interim president to sign a deal with northern Tuareg rebels that would pave the way for nationwide elections next month, with the talks now expected to take several more days.
“We hope to secure a deal within days,” Pierre Buyoya, former Burundian president and head of the African Union mediators, said Wednesday.
Rebels from the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) and a smaller group, who want autonomy for the northern Tuareg homeland they call Azawad, said Tuesday they were prepared to sign a document put forward by regional mediator Burkina Faso.
The militants, who control the northeastern regional capital of Kidal, were initially reluctant to let government troops step in to secure the town for a planned July 28 elections but agreed to the deal after amendments were made.
“We won’t obstruct the process,” an official in the Tuareg delegation said. “When the time comes, we’ll sign, no problem.”
Diplomats from the African Union, held six hours of talks with transitional leader Traore, but failed to overcome the remaining obstacles to a deal being signed.
Next month’s planned polls are seen as a key step in Mali’s recovery. Mr. Buyoya said the negotiations would shift to neighboring Burkina Faso on Thursday, adding that there was never an expectation that the deal would be reached in a day.
“All parties have decided to make an effort to achieve peace,” the former Burundian president said, seeking to end a crisis that saw al-Qaeda-linked groups take over the northern half of the country for nine months on the back of a March 2012 coup.
A source close to the negotiations said the Malian government was uneasy about stipulations concerning rebel disarmament and the conditions for the arrival of the Malian army. The question of arrest warrants issued against the Islamist rebel chiefs also remains a sticking point.
“We cannot stay silent on all the crimes committed by the armed groups,” a Malian official said.
Mahamadou Djeri Maiga, the leader of the Tuareg and Islamist contingent in the talks, said the rebels were willing to sign the agreement to “move towards peace” and said Tuareg fighters would be “confined to cantonments with their weapons”.
But he said they would only disarm if there were a post-election agreement with the Malian authorities on giving “special status” to the northern region.
Copyright 2013 AFP