Amnesty International Report 1998 - Mali

(This report covers the period January-December 1997)   Dozens of opposition party supporters were detained, some of whom were prisoners of conscience. There were reports of torture and ill-treatment by police. All death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment. In March President Alpha Oumar Konaré dissolved the National Assembly, leading to parliamentary elections in April which were marred by considerable organizational problems. The elections were eventually annulled by the Constitutional Court. In May presidential elections were boycotted by the opposition. President Konaré was re-elected with a large majority. Parliamentary elections held in July were also boycotted by the opposition. A new government, led by the Alliance pour la démocratie au Mali (adema), Alliance for Democracy in Mali, was formed in September. Opposition parties repeatedly protested about the electoral process, demanding the resignation of the government and the dissolution of the electoral commission supervising the elections. Widespread demonstrations were broken up by the security forces and many degenerated into violence. In May the authorities prohibited all demonstrations, but the wave of protests continued. At least four people lost their lives in the political unrest. Dozens of members and supporters of the opposition were arrested, some of whom were prisoners of conscience In June, five opposition party leaders were arrested after a demonstration organized in Bamako, the capital, was dispersed by the security forces. They included Almamy Sylla, President of the opposition coalition and of the Rassemblement pour la démocratie et le progrès, Rally for Democracy and Progress; and Moussa Koné, President of the youth section of the opposition coalition. All five, including Mountaga Tall, President of the Congrès national d'initiative démocratique (cnid), National Congress of Democratic Initiative, were charged with security offences and provisionally released after one week. They appeared to be prisoners of conscience A second wave of arrests of opposition leaders occurred in August, shortly after a plainclothes police officer was beaten to death following his ejection from an opposition rally. Those detained included Mohamed Lamine Traoré, National Secretary of the Mouvement pour l'indépendance, la renaissance et l'intégration africaine, Movement for Independence, Renewal and African Integration, and former Minister of the Interior. Some were released but 10, including Fanta Mantchini Diarra, a leading member of the cnid, were charged and held for two months before being provisionally released. They were prisoners of conscience Journalists attending a press conference organized by the opposition in August were detained for two hours in a police camp, where they were questioned and several were beaten (see below). Mady Diallo, a former minister in the government of former President Moussa Traoré, who was allowed to leave the country for medical treatment abroad, remained in detention at the end of the year. Mady Diallo and six soldiers were arrested in October 1996 (see Amnesty International Report 1997) and charged with "attack against the lawful government of the Republic of Mali with the intention of overthrowing it by force". Five members of the Association des travailleurs volontaires partant à la retraite, Association of Voluntarily Retired Workers, were released in July (see Amnesty International Report 1997) There were reports of torture and ill-treatment by police. Opposition party supporters arrested in May were alleged to have been systematically tortured by police in the presence of senior police officers. Police disrupted an opposition press conference in August, indiscriminately beating participants, including women, with truncheons and pieces of wood. Many were rounded up and allegedly forced into a sealed room into which tear-gas canisters were thrown. Yero Diallo, publishing manager of the independent magazine Le Tambour, was badly beaten on his head and back by police In December President Konaré commuted to life imprisonment all death sentences passed in previous years. Former President Moussa Traoré was among those who benefited from this measure. In November Amnesty International published a report, Mali: Basic liberties at risk, in which it appealed to the authorities to release all prisoners of conscience; to end prolonged political detention without trial; to ensure that all allegations of torture or ill-treatment were impartially investigated and those responsible brought to justice; and to control the use of force by members of the security forces. In a letter published in a national newspaper, the government responded that after investigation, it had concluded that torture did not take place in detention centres and added that no complaints alleging torture had been registered. However, the government acknowledged that excessive force had been used when the police disrupted a press conference organized by the opposition.