While politicians and NGO workers are being targeted and arrested it tears at the fabric of society. Looting, extortion and violence increase exponentially. We express our solidarity with the people of Mali and call for a return to calm. The democratic process must be restored in order to ensure a favorable environment for holding free and democratic elections, as originally planned.
PES General Secretary Philip Cordery stated: “All progressive Europeans call for the immediate restoration of democratic institutions and the release of all those people who have been detained illegally. We strongly condemn this coup d’état that puts the stability of Mali and the wider region in great danger. It is vital that the ECOWAS leaders play a mediation role in a return to constitutional order and respect for the electoral calendar”.
The Party of European Socialists will closely follow the summit of Heads of State in the Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS), which begins April 2, 2012 in Dakar.
