Peace talks (to pacify northern Mali) failed again. It is painfully clear that there is something fundamentally wrong with these negotiations. The speeches of each other seem to be centered on the fault. Communications are in the blame game. However, this endless game focuses on the responsibility of the other and not on the problem raised. The blame game is not helping at all to achieve what Malians expect from the actors in these talks.
In this context, we have to ask ourselves what is gained and lost by such fruitless negotiations. One thing is certain though, it is important that we dismiss as meaningless this dire situation of the peace talks as the fate of our people continues to be daily sacrificed on the altar of this blame game and the apparent lack viable alternatives.
All parties to the conflicts ravaging our country must unite and begin the quest for peace anew before the dark powers of destruction engulf us all. Again, let’s explore the issues that unite us instead of focusing on those that divide us. We are united by common values. Our disagreements are undoubtedly minimal considering the extent of our shared responsibilities.
We have always been a people united under different entities long before this Mali of 1960, and defending values that make the cause of our nation always greater than any of us. We have always fought for a just peace that promotes freedom.
We have an obligation to preserve peace by establishing good relations between our communities. We all want our children to be educated and to live free from poverty and violence. History will not be kind to us if we ignore our values and the aspirations of our people. The time has come for all of us to come together and join forces in the struggle for that peace. There is no progress without compromise and no victory without sacrifice.
We must never give up, we must never give in until we have made a better Mali for all. And all the more so since, together and united, we can move mountains. Let us then make these days the end of instability and the beginning of a new era of renewal and change. Let’s make today our new beginning. In our hands will rest the ultimate success or failure of our nation.
Cheick Boucadry Traore