Soccer, Islam and hard times

Football riots and fears of terrorism are undermining ATT's reputation

Bamako is worried about security, and awaiting a cabinet reshuffle by President Amadou Toumani Touré (ATT). Prime Minister Ousmane Issoufi Maïga may not survive. Some call him 'Pinochet', and blame him for lack of progress on cutting poverty and political reform since he took over from Ahmed Mohamed Ag Hamani in May 2004. He seemed to have lost control when riots after the Mali versus Togo football match on 27 March left him trapped in the stadium for hours. The satirical Le Canard Dechaîné claims that the Prime Minister offered his resignation in late May, and that the President would replace him with the Secretary General of the Presidency, Modibo Sidibé.

Article Tags:
Amadou Toumani Touré, Ousmane Issoufi Maïga, Pinochet, Togo, Yacouba Diallo, Ilo Diallo, Les hooligans de Bamako, Ghanaians, Lebanese, Chinese, Fousseni Niambélé, United States, Algeria, Chad, Niger, Terence Patrick McCulley, Iraq, Mauritania, Maaouiya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya, Nigerians, Mines and the military, South Africa, Mosiuoa, Patrick, Lekota, Mamadou Clazie Cissouma, Senegal, Canadian, Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire, Ibrahim Boubakar Keita, Moussa Traoré, Le Canard Dechaîné, gendarmerie, Al Qaida, Nouvelle Libération, l'appel de la rue, Rassemblement pour le Mali, Alliance pour la Democratie au Mali

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