Oumar Konaré, former ambassador under ATT, former Minister of Foreign Affairs under IBK and still Minister of Foreign Affairs under the transition of Colonel Assimi Goïta, M Abdoulaye Diop is undoubtedly a career diplomat. So no one can doubt his great experience for having occupied this prestigious post of Minister of Foreign Affairs under almost all the presidents of the 3rd Republic, but here is a man who is today at the base of the diplomatic isolation of Mali by his bulimia for power, his lack of audacity and his complacency in the face of the country’s first diplomat, namely the President of the transition, Colonel Assimi Goita, although serious, he nevertheless remains a neophyte in the management of the upper sphere administration. As a reminder, Mali is at odds with the ECOWAS countries, it is sidelined within the African Union, U.A, it is reduced to the very strict minimum within the United Nations Organization, O.N.U. , in short, Malian diplomacy boils down to replies, epidermal reactions, expulsions. How can a career diplomat like Abdoulaye Diop give in to complacency to the point of accommodating suicidal diplomatic choices for Mali? Isn’t he the only one responsible for the isolation of Mali despite his great experience? Why did he not weigh all his weight with Colonel Assimi Goita, to avoid certain choices whose consequences are extremely serious for Mali?
Faced with a multidimensional crisis, Mali is at a crossroads as its diplomacy is doing very poorly. Indeed, since the constitutional rupture following the coup d’etat of August 18, 2020, Malian diplomacy has been in the trough of the wave, in addition to having isolated the country, it has also contributed to further sinking Mali by the fraudulent posture of its holder and above all its lack of promptness, audacity and intelligence. And yet the one who is at the head of Malian diplomacy is an experienced diplomat who has served all regimes, from the advent of democracy to the transitional regime currently underway in Mali. Abdoulaye Diop, since it is about him that it is indisputably one of the foreign ministers to have climbed all the levels of Malian diplomacy. Diplomatic adviser, ambassador, minister on several occasions, but today he is considered to be the most mediocre of all foreign ministers, from the advent of democracy to today. Indeed, great craftsman of the controversial Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation resulting from the Algiers process under IBK in 2015, it was still he who wanted to sign the agreement for the reissue of emigrants in an irregular situation with the European Union, always under IBK. The famous Minister of Foreign Affairs adapts to all situations and adapts to everything. The proof, his outings to the door to defend positions that are at the antipodes of positive diplomacy, especially for a country entangled in a deep crisis and which needs the support and the accompaniment of all the countries without exception .
How can a career diplomat like Abdoulaye Diop give in to complacency to the point of isolating Mali?
Nothing can explain this notorious complacency to the point of accepting everything, even the most fallacious, the most compromising decisions. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mali, Abdoulaye Diop seems to take pleasure in the President of the transition Assimi Goïta by accepting everything in the hypothetical hope of having a juicier promotion than the one he had. His last outing on the suspension of Air-France flights and visas, is the eloquent testimony of a shoddy diplomat ready to carry out the dirty work without a murmur, otherwise how can we understand that Mali can act in this way instead of reciprocity. Doesn’t the Minister know that after Côte d’Ivoire, France is the second host country for Malian emigrants? As a reminder, two out of three light bulbs are lit in the confines of the Kayes region thanks to the contribution of emigrants from the region in France and to a large extent in Europe. So in the name of what reciprocity can the government endanger the lives of these thousands of Malians. We also remember the suspension of NGOs which nevertheless employed thousands of Malians. If the role of diplomacy is to bring a third country closer to other countries in order to weave relations of cooperation and partnership, that of Mali isolates its own.
Why did he not weigh all his weight with his leader to avoid certain choices whose consequences are serious for Mali?
To the question of why Abdoulaye Diop did not use all his weight to influence the taking of certain decisions which have serious consequences and are very compromising for a country which is seeking its way out of the crisis , the answer is in a single expression the bulimia of power. He would certainly have been promised another post, which would put him in such a position that clashes with the principles of modern diplomacy. Mali is isolated and that hardly moves the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
This article is originally published on bamada.net
