March 22 Coup in Mali – AEA update
Posted on Thursday, March 22nd, 2012
Last night and early this morning a military coup occurred in Mali. The newly formed Committee for the Re-establishment of Democracy and the Restoration of the State will hand control back to a new democratically elected government in the shortest delay. Elections had been scheduled for April, and Mali has had a stable democracy since 1991. The people of Mali are in support of the military, and there is no animosity between the soldiers and the general population. Professor Nick Hockin, Program Director of Arts and Culture in Mali, has been in touch with our staff in Bamako, and they have assured us that everyone is safe and secure, under a curfew imposed in the capital until Tuesday.
We are monitoring the situation closely, and will keep you informed of all developments. At this time, we anticipate that our Mali program will be able to run as scheduled in the fall. We are also confident that, if the need arises, we may move to our contingency plan of running the program in a neighboring African country.
We will update this message on Wednesday March 28. Please feel free to contact us, if you have urgent concerns.
