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Mali: ECOWAS mediators meet military junta, ousted president

…ousted president has 'no access to TV or phone' in detention

Diplomats and other observers have warned of the hurdles to a quick resolution of the political crisis in Mali as a delegation of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Saturday met with the coup leaders and the ousted president Ibrahim Keita.
The delegation arrived in the country’s capital, Bamako, for talks aimed at engendering Mali’s quick restoration of democracy through the release and reinstatement of Mr Keita.
The delegation was led by Goodluck Jonathan, a former Nigerian President who had previously led mediation talks with the opposition coalition whose call for the resignation of Mr Keita had preceded the coup.
Mutinous soldiers on Tuesday arrested Mr Keita and forced him to resign from power at gunpoint. He has since been held at Kati military base outside of Bamako where the mutiny first began.
The coup was condemned by the international community but celebrated by many in the country after months of political unrest.
The talks on Saturday between the ECOWAS delegation and the junta were set for 90 minutes, according to a provisional schedule from ECOWAS, but lasted for only 20 minutes, an ECOWAS source told Al Jazeera.
According to Al Jazeera, the meeting was held in Mali’s defence ministry where ECOWAS mediators in face masks sat at a long table opposite military government leader, Assimi Goita, who wore a desert camouflage uniform and was flanked by military officers in berets and fatigues.
Although ECOWAS and the coup leaders, who call themselves the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP), have yet to comment, Mr Jonathan told the AFP that negotiations were going well.
Meanwhile, a team from the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) has visited President Ibrahim Keita and other government officials who were arrested and detained by soldiers.
A coup by mutinying soldiers on Tuesday led to the resignation of Keita hours after he was arrested with some other high-ranking officials.
The coup leaders, who identified themselves as the National Committee for the Salvation of the People, later declared their intention to form a civilian transitional government and promised “a reasonable timeline” for holding new elections.
On his third day in detention, Keita received some UN officials at a location outside Bamako, capital of the country, where he is being held alongside Boubou Cissé, former prime minister.
According to Radio France International, the 75-year-old ousted leader, who “looked tired but relaxed” has no access to TV, radio or phone.
The other detainees are reportedly being held at a training centre, where they are sleeping on mattresses and watching television, according to witnesses.
A member of the junta, who reportedly spoke on condition of anonymity, was quoted as saying a UN human rights mission team was allowed to visit all 19 prisoners, including Keita and Cisse.

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