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Alpha Oumar Konaré, Interviewee 
David Applefield, Interviewer
Interview with President Alpha Oumar Konare of Mali
May, 2000 Bamako
In the spirit of expanding the territorial reach of the "literary journal," Frank opened its pages to one of contemporary Africa´s most impressive and creative leaders, Alpha Oumar Konare, President of Mali and the West African Economic Community. An accomplished writer of anthropological works, a prolific journalist, and a fierce defender of pluralism, Konare sees creativity as the intersection of politics, development, and culture. The talks between President Konare and Frank took place at the Presidential Palace in Koulouba, Bamako on two separate occasions, in May 2000 during a conference on media and corruption, and in June 2001 during the visit of Depute/Maire Jean-Pierre Brard´s Delegation from Montreuil.
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Alpha Oumar Konare with David Applefield |
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Frank: President Konare, thank you for agreeing to talk to Frank. It´s late in the evening and you´re scheduled to fly to Asia in a few hours. You´re working intensively on helping to broker peace in a tumultuous neighbor of Sierra Leone. It´s an unusual honor for a literary journal to talk to the president of a country about culture and society. But as an author, academic, and highest official of the country, you´ve made a name for yourself as a champion of democratic principles and your support of a free, independent press. Konare: A vibrant, independent press, media and publishing scene is of utmost importance. It´s also important for a society to have competent people in privately-owned television and, as you know, there isn´t yet much of this in this part of the world. But an independent press must express true pluralism and diversity of opinion based on an ethic of morals and professionalism. Newspapers nourish democracy, but democracy also is the foundation of pluralism in the expression of opinions. Frank: Our readers should be reminded that in Mali, as elsewhere in Africa, the ability to write and publish freely is a relatively young institution and the role of a free press is in its adolescence, a period of development filled with experimentation, risk, and sometimes irresponsibility. Konare: If the ethical code is not respected and a high level of professionalism is not enforced, then a society may go astray. I can say that there have been numerous errors committed by our young press, but if the government insists on resolving these quickly by use of official sanctions, legal restraints and the courts, as we sometimes witness in other countries, we risk obstructing the elan of a free press. We must permit this elan to express itself and have confidence that with time the rigor of a professional press will take hold. Professional journalists will ultimately understand that their survival lies with their own professionalism and they´ll flourish as a result of their own ethic. Frank: It is difficult for readers in North America and Europe, where press and media is primarily a commercial product, to appreciate the fine line you are walking and to even contemplate the role of an "official state-run media." In Mali, the largest newspaper is government-run, as is the one television station. So the emergence of private press organs is crucial here. Konare: This is fundamental. I believe that state-run media can even support the development of an independent press. This will only happen when the state media affirms itself more as a public service than as a means of serving a political class. We have journalists of great quality in the state-run press but their reflexes are different as long as the radio, television, and print press continue to belong to one ruling hand, the State. It´s difficult to express yourself fully when your mandate is official. One way to evolve and reform a state media would be to open up the capital of these organisms to the employees, to a collective. We can evolve and improve. As the state media is the property of the government, we need to find other owners. This, to me, is very important. Let´s face it, radio covers the entire country, television has no borders. So as long as there is state domination, our future is limited. But, as we evolve, I´m certain there will be a fantastic flourishing of an independent press. Frank: That´s an extraordinary message coming from the president of the country. Few leaders in the developing world are talking this way. It´s interesting to note that in countries like Mali the real competition to freedom of expression is not the government, but the 80% of the population that either can´t read or doesn´t yet have the reflex or ability to buy a daily newspaper. Konare: This too is my deep conviction. Frank: One of the most challenging obstacles you´ve faced has been your battle against corruption in bringing about reform in all aspects of intellectual and social life. How do you describe this challenge? Konare: Our greatest difficulty comes from the fragility we had with the democratic system. In the beginning our greatest concern was for the State to exist, especially a State ruled by law. When there is no State you can hardly engage in a battle against corruption, because you´re immediately blocked. In 1992 there was no administration. We didn´t even have the means to set up a police force. We had very few magistrates. These were the remains of a system we defeated but could not easily dismantle. We´ve witnessed a lot here in Mali. In the early nineties, we found there were many citizens who had been extorting public funds. Many of the biggest names in Bamako were involved. If everyone had been arrested, the entire society would have rebelled against the government. All the parties would have been against us. And, with the birth of many new parties, controlled by financially influential people with resources, this would have been problematic. You have to remember that often there is one person in Bamako, the capital, who controls the votes in 20 or 30 villages, and who is responsible for the re-distribution of resources there. When an individual re-distributes money, regardless if the money has been illegally acquired, to normal citizens in these villages, he is a "good" person. It´s hard to understand how someone who feeds you can or should be sanctioned or punished. Frank: It´s true that corruption takes on a whole different meaning in the cultural context of need. Konare: Our first reflex was to work with the Chamber of Commerce to set up reimbursement plans for extorted public funds. The most important thing for us was to ensure that extortion would not continue. Only if the money wasn´t paid back would we take criminal action. But several weeks later, there were large demonstrations designed to destabilize this plan, supported even by associations and groups who were behind our democracy movement, many of whom ultimately had a very limited conception of democracy and were ready to muddy anyone´s image if it weakened the government. The genesis of political parties is often a question of self-interests. And that weakens the state. So you´re obliged to make huge compromises with lots of groups and political parties to maintain stability. And once you´ve settled in to this logic of compromise, you´re obliged to slow down on much of what you hope to achieve.
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