AEEM attempted to kidnap about twenty of its students in Mali on the 28th of June, the students were “abducted” mainly at the end of March by unidentified men in plainclothes. These students were arrested by the Malian State Security Services.
The students were let off on Friday evening as informed by Malian security and an official of the AEEM crisis cell established after a faction of this body was dissolved.
The transitional authorities in Mali dispersed the Student Association citing numerous armed clashes. The AEEM which had been at the fore front in the struggle against the military regime of Moussa Traoré in early; 1990s had over the years part of its members included some of the key political players in Mali. Though, it was slowly fading from student’s life and mostly used by scholars for their articles and assignments.
It also turned into the centre for regulating specific other profitable campus operations. In February, a member fell in a confrontation between the warring groups, and the association’s officials stored war weapons and large amounts of money.
Two AEEM representatives, Siriman Seydou Niaré, the Secretary-General of the AEEM’s national office, and other association leaders were arrested in the middle of March concerning this problem. The members of the AEEM saw it as getting rid of fundamental freedoms The last amendment involves dispossession of some of the principles of the organization such as the AEEM.
On March 26th, during National Martyrs’ Day, some students against the dissolution A few of these students were “arrested by State Security. ” Several more arrests were made in the following days, all performed without judicial warrants, and some students claimed to have been beaten.
The AEEM crisis cell noted, however, further detentions by State Security occurred in May and early June. As you may remember, more than three months ago some students were abducted and detained along with probable terrorists, and recently around twenty of them were released.
This clearly shows that the struggle between the students and the transitional government perpetually exist and this brings to light other issues about human rights and the laws in Mali.