WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs, released the following statement Thursday on the situation in Mali.
“I strongly condemn the military’s seizure of power in Mali and urge the immediate restoration of the country’s democratically elected civilian government. Mali has been a model of democracy in West Africa over the past two decades, and I urge the Malian armed forces to adhere to their nation’s democratic tradition. The members of the military who initiated this violence should immediately stand down and restore the constitutional rule of President Amadou Toumani Touré. I join the White House, the State Department, the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States and others in the international community in calling for a return to constitutional order in Mali.”