Malian army : Ex-junta leader's promotion lawful

The promotion of ex-junta leader Capt. Amadou Haya Sanogo as the general of the Malian army is legal, a Malian army communication officer said on Monday. On Aug. 14, the Malian government promoted Sanogo to the position of general of the Malian army with effect of Aug. 1. The commander-in-chief of the armed forces has the prerogative to elevate any officer whom he believes deserves a promotion, the communication officer said. Sanogo was the architect of the coup launched on March 22, 2012, removing then president Amadou Toumani Toure from power. But the promotion has now raised heated debates among the Malian public. On Saturday, the United Front for Safeguarding Democracy and the Republic (FDR) said Sanogo did not deserve such a promotion. The FDR, a grouping of Malian political parties and civil society organizations formed after the March 22 coup, said it will file a complaint with the Administration Tribunal to have the promotion nullified. "We must consider the context of the appointment and not be blinded by political issues. For some days, the captain assumed the role of the head of the armed forces and during the period, he signed certain decrees to appoint the chief of the general staff as well as commanders of various army units. "For this reason and in conformity with the military regulations, he cannot be integrated into the chain of command and he can never be under the authority of any other army officer apart from the president of the republic who is the commander in chief of all armed forces," the communication officer said. "If he wants to stay in the army, he has to be the senior most officer. It is because of this that the interim president decided to appoint him to the position of the general of the Malian army, the highest rank in the army," the officer added. This is not the first time for such a move in the Malian army, he said, citing the country's ex-president Moussa Traore, who moved from the rank of lieutenant to that of colonel immediately after the 1968 coup. "The ex-officers were promoted to higher ranks in 1993 even when they had not undergone any training for their positions. Ex- President Amadou Toumani Toure, the architect of the 1991 coup, was promoted to the position of brigadier-general by President Alpha Oumar Konare, yet he was a lieutenant-colonel during the transition period," he said. Reacting to the controversy, a military judge said the Administration Tribunal did not have the mandate to rule over issues concerning service in the army. The practice, the judge says, is essentially based on military traditions.