Sanogo's Arrest

General Sanogo has been arrested.
There are  plenty of inconsistencies surrounding the treatment of Sanogo. First he is promoted,  in August , quite inexplicably- and quite ridiculously in my view-  from ordinary captain to a four star general. He is also granted a 40 man body guard and other privileges normally accorded  ex-presidents. The suddenly his fortune changes and now he has been arrested.

General Sanogo had been repeatedly  requested to appear at court but had ignored the appeals.
Thereforehe was arrested today and is kept at the Gendarmerie until his trial. The accusations against him are that he carried out, or was accomplice in carrying out unlawful killings in the wake of the coup d’état.
I can understand why he is arrested- noone is above the law and if he is called to appear he should definitely do so. But I am less clear about what he is accused of. Should he not be tried by a military court ? The main accusations against him I believe are about the beret rouges, the soldiers loyal to the deposed president, killed in the counter coup in April 2012. There were also mercenaries from other countries taking part in this counter coup. Quite a number were killed. But however grizzly and unfortunate,  isn’t this how these things work ? If Sanogo’s men had not killed the counter coup participants they would have been killed themselves. Is it really possible to judge this sort of event in a normal court ? By definition, killings in a coup or a counter coup are all unlawful !

I’m no fan of Sanogo particularly. But the treatment he is receiving is very schitzophrenic. Let’s wait and see exactly what the accusations are going to bring up….

Malijet is exploding with commentaries as usual- some congratulating the authorities and others asking why Sanogo is attacked while the ‘real criminals’ are  having their mandates of arrest cancelled while they are left to roam freely around Kidal, still in possession of their guns….