On yesterday’s arrest of Oumar Mariko (SADI), Heinz Bierbaum, President of the European Left and Chairman of the International Commission of the DIE LINKE party, commented:“On Monday the chairman of our Malian partner party SADI, Dr.

Oumar Mariko, got arrested. I strongly condemn the arrest. It came about under dubious circumstances, which can be seen as intimidation of the opposition by the military interim government. We demand the release of Oumar Mariko and a fair trial on the allegations made against him. Only a broad involvement of all democratic forces can lead to a democratic society in Mali. An autocratic development endangers the stabilisation process in the country, which would be fatal taking into account the extremely poor living conditions and the critical security situation in the country.”