The President of the Republic Bassirou Diomaye Faye affirmed on Tuesday “that there is a moral debt” towards the victims of the events that occurred between March 2021 and February 2024 and their families.
“The same moral duty that prompted the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Thiaroye massacre, the same moral debt also commits us to the victims of the events that occurred between March 2021 and February 2024 and their families,” explained the head of the State during his first New Year’s speech.
Between February 2021 and March 2024, Senegal was plunged into a political crisis leading to several political violence.
Several dozen people lost their lives in political demonstrations that took place in a pre-election context.
In March 2024 the National Assembly adopted an amnesty bill relating to the facts linked to the political demonstrations which shook the country between February 2021 and February 2024.
The new authorities have decided to review this amnesty law in order to identify responsibility for this deadly violence.
“It will not be a question of revenge to be taken, but of justice to be rendered to the victims,” said Bassirou Diomaye Faye.
The Head of State estimated that “this justice must also be rendered to their families in order to appease them, and above all to reaffirm the sacredness of human life”.
In his address to the nation, the President of the Republic invited the Senegalese to “take the time to look at ourselves in the mirror of our history and our values to remember who we are, where we come from and where we aspire to go.”
“Beyond reforms and policies, let us stop for a moment to discuss, in depth, what unites us. This almost existential requirement for unity and fraternity to build the future we want, reminds us of the importance of this national communion around the same flame of hope, solidarity and living together,” insisted President Faye.
“The Senegal that we want will be built stone by stone in a spirit of humility and determination,” added the head of state.
APS
