ADVANCE OF ARTISTS ON THE BMDA

The Artists/musicians, dancers, percussionists… organized a debate on the problems of piracy yesterday at the CCF. A walk of protest against the spinelessness and inefficacity of the Malian Office of authors’ rights (BMDA) was decided for this Wednesday.

The debate gathered many artists in anger around Barou Diallo, Bassékou Kouyaté, Mamou Sidibé and Lassiné Coulibaly. Among them, great stars of the Malian music like Oumou Sangaré, Babani Koné, Yoro Diallo, Diallo Samba, Toumani Diabaté, Néné Sourakassy, etc. All, in a dash of solidarity, denounced the guilty spinelessness of the BMDA which, in their opinion, has never been able to defend the material interests of the artists.

According to Barou Diallo, after the closing of the two company of production (Seydoni and Mali K7), the Malian artists had to understand that their fate depends on them only "We must understand that united we stand, divided we fall. I have no doubt about the competence of the office we set up. But those who have the duty to take with arm the body this problem of hacking of our œuvres ".

On Koulouba too?
For Yoro Diallo, Samba Diallo and Gaoussou Koumaré, it’s time for the artists to claim justice "if we really are in a State of right, how do not masked individuals continue to live of the work of other people openly and publicly in front of the authorities? It means that in this country there are two weights two measures ", said Mr. Koumaré for whom violence is not the solution. Other voices rose against the BMDA; they are convinced that it is responsible of all the misfortune of the artists.

"We must be heared, even if we must walk to Koulouba, to inform personally the president ATT and push him to involve in the fight against this evil. It’s a question of survival", suggested Néné Sourakassy.

Toumani Diabaté invited the artists to transcend the small quarrels of people to constitute a single and strong block.

The department of supervision also had its amount of accusations. Some artists think that the Minister of the Culture, even being an artist does limit himself to media apparitions and pompous speeches either to incinerate cassettes or to condemn piracy.

Several proposals were made among which a walk of protest against the Malian Office of authors’ rights this Wednesday and the dissolution of it