However there was some discernible movement towards a joint effort when on 2 February Dramé declared that he had met Mariko and the activist Mohamed Youssouf Bathily ('Ras Bath') to work on a common front 'to save Mali'...
Activists like Sy Kadiatou Sow who heads the Platform An tè A Bana and Mohamed Youssouf Bathily (known everywhere as Ras Bath) who plays a leading role in the Collectif pour la défense de la République regard the summer protests as one more step towards ousting a sclerotic elite at the polls this year...