"Our folklore, our oral and written traditions, and our music ... are the most striking and vibrant manifestations of our culture."
Modibo Keïta, from a speech to the National Assembly given on 20 January 1961. From his book, A collection of Speeches, 22 September 1960-27 August 1964, Moscow, 1965.
" [L]anguage is a tool of which no nation in the world can have a monopoly."
Modibo Keïta, from a speech to the National Assembly given on 20 January 1961.
From his book, A collection of Speeches, 22 September 1960-27 August 1964, Moscow, 1965.
"We want to develop and we shall accept the aid of the devil himself on the condition that he recognizes our policies punctiliously."
From a speech given by Modibo Keïta in Bamako on 22 September 1961, on the first anniversary of the disbanding of the Mali Federation (20 August 1960) and the creation of a new Mali Republic (22 September 1960). From his book, A collection of Speeches, 22 September 1960-27 August 1964, Moscow, 1965.
"Mali rejects the kind of political tightrope walking which leads its devotees to aggress to concessions advantageous sometimes to Western powers and sometimes to Eastern powers. A country that pursues such a policy loses its dignity and its personality; it becomes a weathercock that turns in the direction where the pressure is stronger."
From a speech given by Modibo Keïta at a meeting to welcome the president of Côte d'Ivoire, Félix Houphouët-Boigny, on 20 December 1961 in Bamako.
From his book, A collection of Speeches, 22 September 1960-27 August 1964, Moscow, 1965.
"There is indeed a dictatorship in Mali, but it is a people's dictatorship, it is the commitment of every citizen of Mali to respect his free and clearly expressed choice, his solemn promise to make Mali free and prosperous and to contribute significantly to the liberation and unification of Africa."
From a speech given by Modibo Keïta at a meeting to welcome the president of Côte d'Ivoire, Félix Houphouët-Boigny, on 20 December 1961 in Bamako. From his book, A collection of Speeches, 22 September 1960-27 August 1964, Moscow, 1965.
"I think we could say that in 1962 the whole world is bourgeois, with the sole exception of Africa! People sometimes refer to the villas of the Ministers and the palace of the President. But how can they think that men who suffered with the people, who fought on the people's side, could install themselves beatifically in an environment of certain comfort and forget that their victory is the people's victory, a victory of which the people were the principal makers?"
From a speech given by Modibo Keïta at a graduation ceremony in Bamako on 17 March 1962. From his book, A collection of Speeches, 22 September 1960-27 August 1964, Moscow, 1965.
Modibo Keïta, from a speech to the National Assembly given on 20 January 1961. From his book, A collection of Speeches, 22 September 1960-27 August 1964, Moscow, 1965.
" [L]anguage is a tool of which no nation in the world can have a monopoly."
Modibo Keïta, from a speech to the National Assembly given on 20 January 1961.
From his book, A collection of Speeches, 22 September 1960-27 August 1964, Moscow, 1965.
"We want to develop and we shall accept the aid of the devil himself on the condition that he recognizes our policies punctiliously."
From a speech given by Modibo Keïta in Bamako on 22 September 1961, on the first anniversary of the disbanding of the Mali Federation (20 August 1960) and the creation of a new Mali Republic (22 September 1960). From his book, A collection of Speeches, 22 September 1960-27 August 1964, Moscow, 1965.
"Mali rejects the kind of political tightrope walking which leads its devotees to aggress to concessions advantageous sometimes to Western powers and sometimes to Eastern powers. A country that pursues such a policy loses its dignity and its personality; it becomes a weathercock that turns in the direction where the pressure is stronger."
From a speech given by Modibo Keïta at a meeting to welcome the president of Côte d'Ivoire, Félix Houphouët-Boigny, on 20 December 1961 in Bamako.
From his book, A collection of Speeches, 22 September 1960-27 August 1964, Moscow, 1965.
"There is indeed a dictatorship in Mali, but it is a people's dictatorship, it is the commitment of every citizen of Mali to respect his free and clearly expressed choice, his solemn promise to make Mali free and prosperous and to contribute significantly to the liberation and unification of Africa."
From a speech given by Modibo Keïta at a meeting to welcome the president of Côte d'Ivoire, Félix Houphouët-Boigny, on 20 December 1961 in Bamako. From his book, A collection of Speeches, 22 September 1960-27 August 1964, Moscow, 1965.
"I think we could say that in 1962 the whole world is bourgeois, with the sole exception of Africa! People sometimes refer to the villas of the Ministers and the palace of the President. But how can they think that men who suffered with the people, who fought on the people's side, could install themselves beatifically in an environment of certain comfort and forget that their victory is the people's victory, a victory of which the people were the principal makers?"
From a speech given by Modibo Keïta at a graduation ceremony in Bamako on 17 March 1962. From his book, A collection of Speeches, 22 September 1960-27 August 1964, Moscow, 1965.