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“The decisions taken by the conference will be applied in order and in freely accepted discipline. This is not defeatism, it is not capitulation, it is a question of national responsibility.”

Source: Discours de clôture de la Conférence nationale des forces vives de la nation, hôtel PLM Alédjo, Cotonou, 28 février 1990

Context The nine-day conference had declared itself sovereign, stripped the Marxist-Leninist state of its powers and installed a transitional government; the sitting head of state accepted that outcome in this closing address.

Portrait of Mathieu Kérékou
Mathieu KérékouBenin · 1933–2015
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