About Mali
- The landlocked West African country
of Mali - one of the poorest in the world - experienced rapid
economic growth after the 1990s, coupled with a flourishing democracy and
relative social stability.
- This all hung in the balance in early
2012, when the steady collapse of state control over the north of the
country was followed by an inconclusive military coup.
- Capital: Bamako.
- Got independence from France in
1960
Who
was the leader before coup?
- Amadou Toumani Toure, dubbed the "soldier
of democracy", was an army general who was credited with
rescuing Mali from military dictatorship and establishing
democracy.
- He came to power in 1991 after
overthrowing military ruler Moussa Traore, and won presidential polls in
2002 and 2007.
- He had been due to step aside at the end
of his current term. Presidential elections were to have been held in
April 2012.
- Mr Toure formally resigned after the coup
and left Mali for Senegal, although his supporters
continued attacks on the new authorities in the capital, Bamako, into
May.
Why did the
military coup?
- Army officers, led by Captain Amadou Sanogo, said they were taking
over because of Mr Toure's mishandling of a Tuareg-led insurrection in the
north.
What
was the arrangement done after the coup?
- Dioncounda
Traore became the
President in April 2012, marking a return to civilian rule after
the military coup in March.
- Military leader Captain Sanogo agreed in
May 2012 to let President Traore remain in office for a year to oversee
the full transition to civilian rule.
- Under a deal with the military brokered
by regional powers, Mr Traore has named a prime minister, Cheick Modibo Diarra. The unity
administration will include the military and will govern until new
elections can be held.
- Mr Traore, a former speaker of
parliament, has vowed to respect the constitution and preserve democracy.
He has warned that he will use military force against Tuareg and Islamist
militants who took advantage of the coup to declare an independent state
in the north.
Who are Tuareg?
·
Sometimes called the Blue People because the
indigo used in some traditional robes and turbans dye their skins dark blue
·
Historically nomadic Berber people who live in the Sahara and
Sahel regions of Libya, Algeria, Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali, which they call
Azawad
·
When camels were introduced into the
Sahara 2,000 years ago, the Tuareg became the main operators of the
trans-Saharan caravan trade in commodities such as salt and gold
·
Lost out when trade switched to the
Atlantic Ocean
·
The Tuareg in Mali say they face
discrimination because they are light-skinned and have been neglected by the
government in far-off Bamako
·
They prefer to call themselves
themselves the Kel Tamasheq or speakers of Tamasheq - their language which has
its own alphabet
Who are Islamist militants Ansar Dine?
- The Ansar Dine group which is said to
have links to al-Qaeda, seized control of northen Mali in April,
after a coup left Mali's army in disarray.
- Initially, it was working with secular
ethnic Tuareg rebels demanding independence for northern Mali's
desert territories but the groups have recently clashed and Islamist
forces are in control of northern Mali's three main centres
- Timbuktu, Gao and Kidal.
- They have attacked the famous 15th-Century Sidi Yahia mosque in the historic city
of Timbuktu. They broke down the door of the mosque as Ansar Dine's
Salafist beliefs condemn the veneration of saints.
- The door which has been smashed had been
left sealed as it led to the sacred tomb of saints. Some local people
believe that opening the door will herald misfortune.
- They have also vowed to smash every
mausoleum, in the face of international protests. The centuries-old shrines to Islamic saints, revered by Sufi Muslims,
are regarded as idolatrous by the group.
Who are AQIM ?
- They are the
people having similar ideology like that of Ansar Dine !
- Al-Qaida in the Islamic
Mahgreb (AQIM)
- something like a franchise
of Al-Qaida + variety of hardcore groups operating in this region.
- It offers a typical mix of
jihadist activity + criminality (drugs, weapons trades, kidnapping, ransom
etc.)
Who are the Secular Tuaregs ?
They are basically the MNLA . Earlier they
wanted to create a separate nation for Tuareg people, but now they just want
autonomy.
What is the Gaddafhi angle in this ?
- Colonel Gaddafi (of
Libya) had been hiring Tuareg tribesmen in his army.
- 2011=Uprising in Libya,
Colonel Gaddafi gets killed.
- So these Tuareg tribesmen
(from Libyan army) formed their own new rebel group called “MNLA”.
- They took possession of
powerful weapons, surface-to-air missiles etc. from Gaddafi’s fallen army
and decided to come back home.
- They came back home
(Northern Mali) and started fighting against the Mali Government. (+Other
Islamic militants were also active in the region so they got help.)
Timbuktu
- Timbuktu was a centre of Islamic
learning from the 13th to the 17th Centuries
- 700,000 manuscripts survive in public
libraries and private collections
- Books on religion, law, literature and
science
- Letters between rulers, advisers and
merchants on subjects as varied as taxation, commerce, marriage, divorce,
adoption, and prostitution
- Added to Unesco world heritage list in
1988 for its three large mosques and 16 cemeteries and mausoleums
- Unesco says they played a major role in
spreading Islam in West Africa; the oldest dates from 1329
French INTERVENTION
·
France was a staunch advocate of
intervention soon after the rebels' 2012 gains, but wanted an African force to
be in the forefront of battle.
·
Following the new rebel advance in
January this year, France felt it could no longer wait for African troops to be
deployed and declared war on the rebels.
·
Now, Ecowas has started to deploy
troops, which are expected to number more than 3,000 troops. Nigeria will form
the backbone of the force, contributing 900 soldiers.
·
Other countries that have pledged
troops include Ghana, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso and Niger. Chad, which is not
part of the regional body Ecowas, is also sending 2,000 soldiers to work in
co-ordination with French troops.
·
Among North African states, Egypt has
condemned France's intervention and Algeria is known to have privately argued
against military intervention when the idea was first mooted.
·
It feared that the rebels would
retreat to its side of the border in the face of a military assault,
destabilising its territory even further.
The murky motives behind Mali's crisis Military operations
in Mali by France are meant to stop the Islamist rebels, who are perceived as a
threat to France and Europe because they might establish a Taliban-type regime
in Mali
African
Union stand on this
- African union= Secretariat
in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
- In late January 2013,
African Union held a summit to get a solution for Mali crisis.
- French wants AU to quickly
deploy soldiers. but so far only about 1,000 troops have arrived, and only
few of them have taken up front line positions, where actual fighting is
going on (between Rebels and French).
- Chad has promised to send
2,000 soldiers and Burundi has confirmed its readiness to join without
giving exact number of soldiers.
- So this Mali crisis will be
an acid test of African Union’s ability to tackle regional crisis.
US Stand on this
- U.S. says, “If
African Union (AU) sends forces in Mali, we’ll support them with
logistics. But we cannot fully engage in Mali until a new government is
elected and the political crisis is solved.”
- Experts believe President
Obama wants to spend his second (and last) term fixing the “domestic
issues” (economic crisis) so Democratic party can win next Presidential
election.
- Therefore, he is not much
interested in pursuing aggressive foreign policy agenda anymore. Besides
America has already burned enough cash on Iraq and Afghanistan.
Situation in Algeria
- Algeria allowed French use
there airspace to bang MALI
- So the terrorists attacked a
gas plant in Algeria and took hostage asking Algeria to leave there
prominent terrorists in Algerian jails and gave it a French angle to seek
international attention .
- Algeria did not gave in to
their demands and attacked the terrorists leading to death of 27 militants
and about 36 civilians including
British nationals ..which pulled international criticism.
Latest News
Mali crisis: 330 UK military personnel sent to
West Africa
BBC News - 1 day ago
Current US involvement in Mali crisis could
turn into another 'undeclared' war
In Short
Mali's rebels
- · Ansar Dine seeks to impose Islamic law across the country
- · A number of its militants are Tuareg fighters who returned from Libya after fighting alongside Muammar Gaddafi's troops
- · Islamic Movement for Azawad split from Ansar Dine in late January 2013
- · Says it opposes "terrorism and extremism"
- · Advocates dialogue with the government to resolve grievances of northern Malians
- · Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) is al-Qaeda's North African wing, with roots in Algeria
- · Made up mostly of foreign fighters
- · Says it wants to spread Islamic law and liberate Malians from French colonial legacy
- · Known for kidnapping Westerners
- · Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (Mujao) is an AQIM splinter group whose aim is to spread jihad to the whole of West Africa
- · Advocates Islamic law and has waged a campaign of violence against Tuareg separatists
- · Signed-in-Blood Battalion is a recent AQIM offshoot committed to a global jihad
- · Made up mostly of foreign fighters
- · Has vowed to uphold Sharia in northern Mali
- · Was responsible for January 2013 siege of Algerian gas facility, taking and killing foreign hostages
- · The National Movement Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) is a secular Tuareg group which seeks independence for a homeland they call Azawad
- · Cause dates back to when Mali achieved independence in 1960
- · Many of MNLA's Tuareg combatants fought alongside Colonel Gaddafi's troops
- · Former allies of Ansar Dine and Mujao, but now opposed to Islamist groups
=====================================
Miscellaneous Stuff
INDIA AND MALI relations
·
Both nations are part of the Non-Aligned Movement.
·
Mali supports India's candidacy for a permanent seat in a
reformed Security Council.
·
India offered to set up a food processing business incubation centre in Mali under
the IAFS-II.
·
The President of Mali, Amadou
Toumani Toure, paid an official visit to India from
11-12 January 2012.
·
India
and Mali signed three agreements during this visit. The agreements are as
following;
1.MoU on Co-operation in the field of Geology and Mineral Resources between the Ministry of Mines of the Government of India and Ministry of Mines of the Government of the Republic of Mali.
2. Joint statement by India and Mali on the occasion of the visit of the President of Mali.
3. India also extended Line of Credit of 100 million US dollars for a power transmission project.
