World Citizens Reiterate
Call for a Federation Within Mali
In a 3 September 2012 Appeal
to the African Union Commission Chairperson, the Association
of World Citizens reiterated its proposal for a federation within
Mali rather than the current division of the State into two independent
halves: the Tuareg-led north now called Azawad and the southern
half still recognized as Mali.
Since March 2012, Mali has been
effectively divided into two roughly equals halves. The northern
half is under the control of two rival Tuareg groups, the Movement
national de libération de l'Azawad (MNLA) and the Ansar
Dine (Defenders of the Faith). The MNLA is the larger but less
armed group. Its main aim is to create an independent State,
Azawad. The MNLA has already declared its formal independence,
but no State has recognized its legitimacy. Ansar Dine is an
Islamist group which says that it wants to apply Islamic law
to all of Mali.
There were talks among the Tuareg
to unify the two groups, but no agreement was able to be reached.
Different segments of the north are held by each group, but
some of the larger towns such as Timbuktu and Gao are also divided,
different neighbourhoods held by one or the other.
In addition to the two Tuareg-led
groups, a number of Islamic groups have entered the political
vacuum, coming from Mauritania, Libya, Algeria, Niger and northern
Nigeria. One Islamic group is Al-Qaida au Maghreb islamique
(Aqmi), another is the Movement pour l'unicité et le Jihad
en Afrique de l'ouest (Mujao). There are probably smaller or
less organized groups as well. Both Islamic groups have taken
hostages. On 2 September 2012, the Mujao claimed to have executed
an Algerian diplomat, one of seven taken from the Algerian consulate
in Gao, northern Mali. Three of the diplomats had been released
in July. The death of the Algerian vice-consul Tahar Touati
at the end of an ultimatum demanding an exchange with imprisoned
Jihadists in Algeria has not yet been confirmed by the Algerian
government.
The execution of the Algerian
diplomat highlights the growing power of the Islamist factions
in north Mali. They are increasingly imposing their vision of
Islam over the Tuareg population, more drawn to Sufi currents
within Islam. Sufi shrines and tombs of Sufi saints have been
destroyed in Timbuktu and others damaged in Gao. The Islamist
reasoning, not unlike that of the Taliban, is that the Sufi shrines
were supposed to protect the city while only God can protect.
Repressive interpretations of Islamic law are also being applied
in certain areas of the north. There were recent reports that
a couple accused of having children outside marriage were stoned
to death in the town of Aguelhok and the hands of thieves were
cut in a number of towns.
The Tuareg and Islamist control
of the north has led to more than 400,000 people to flee to the
south or to neighbouring countries. The growing disorder has
led to calls for a conquest of the north by the southern Mali
government with the possible help of African Union or other outside
forces.
In addition to the political
uncertainty, the whole of Mali - as much of the Sahel - has been
hit by lasting drought which has critically limited the food
supply. Food is brought in by the United Nations Food Programme,
but political conditions make distribution difficult. In any
case, food aid can only be a temporary measure, and Mali needs
ecologically-sound development, especially in food production.
Therefore, before more violence
breaks out, the Association of World Citizens has called for
the creation of a federation of north and south Mali rather than
having the country split into two independent States with uncertain
frontiers. Such a federation might be a measure acceptable to
both the MNLA and the government of Bamako. A federal constitution
could maintain the unity of the country while at the same time
providing the needed autonomy to the north and a preservation
of the Tuareg way of life. World Citizens also stress that there
needs to be the creation of a positive atmosphere in which the
drafting of such a federal constitution could be carried out.
Rene Wadlow, President and Representative
to the UN, Geneva, Association of World Citizens
la thématique : quelles alternatives pour aller vers une civilisation de paix ?