Bamako sunset

Thanks to a friend and the digital technology, I could watch the sun setting below the horizon of Bamako, the capital of Mali. The Niger River reflected the last rays of light of the day and sent me a message of beauty, tranquillity and vastness. Not far, the image showed one the arteries of the city, as busy as it is customary on a Sunday end of the afternoon. We talked about the virus – five registered deaths so far in the country. But we know how difficult it is to record the true cause of death in a country like Mali. Fine. The important point, for me, was to learn that life goes on as usual in the city and elsewhere. The UN mission, and the embassies, are following the prevention protocols. But the ordinary Malian is focused on what keeps him busy every day: to find enough resources to buy food and other basic needs; and to worry about the security of his family and his own, especially in the central and northern regions of the country. And those concerns are there to stay. People have very little time for the virus, as they had no time for the legislative elections that took place last weekend. The turnout in Bamako was around 10%. That says a lot. And it reminds us that we might live in a global village, but some corners of that village spend their time just trying to survive, virus or no virus.

Africa is calling me

I got a few calls in the last couple of days from African friends who live in different parts of Africa. They all wanted to know if I was feeling well. They were worried about me and my family, as we live in a dangerous part of the world, the unsafe Europe. I was very pleased to be able to chat with them. And amazed that the concerns were now running in the opposite direction. It was no longer me calling them to find out how is Kinshasa, or Bulawayo, Bujumbura, Freetown, Ouagadougou, Bamako treating them. That has been the tradition. But now, we live in a new normal, a world that has changed so fast in last few weeks. As one of them told me today, I am now at the epicentre of global crisis. And indeed, we all are, particularly in Italy, France, Spain, and so on. There is only one concern in the air. And every conversation is about the same subject. The same subject that made my worried African friends call me.

Mali and the international community

Mali is still in crisis. The Northern territories are far from being secured and the political situation in the capital and throughout the country is very unstable.  The Dialogue and Reconciliation Commission formally adopted on 6 March 2013 is yet to start working. Many of its Commissioners have not yet been appointed. The UN peace-keeping operation is at the design stage. The Security Council resolution that will approve the mission, under the very strange name of United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) – multidimensional needs not to be in the name, if it is an integrated mission – has been drafted but has not yet been finalised. In any case, if it were approved in the next weeks it will take several months to have the peacekeeping forces fully operational. On the other hand, the EU presence that is supposed to train the new Malian military and security personnel is just beginning its deployment.

In view of all this, the elections scheduled for July 2013 – presidential elections on 7 July 2013 and legislative elections on 21 July 2013 – seem pretty premature. I do not see the necessary minimum conditions being in place by July for peaceful and credible elections to take place. Therefore, I can’t understand the reasoning of the key Northern partners of Mali that continue to insist that this calendar should be abided by. 

Mali

President Hollande’s decision to send troops to Mali should be fully supported. It is time to stop the armed men that are trying to destroy the country’s fragile institutions and peaceful, tolerant way of life the Malians have gotten used to.

Those men are just fighters without a cause, hiding behind a very simple and brutal way of looking at religion. They come from an old tradition of razzias combined with the lack of economic opportunities in a vast arid area. For years, their leaders and many of them served Kaddafi’s dreams of an African legion. This was a great source of money, weapons and military training, even if substandard.

The West African nations are in no position to militarily oppose these raiders. These are countries with very weak, ineffectual armies. To believe they can put together a credible force and fight the radicals from Northern Mali is a serious mistake. Furthermore, these armies have no training to combat in desert areas. For these reasons, a larger support, from France and elsewhere, is a must.

And the UN needs to reconsider its position and be real about what can be done and who can do it in Mali. The French and other nations from the broader international community can.