Mali quits G5 Sahel anti-jihadist force: France intrigues?
Mali quits G5 Sahel anti-jihadist force: France intrigues?
Kanako Mita and Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
The nation of Mali is quitting the G5 Sahel regional group. This regional group consisted of Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger before Mali announced that it would withdraw from this anti-jihadist alliance.
Mali is citing political intrigues by a nation outside of the region. Hence, it is presumed that France – smarting from recent developments in Mali – is being implicated by authorities in Mali. Therefore, Mali seeks to distance itself from the former colonial power by seeking better relations with other nations.
A statement by the government of Mali said: “The government of Mali is deciding to withdraw from all the organs and bodies of the G5 Sahel, including the joint force.”
Regional nations – on the prompt of France according to Mali – rejected Mali from taking over the presidency of the G5 Sahel regional group. Thus, Mali lacks trust in the direction of the G5 Sahel and opposes outside meddling – especially the role of France.
Mali said, “The opposition of some G5 Sahel member states to Mali’s presidency is linked to maneuvers by a state outside the region aiming desperately to isolate Mali.”
Modern Tokyo Times – in a recent article – said, “Colonel Gaddafi’s demise in Libya (2011) by major Western powers (America, France, and the United Kingdom) destabilized the fragile Sahel region. Thus internal terrorists, ethnic demands against central forces, international jihadists, and criminal forces all benefitted from the failed policies of America, France, and the United Kingdom.”
Voice of America reports, “An impoverished nation of about 21 million people, Mali has struggled to contain a jihadist insurgency that emerged in 2012, before spreading to neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger.”
Mali is beset by Islamist insurgents and ethnic tensions that threaten the nation-state. Military elites are also concerned – and disenchanted – with the role of France in the internal affairs of Mali and throughout the Sahel region. Hence, ruling elites in Mali hope that greater central power concentration will enable the nation to tackle the ample problems.
If France is intervening – similar to America and Australia in the internal affairs of the Solomon Islands – it is high time for Western powers to be condemned for having colonial-minded traits.
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The post Mali quits G5 Sahel anti-jihadist force: France intrigues? first appeared on Modern Tokyo Times.