Mali: Sad balance of French intervention

Al Qaeda retreated, but is not defeated; the groups who asked for external action do not respect autonomy of the Tuareg as they promised. With the lowest Human Development Index on the planet, Mali holds its first presidential election, second round, this weekend.

Located in West Africa and the holder of the lowest HDI (Human Development Index) on the planet, Mali will, this weekend (10 and 11 August) hold the second round of the presidential election. This will be the first, after a series of political earthquakes that occurred in the last sixteen months.

First, most of the territory came under the control of fundamentalist groups linked to al-Qaeda and from Libya - these being heavily armed, after the dismantling of the army of Muammar Gaddafi. Then there was a military coup and the "new" government called for French intervention - which occurred in January. For all that, most international analysts saw a great victory in the election and the first step towards the resumption of a "democratic" path.

It is different from the point of view of Giorgio Cafiero, published today in Foreign Policy in Focus, an excellent alternative website on international relations. He points to three two great facts, despised by conventional reviews.

In brief, the French troops will leave the country, replaced by a UN force, which will be much less prepared. As the fundamentalists retreated without confrontation before the French, they are likely to return. Moreover, the political class in Bamako (the capital) does not show any flexibility as regards the Tuareg, the semi-nomadic people who inhabit the entire north of the country (80% of the territory, in the midst of the Sahara desert). It was these groups that al Qaeda relied on in its foray in 2012.

If Cafiero is right, the French intervention will appear very soon, as just another chapter "humanitarian" Western actions - those that do not approach, deep-down, the basic problems of the countries concerned, and often make things worse.

Source:
http://www.iranews.com.br/noticia/10571/mali-triste-saldo-da-intervencao-francesa

Translated from the Portuguese version

Originally published in Blog da Redação do Outras Palavras.In

http://www.iranews.com.br/noticia/10571/mali-triste-saldo-da-intervencao-francesa