mali is a historially renowned african country that gained independence in 1960 after years of struggle against french colonial rule, now 63 years after independence, mali, just like many of its african neighbors is still struggling to end french domination. since attaining independence, this west african country has been afflicted by several rebellions, insurrections and cools, some backed and instigated by former colonial power france. now the current government of mali came to power in may 2021, amid an anti-france wave in the country. "the people of mali have had

enough of french neocolonialism and now want true political and economic sovereignty. due to popular demand, french troops have been ejected from mali, but this colonial power is intent on striking back. mali had to cancel th years independent celebrations after attacks by separatist rebels in the northern region of the country. so who is behind the current insurgency in marlin? hello, i'm mubarak kenya and this is. today in this episode we are focusing on the situation in mali as the country marks 63 year of independence from france. the second segment of our program is on the recent decision by burkina faso to expell defense attache of the embassy of france from the country. the expulsion came following intelligence reports that he was carrying out subversive activities. mali resisting french imperialism. malli's famous northern timbuktu

city that once served as major intellectual hub of islamic civilization is once again the focal point for terrorist organizations operating in the sahel region. due to the worsening security situation, the government of mali canceled festivities planned for the anniversary of the country's independence celebrated on september 22. many people in mali like this activists here believe that france is still meddling in the country's internal affairs by insiding terrorists and insergents nous sommes pas contre la france, nous sommes pas contre les français, mais oui nous sommes contre la politique française au mali, nous sommes contre la politique française au sahel, les choses ont changé, nous pensons que la france maintient le statuco pour qu'il reste mette de lieu. well, for more on the situation in mali, we have contacted david. saying he is the founder of

the west african weekly. thanks lot for your time sir today. thank you very much for having me. now timbuktu, the historic city situated in northern mali, is under threat from foreign back terrorist organizations. this comes just after french president emmanuel macron said, mali, burkina faso or niger would have disappeared if paris had not intervened militarily in the sahel. now are we seeing a common pattern here? of france creating a pretext for reoccupying mali after its ejection from this country? so yes, you would have to say that that is, that certainly looks to be the case, um, as is very well known, of all the colonial powers to have ever operated in africa, france historically has always been the most unwilling to let go, and when when it is forced to let go, it has historically been the most vengeful when it is letting go, so for example the... the way it um basically

trashed the entire country of guine when country voted for its independence in 1958, i think that's that is still something that is in the memory of most people within francaphone africa. secret intelligence agency, the dgs, is actually one of the most active on the african continent, particularly in north africa and the sahel, they have lot of resources in that region, so it's actually not beyond the realms of possibility. the renewed military. activity allegedly by the tuarek separatis and terrorists in mali came after the ejection of french troops from this country. the question that arises here is whether imperialist france is striking back following its auster in mali by encouraging separatists pushing for the balcanization of mali. i think that is definitely a real possibility, for those not know, france has actually done worse than that in the past, so few seconds ago... i alluded to what it did

in guine before it was forced to leave the country, basically um, before leaving the country, the french, occupying colonialism made sure that the country was essentially support. charged from the one, they salted land, they poison water sources, they burnt down government buildings, civil service buildings, they they they destroyed hospitals, roads, you know, they the colonial administrator famously made a comments that there mustn't be a single functioning type writer in the country of guine by the time they leave, that's how the french have been and they are forced to leave the country that they are illegally ocying, so um it's it you france potentially being behind the resurgence of of of terrorist violence in in in mali is actually not the worst thing it has done, so it definitely is within the capability of france, it definitely is something france can do and has done. armed groups from northern mali claim that they

captured some parts of this region. this has increased fears of collapse of a peace deal between the ex-rebels and government forces. meanwhile, united. nations mission in mali, minusma is gearing up for significant milestone as it readies itself for its scheduled withdrawal from mari on the 31st of december 2023. wayne, the head of minusma recently briefed the un security council on the situation in mali. let's take a listen. parties have adopted diverging positions regarding the fate of camps to be uh left by the mission. here the transitional. have signaled to the mission that they themselves intend to retake ginsma camps following the missions withdrawal. now mali cancelled independence day celebrations this year after deadly attacks by insargans in the north. the country's interim president, asimi goita says, the anniversary will be celebrated in

sobriety following attacks that have left dozens of people dead. now what's your take on this decision? well, i think it's it's a it's a relatively. sensible decision, i think it's a it's a pragmatic decision, um, and i think it signifies that the the regime currently in charge of mali, at the very least understands the severity of the task that lies ahead of it, so instead of hiding behind sort of empty, triumphalist signaling, the regime seems to understand that there is lot of hard work ahead, so basically it doesn't really make sense to waste time and energy on, you know, unless. and signaling right now, so the message that he put out in my opinion was exactly right, it's a time for sobriety and it's a time for looking forward for looking to the task ahead instead of patting yourself on the back for what those far has been a largely symbolic um series of events um the real revolution if you like is

still is still ahead still lies ahead um the the majority of the hard work still lies ahead but the good news from an african point of view is that it seems as if the regime in mali at the very least seems to realize that, so that's definitely a good thing. mali needs international assistance in confronting the security challenges it faces. it's quite clear that previous french intervention in mali did not end terrorism, but actually led to increasing attacks. russia's foreign minister sergey lavrov visited mali in february and was warmly welcomed in bamaco as the... west africa nation seeks military help for its fight against armed groups. lavrov said defense ties between the two countries are improving. last year and the start of this year, cooperation in military and military technical areas was given new page in their development. a large consignment of

russian aviation technology was sent, thanks to which marley's army was able to conduct successful operations against the terrorists who remain active on their territory. well, that's a lava. they are speaking now mari has turned it in efforts to end insecurity in the country. now is this a prudent decision? violence is actually worse now than it has ever been, then clearly it means that at the very least um partnership or whatever it is with france clearly hasn't worked, so it's time to try something new, so even if even if it's not the case that it's actually france that is instigating violence and it's not actually france is behind it. very least you have to say france part the... the partnership that has has been completely useless from from imalen point of view, if the violence is actually higher is is more serious now than it has ever been, the the death told now is higher than it has ever been, then of what use is the so-called

military partnership with france, so it definitely does make sense that they would look to another option right, and it's so happens that the only other option right now is you know the option that lies eastward be that russia or china, so i think that's the pragmatic thing to do, that's what i would do if i was in the shoe, i don't really see that they have any other option. malli exported 69.3 tons of... gold the year compared to 63.9 tons in 2021. these statistics are an indicator that the interim government in mali led by asiita is moving in the right direction. it appears that france is unhappy with this progress and therefore intent on messing up this country. i definitely do agree that france definitely is not happy with that, and the reason is very simple, um, if for anyone who knows a thing or two about international economics. politics um you know that france's position as a first world

country as as economically um advanced and economically developed country is almost entirely dependent on this thing called france of freak right the 14 nations across africa which france basically maintains a colonial group on the have of lobsided agreements that he has with them and the economic crime known as cfa frank, for those you don't know, the cfa frank is essentially colonial money which 14 african countries, including the likes of mali, have been forced to use, so if individual uh members of france, africa starting to break out of that toxic colonial relationship, and are proving that when you break out of france a freak, you will actually do better economically. that's very bad news from a french point of view. because it means that the other nations within frank are going to you get clued on

very quickly that there is life outside of france undermali's new constitution passed overwhelmingly with 96% of the vote in a june 18 referendum french is no longer the official language now the movie is seen as a clear blow to france a linguistic student says it is important to use the local language bambara est vraiment important dans notre société, car tous les maliens, toute la population malienne a presque que parle presque dans ce langue quoi, donc c'est très important euh d'apprendre. well, last question to you, now what in your opinion are the political and cultural implications of this decision 63 years after independence. now what's the the potential, what the the... um act of dropping french as an official language potentially means is that going

forward there's a possibility that mali and any other country in france or freak which follows in its footsteps and drops as an official language can um explore the possibility of potentially adopting possibly english or you know another language which enables it have wider access to the world. i think um this is definitely the a step in the right direction for mali and i think the rest of france. freak should be paying very close attention to the results that mali um will post in the in the in the coming months and years as this effect of sort of um winning itself of toxic dependency on france basically especially the the sefa frank and the use of the french language what results that this is going to have on the french economy and on french integration or on on the... economy sorry and on malian integration with with other economies in africa, i think other countries in france

should be paying very close attention. while indeed, it appears mari is moving in the right direction, by ending his toxic ties with france, i'd like to thank our guest there, david handein, founder of the west african weekly for his incisive analysis and you now take a short break before our next topic on how france is yet medling in burkina faso's internal affairs, stay with us. france medaling in burkina faso. i'm shawn murray and this is the conversation. effectively the british government don't want an international spotlight on their actions in the conflict in ireland. i mean, the uk state has a long dark history in covering up its human rights abuses. it's not supposed to be starzy german. if this is democratic. society, let's open the fans, but it's so important to have alternative voices, there are so many, many unanswered questions,

they're uncomfortable questions, and this is the conversation, where we take a turn of look at politic event and currentfers through an irish. relations between burkina faso and his colonizer of france have continued to warsen since a popular september 2022 military takeover. in the most recent incident, burkina fasso's government ordered french embassy's defense atache emmanuel passkier to leave the country due to subversive behavior. many people in burkina fasso see france's military presence in the country as a failure

as it did not improve security in the insurgent hit west african country. immédiatement nous voulons pas ambassadeur français au burkina comme lick alaart luck alard représente comme satan au burkina il représente comme oman comme terroriste nous voulons pas ce genre ambassadeur d'un ambassadeur terroriste c'est d'un terroriste nous vous pas ambassadeur il n'est pas autorité au burkina allez to discuss the escalation of tensions between france and burkina faso, we have contacted abdullatif ahmad, he's a senior nigerian journalist, thanks for your time sir today, thank you for having me, now burkina faso has ordered uh the french defense official to leave the country for engaging in subversive activities, do we have indicators of exactly

what acts of subversion this french defense tatache was engaged in there in bukina. far, the indicators are not clear, they are not in public view, most times they are based on intelligence reports that have been actioned upon and been sent to uh the government. don't forget that burkina faso like other french speaking african countries are continually escalating their anti-french sentiments and apart from ordering their french representatives to leave their countries uh there is a chance that from what the signals they've gotten, from the conversations they've had, from the interactions that the ambassador has with people within the country and outside the country, there is a chance that burkina faso feels that uh the the mr. emmanuel has to leave the country, so there may not not be

indicators that are in public view, but i suspect strongly that there are intelligence report or... signals to the to the government of burkina faso that suggest that uh emmanuel pasca needs to leave the country. during france's military presence, burkina faso turned into one of the poorest countries in the world, amit a growing presence of terrorist groups affiliated to al-qaeda and daesh, which killed thousands of people and triggered humanitarian crisis in the country. the government of burkina faso now says it will collaborate with. new partners to restore security. this might have been informed by the uh activities of of french troops across the region. it is expected that considering the heightened terror attacks, insurgency in the in the sahel, the support from the french troops was meant to subdue

the terrorist, reduced their impact and their activities across the region. however, what we have seen over time is that there has been rising and worsening security situation in the sahil, so while we may not be sure of friends, of france's obstrusive or diversionary activities you know within the region, what's the argument is that the presence of france or the french troops in you the region has not improved the the security situation? is rich in mineral resources, in fact it is one of the leading producers of gold in africa. french companies have looted these resources for decades and kept the economy of france alive while the people of burkina fasso languish in poverty. masses in this country came out strongly to express support for the new leader ibrahim

traore after he housed france back paul henry sandago damiba. damibance. damiba is pro-french, he has destroyed burkina faso, but thanks to god, we have a great strong man like ibrahim traya to save us all, now next question to mr. ahmed, now will bukinabes benefit from their country's wealth under the current government, which is popular due to its anti-france sentiments, the fact that you know the french have been u the they've given a cold shoulder to the french and they are seeking uh alternative partner uh suggest that there can be better negotiations of you know uh bilateral agreements or... agreements to ensure that they have better pricing for their product and not the price that the you know the french uh were used to uh before now

again just the fact that the french presence in you know in these countries have continue to impovelish you know the seasonerry uh it it it's not just about the french but the quality of leaders at the french because again as they said in africa body can cut your hair without your approval, so where are the leaders in these countries when the when french uh uh investors for example uh give them the short hand of of you know the negotiations? burkina fasso is among african nations that have recently turned to other foreign powers such as russia and china to combat terrorism on their soil an effort to find a long-lasting solution to security challenges. the people have declared support for the...

will provide solution to security challenges? there is new direction towards the east that is china and russia, it is expected that the russians and the china chinese uh troops that are coming in for example will look at alternative ways of dealing with the security problem. what it means is there has been solutions or ideas that we're being used in the past that has not been as effective as it is expected, those strategies will be reviewed, hopefully, those strategies will be looked at and uh an alternative strategy will be brought about, that is my expectation, beyond that, you will have realized that the french uh sorry the the russians and the uh the chinese do not interfere in the uh

governance process, they do not interfere in the politics of the nation as compared to uh western powers that would want to dictate certain things to you know the country considering the fact that they are the colonial masters of of burkina faso and other francophone countries burkina faso. mali and niger recently announced the formation of a military alliance to counter external aggression. mali's foreign minister elaborates here. tote atteinte à la souveraine any attack on the sovereignty and territorial integrity, one or more of the signaturies will be considered aggression against the others and it will entail a duty of assistance and relief on the part of all d'assistance et de secours de toutes les parties. question to mr. ahmed, are we going to see a bigger anti-france alliance in the region and can it be transformed into a formidable economic and political block? um,

that alliance is welcome, as i said, and is expected to forge a common understanding, why is france today seen as the enemy of the region it is because of france's obstrusive activities in the region, because of france is you know inordinate political you know interference. within the region, if you are coming to offer security, protection and help, stick to that and leave the country to run its own, so um, yes, you know, the alliances are fine, but simply having anti-frants does not solve a problem, simply complaining about you, a problem, doesn't fix it, there has to be an independent alternative thinking to how to fix the problem, because again, france is only offering help, if france cannot help then, you know, those within the region. be able to help themselves, well there you have it, alternative thinking is the key word, former french colonis in africa such as burkina faso, are charting their own independent

path. i'd like to thank our guest abdullatif ahmad for his insight. and that brings us to the end of yet another edition of africa today. it's always great having you watch the show. you can watch episode on all of shows on our website cristv.ir. thanks lot for watching and goodbye for now.

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