Too good to be true

Of course it was too good to be true. The heady dream of a liberated North with the nationwide celebrations it brought in its wake was wonderful as long as it lasted. But quite honestly, no one really thought that the Jihadists had just given up and disappeared. The weekend’s clashes in Gao between pockets of rebels and Malian soldiers bode ill for the future. And add to that the recent Bamako clashes between the regular Army and the Red Berets and the picture grows even darker. 

The Malian interim government have now released a list of names wanted internationally for a series of crimes including sedition and drug smuggling. The MNLA spokesman Moussa Ag Assarid (see blog 29 January) is among the wanted men. Another is Iyad Ag Ghali of the Ansar Dine. Both of these were to be part of the negociations that were to take place in Ouagadougo before the French intervention. There have already been 4 arrests. There is eery likelihood the rest are hiding out i Burkina. But will Blaise Compaore, the Burkina President  release them, will he cooperate with the Malians?

Another Touareg, Afarid Ag Ibarakawan, a long serving Deputy of Kidal at the Malian National Assembly was interviewed on TV the other day. He maintained, interestingly, that the MNLA is not representative of the majority of the Touaregs and have no mandate to speak for the Touareg people, many of whom have no wish to secede from Mali. He said that the MNLA would not even be able to represent the opinion of Kidal, the main Touareg town!  So why has France Inter for instance, a major French network, given such a platform for Ag Assarid and his MNLA? It surely cannot be just because they are so pretty in their turbans?