FRANCE: Mali's Foreign Minister Tieman Coulibaly wants more intelligence shared in the Sahel region to fight Islamist threat, accuses Tuareg separatists of racist acts

Record ID: 820515

  • Title: FRANCE: Mali's Foreign Minister Tieman Coulibaly wants more intelligence shared in the Sahel region to fight Islamist threat, accuses Tuareg separatists of racist acts
  • Date: 4th June 2013
  • Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (JUNE 4, 2013) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF HOTEL WHERE MALI FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTER TIEMAN COULIBALY IS GIVING INTERVIEW COULIBALY WALKING PAST COULIBALY DURING INTERVIEW (SOUNDBITE) (French) MALI FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTER TIEMAN COULIBALY SAYING: "We must co-ordinate better. Today we need a constant effort to share information and in order to act together against this threat. This is a threat to everybody - Niger, Mauritania, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Mali, Algeria -- it's a danger for everyone -- and beyond, beyond." COULIBALY'S HANDS DURING INTERVIEW (SOUNDBITE) (French) MALI FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTER TIEMAN COULIBALY SAYING: "That an organised armed group begin to do what they are doing, that is arrest hundreds of Malian citizens because they are black and asking them to go back to their country when in fact they are already in their country it's extremely serious, extremely serious. So we are facing something quite exceptional and we don't want to be caught off guard. From now on we are applying everything that the United Nations resolutions allow us to do, including to restore the territorial integrity of the country." COULIBALY DURING INTERVIEW (SOUNDBITE) (French) MALI FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTER TIEMAN COULIBALY SAYING: "I think that the talks will slow down because we can't continue to talk with people who, while we are proposing to negotiate peace, they are transforming into a Ku Klux Klan in northern Mali. This is totally unacceptable so the army will certainly move towards Kidal." COULIBALY'S HANDS DURING INTERVIEW (SOUNDBITE) (French) MALI FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTER TIEMAN COULIBALY SAYING: "The (presidential) elections have to take place, it is our objective. They have to take place in July. And today the ball is no longer in our camp." VARIOUS OF COULIBALY AFTER INTERVIEW
  • Embargoed: 19th June 2013 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: France
  • Country: France
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAC7UXMFU4Z937IE6K7TVBO1KLH
  • Story Text: Mali's foreign minister said on Tuesday (June 4) that nations in the Sahara were not doing enough to stop the Islamist threat spreading across the region and urged more intelligence-sharing and joint military operations.
    A string of attacks in Niger including on a French-run uranium mine have shown how Islamist rebels have taken advantage of a security vacuum since French-led forces drove al-Qaeda-linked fighters from strongholds in northern Mali this year.
    Regional rivalries are aggravating the problem for Paris and its Western allies, with a lack of cooperation between Saharan countries helping militants to melt away when they come under pressure and regroup in quieter parts of the vast desert.

    "We must co-ordinate better. Today we need a constant effort to share information and in order to act together against this threat. This is a threat to everybody - Niger, Mauritania, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Mali, Algeria -- it's a danger for everyone -- and beyond, beyond," Tieman Coulibaly told Reuters in an interview in Paris.
    Security officials say lawless southern Libya has become the latest haven for Islamist groups. Paris has put the blame firmly on these groups for attacking its embassy in Tripoli in April.
    Regional nations met in March in Mauritania to discuss how to put better mechanisms in place to share information and to see ultimately how to launch joint operations. Those states are due to meet again in Algeria in the coming days for further consultations, Coulibaly said.
    France, which is keen to cut its troop numbers in the region, has said it would support all regional efforts. But, amid persistent bickering and mistrust among regional powers, President Francois Hollande admitted earlier this month that French forces may have to be used elsewhere in the Sahel.
    However, Paris' immediate priority is to ensure the situation in Mali remains stable and that proposed presidential elections in July take place as planned in all the country.
    To achieve that, talks have started between the central government and armed Tuareg separatist MNLA rebels, who control the north-eastern city of Kidal, to try and reach a deal that would allow elections to be held in the city.
    Coulibaly said the situation was "worrying" in Kidal where hundreds had been arrested and accused the MNLA of committing "racist and segregationist acts" against non-Tuaregs which was forcing the Malian army to move towards Kidal.

    "That an organised armed group begin to do what they are doing, that is arrest hundreds of Malian citizens because they are black and asking them to go back to their country when in fact they are already in their country it's extremely serious, extremely serious. So we are facing something quite exceptional and we don't want to be caught off guard. From now on we are applying everything that the United Nations resolutions allow us to do, including to restore the territorial integrity of the country," Coulibaly told Reuters.
    Tension over Kidal risks turning public opinion against France, which was feted for liberating Mali's north from Islamist occupation, but has come under criticism for allowing the MNLA to retain their grip on the desert town.
    A suspected Islamist suicide bomber blew himself up on Tuesday but caused no other casualties in an attack in Kidal, witnesses said.

    "I think that the talks will slow down because we can't continue to talk with people who, while we are proposing to negotiate peace, they are transforming into a Ku Klux Klan in northern Mali. This is totally unacceptable so the army will certainly move towards Kidal," Coulibaly said.
    The MNLA has denied the detentions were based on race and said the government is trying to inflame the situation.
    The elections are due to conclude a transition to democracy following a military coup in April 2012 that led to Mali's north falling under Islamist occupation for nine months.
    Coulibaly said there was still time to reach a deal with the MNLA, but that without security in Kidal it would be difficult to hold the elections.

    "The (presidential) elections have to take place, it is our objective. They have to take place in July. And today the ball is no longer in our camp," he said.
    The MNLA was not targeted by the French offensive and has since been able to retake some areas, including Kidal, lost to the Islamists. But this has strained relations between France and the transitional government in the southern capital, Bamako.
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