The Republic of Mali is located in the Western part of Africa. In the late 19th century Mali became a French colony and continued to be until 22 September 1960. Mali’s history dates way back in the past and it is quite interesting to follow.
My main focus today is to discuss the recent events that happened in Mali last month and the latest developments that are still happening. In short terms, it all started after the country gained its independence. Corrupt leaders, diverse tribes with different interests, the indifference of some, terrorism and many bloody clashes made what Mali is today: an ungovernable country with almost zero chances to change soon.
Ibrahim Boubacar Keita became Mali’s president on 4 September 2013, after elections were hold. Even if he promised to completely change the country, from all points of view, his 7 years of presidency are characterised as a failure, where corruption intensified and the Malian authorities lost control of many parts of Mali to the detriment of different non-state actors, especially terrorist affiliated groups. Many opponents of Keita blamed the former president for Mali’s biggest problems and saw him as corrupted. Honestly, Keita is just one of those responsible for the decay of the country.
Last month, a military group from the Malian army seized control of the country and arrested Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, the prime-minister and other government officials. The leader of the military group that led the coup, army colonel Assimi Goita, immediately introduced himself on live television as the leader of Mali. The international community views this move as a military coup, while the protagonists swore to build a better country, following a step-by-step transition programme, led mostly by civilians. Also, they vouched to ensure a better cooperation with international partners and hold new elections. So far, everything sounds marvellous, but how many times we have heard this so far? Irak, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Afghanistan, Yemen, Egypt etc. Nothing new under the sun.
The thread of the story is not something new: the military stormed the presidential residency and other governmental buildings and arrested the president and other top decision key players. People took the streets in Bamako, the capital, and other major cities, cheering and showing support for the military coup. The celebrations are still ongoing, thousands of people are singing and, honestly, they look really happy. Again, same thing happened in 2012, after another military coup took over the country.
While under arrest, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita resigned. Now Mali is cool…or not?!
What the military coup and Keita’s resignation mean?
The most disadvantaged is of course France, the former colonial masters. Paris invested so much in Mali in the last 10 years and they can lose everything now. President Emmanuel Macron said that France will keep a close eye on what is happening in Bamako and he also urged for a quick transition from the military to civilians. Besides the French president, other world leaders described the mutiny as a coup and asked the new Malian authorities to restore the constitutional order and the rule of law.
In my opinion, nothing good can happen when power is transferred from a group of individuals to another through a military coup. There is no country in the last 70 years where a military coup brought good to its people. Going back to Mali, a military coup will definitely bring nothing good.
Mali will be more isolated than before and will definitely suffer financially, economically and politically. This coup has tremendous regional implications for Mali. Another thing to mention is the increasing instability that help extremist groups affiliate with al-Qaeda and DAESH. During this power vacuum, they can regroup and launch attacks that will further weaken country’s defence.
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