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 these years Independence Celebrations after attacks by separatist rebels in the Northern Region of the country. So who is behind the current insurgency in mali . Hello, im mubarak kenya and. Is africa today. In this weeks episode we are focusing on the situation in mali as the country marks 63 years of independence from france. The second segment of our program is on the recent decision by burkina faso to expel the defense atache of the embassy of france from the country. The expulsion came following Intelligence Reports that he was carrying out subversive activities. Malay. Resisting french imperialism. Mallys 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 countrys independence celebrated on september 22. Many people in mari like this activists here believe that france is still meddling in the countrys internal affairs by insiding terrorists and sommes pas contre la france, nous sommes pas contre les francais, mais oui nous sommes contre la politique francaise au mali, ne sont contre la politique francaise au sahel, les choses ont change, nous pensons que la france maintient le statu quo pour quil reste mette de lieu, well on the situation we have contacted david hundain, 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 sahil. 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 when it is letting go so for example the the way it um basically trash the entire country of guine when the country voted for its independence in 1958 i think thats that is still something that that is in the memory of most people within francaford africa secret Intelligence Agency the dgsc is one is actually one of the most active on the african continent particularly in north africa and the sahel they they have lot of resources in that. So its actually not beyond the realms of possibility. The renewed military activity, allegedly by the tuarek separatiss 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 um for those. May not know, france has actually done worse than that in the past, so in a few seconds ago alluded to what it did in guine, before it was forced to leave the country, basically um, before leaving the country, the french um occupy colonialists made sure that the country was essentially sabotaged from day one, they salted farmland, they poison water sources, they burnt down government buildings, Civil Service buildings, they they they destroyed hospitals, roads, you know the the colonial administrator famously made a comment that there mustnt be a single functioning typewriter in the country of guine by the time they leave, thats how vengeful his historically the french have been when they are forced to leave a country that they are illegally occupying so um its it you france potentially being behind the resurgence of of of terrorist violence in in in mari 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 the collapse of a peace deal between the exrebels and government forces. Meanwhile, United Nations mission in mali, minusma is gearing up for a significant milestone, as it readies itself for its scheduled withdraw from mali on the 31st of december 2023. The head of minusma recently briefed Un Security Council on the situation in mali, lets say listen parties verging positions regarding the fate of camp to be left by the mission. Here the transition authorities have sing to the mission that they themselves intend to retake minusma camps following the missions with. Now mali Council IndependenceDay Celebrations this year after attacks by insurgents in the north. The countrys interim president assim says anniversary will be celebrated in sobriety following attack. That have left dozens of people dead, now whats your take on this decision . Well, i think its a its a relatively sensible decision, i think its a its a pragmatic decision, um, and i think it signifies that the the regime currently in charge mali at the very understands the severity of the task that lies ahead of it, so instead of hiding behind sort of empty triumphalist sanling, the regime seems to. Understand that there is lot of hard work ahead so basically it doesnt really make sense to waste time and energy on you know unnecessary fair and signaling right now so the message that he put out in my opinion was exactly right, its a time for sobriety and its 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 a still lies ahead, um, the the majority of the hard work still lies ahead, but the good news for an african point of view is that it seems as if the regime in mali at the very least seems to realize that, so thats definitely a good thing. Mali Needs International assistance in confronting the security challenges it faces. Its quite clear that previous french intervention in mali did not end terrorism, but actually led to increasing attacks. Russias foreign minister Sergey Lavrov visited mali in february and was warmly welcomed in bamako as the west african nation seeks military help for his fight against armed groups. Lavrov said the 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 content of Russian Aviation technology was sent thanks to which marleys army was able to conduct successful operations. Against the terrorists who remain active on their territory, well thats a lava of the are speaking, now mari has stand is 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 that partnership or whatever it is with france clearly hasnt worked, so its time to try something new, so even if even if its not the case that is france that is instigating violence and its not actually france is behind it, at the very least you have to say france, the part the the partnership that france has has has been completely useless from from amalian point of view, if the violence is actually higher is is more serious now than it has ever been, the the death toll now is higher than it has ever been, then of what use is the socalled military partnership with france, so it definitely does make sense that they would look to another option right, and its so 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 thats the pragmatic thing to do, thats what i would do if i was in their shoes, i dont. See that they have any other option. Malli exported 69. 3 tons of gold last year, compared to 63. 9 tons in 2021. These statistics are an indicator that the interim government in mali led by asimi goita 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 or geopolitics, um, you know that frances position as a first world country, as as economically um advanced and economically developed country, its almost entirely dependent on this thing called france a freak, right . The 14 nations across africa which france basically maintains a colonial group. On the you know the pleava of lobsided agreements that he has with them and the the Economic Crime known as the cfa frank for those dont 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 memberr earstw members of france are starting to break out of that toxic colonial. Relationship and are proving that when you break out of france a v you will actually do better economically . Thats very bad news my french point of view because it means that the other nations within france of are going to you get clued on very quickly that there is life outside of france undermalis 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 students says it is important to use the local language bambara. Vraiment importante dans notre societe car tous les maliens, toute la population malienne a presque parle presque dans ce langue quoi, donc cest tres important dapprendre le bonmankan. Last question to you, now what in your opinion are the political and cultural implications of these decisions . 63 years after independence, now whats the potential, what the the um act of dropping french as an official language potential means is that Going Forward is a possibility that mali and any other country in france or freak which follows in its full steps and drops french 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 the a step in the right direction for mali, and i think the rest of france should be paying very close attention to the results that mari um will post in the in the in the coming months and years as this effect of sort of um weening itself of that 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 with other on on on the malian economy sorry and on malian integration with with other economies in africa. I think other countries in france should be paying very close attention. Well indeed, it appears mari is moving in the right direction by ending his toxic ties with france. Id 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 Fasos internal affairs, stay with us, france medaling in burkina faso, im lambatopic here on press tv, and i want you to join me for cats and dogs where we take a quick look at dirty laundry in washington, bad manners at the United Nations, and barking people in germany, literally. Thats all on press tv. With me lambotopic and cats and dogs, dont miss it, relations between burkina fa and his former colonizer france have continued to worsten since a popular september 2022 military takeover. In the most recent incident, Burkina Fassos government ordered french embassys defense atache emmanuel to leave the country due to subversive behavior. Many people in burkina faso perceive frances military presence in the country as a failure as it did not improve security in the insurgent hit west african country. Regular protests take place in the country where citizens express their sentiments against france. Immediatement nous voulons pas ambassadeur francais. Ambassadeur dun ambassadeur cetait nous voulons pas ambassadeur il nest pas autorite au burkination of tensions between france and burkina faso we have contacted abdullatif ahmad hes a senior nigerian journalist thanks lot for your time saturday, 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 sache was engaged in there in bukina faso . The indicators are not clear, they are not in public view. Most times they are based on Intelligence Reports that have been actioned of. And been sent to uh the government, dont forget that burkina faso, like other french speaking, african countries are continually escalating their antifrench sentiments and apart from ordering their french representatives to leave their countries, there is a chance that from what the signals youve gotten, the conversations theyve had, from the interactions that the ambassador has with. People within the country and outside the country, there is a chance that feels that the the mr. Imanuel 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 bukina faso that suggest that emmanuel paska needs to leave the country. During frances military presence, burkina faso turned into one of the poorest countries in the world, amit a growing presence of terrorist groups affiliated to alqaeda and daesh, which killed thousands of people and triggered a humanitarian crisis in the country. The government of Burkina Fasso now says it will collaborate with new partners to restore security. This might have been informed by the 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 terrorists, reduced their impact and their activities across the region, however what we have time is that there has been rising and worsening security situation in the sahel, so while we may not be sure of friends of france is obstrusive or divers activities in the region, whats the argument is that the presence of france, or the troops in you, the region has not improved the the security situation. Burkina faso 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 faso languish in poverty. Masking this country came out strongly to express support for the new leader Ibrahim Traore after he housed france back paul henry santiago damiba is profrench he has destroyed Burkina Fasso but thanks to god we have a great strong man like ibrahim trive us all now next question to mr. Ahmed now. Inabes benefit from their countrys wealth under the current government, which is popular due to its antifrance sentiments . The fact that you know the french have been giving a Cold Shoulder to the french and they are seeking alternative partner uh suggests that there can be better you know negotiations of you know Bilateral Agreements or trade agreements to ensure that they have better pricing for their product and not the prices that um 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 impoverish you know the citizenry, it it its not just about the french, but the quality of leaders that engage the french, because again as it is said in africa, nobody can cut your hair without your approval, so where are the leaders in this countries when the you know when french uh investors for example uh give them the short hand of the negotiations . Burkina faso 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 longlasting solution to security challenges, the people have declared support for the countrys collaboration with russia to restore security demande le soutien de la russie pour laccompagner dans cette lute acharnee qui nous a ete imposee, a besoin de tous les collaborateurs, si la russie peut faire notre affaire, elle est la bienvenue. There are Great Expectations that such a 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 were being used in the past that has not been as effective as it is expected, those those strategies will be reviewed, hopefully, those strategies will be looked at and an alternative strategy will be brought about, that is my expectation, beyond that you will have realized that the french, sorry, the the russians and the uh the chinese do not interfere in the governance process, they do not interfere in the politics of the nation as compared to western powers that we want to dictate certain things to you know. The country, considering the fact that they are the colonial masters of burkina faso and other frank of countries. Mali and niger recently announced the formation of a military alliance to counter external aggression, malis foreign minister elaborate here. Tote atteinte a 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. Last question to mr. Ahmed, are we going to see a bigger antifrance 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 frances obstrusive activities in the region it is because of frances you know inordinate uh political you know interferences 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 yes you know the alliances are fine but simply having antifrance rhetorics does not solve a problem simply complaining about you know a problem doesnt fix it so there has to be an independent or thinking to how to fix the problem, because uh again, france is only offering help, if france cannot help then, you know, those within the region should be able to help themselves, well there you have it, alternative thinking is the keyword, former french colonies in africa, such as burkina faso, are charting their own independent path. Id like to thank our guest abdullatif ahmad for his insight. Well and that brings us to the end of yet another edition of africa today, its always great having you watch the show, you can watch this episode and all our previous shows on our website pressv. Iir. Thanks lot for watching and goodbye for now. The headlines, president lords iran successful satellite launch into orbit, as yet another indication that sanctions cannot stop countries progress. The Iraqi Security forces arrest over dozen suspects in connection with deadly inferno to christian wedding. Ceremony of morning mass is held for the victims, the democratic peoples republic of korea amends constitution to bolster its Nuclear Power status to deter us provocations