From France, some Malians consider the situation “deplorable”. Relations between Bamako and Paris have largely deteriorated since the arrival of the military junta in power following the August 2020 coup. The Malian authorities no longer want the French military presence, in the form of the operation Barkhane, who had been sent under François Hollande to prevent the establishment of an Islamic emirate in the north of the country, and in particular in Gao.
But the junta no longer sees the tricolor presence in the same light as the previous government. After the expulsion of the French ambassador on January 31, Paris and its European allies on the spot formalized the withdrawal of their troops on Thursday, following nine years of anti-jihadist struggle. If Barkhane had already planned to go back down to the south of the country, Task Force Takuba, a special forces unit in place to target or physically eliminate senior leaders of al-Qaeda or the Islamic State, is also concerned by this withdrawal. . A decision applauded by the junta and part of the Malian population, in which an anti-French feeling has developed over the years. The ruling junta in Bamako then asked France on Friday to “withdraw without delay” its soldiers from Mali, judging the results of 9 years of French engagement “not satisfactory”.
“Diplomacy must prevail”
A withdrawal that will undoubtedly leave a great void in the region, even if the French troops will not leave the Sahel, threatened by various jihadist groups such as groups affiliated with al-Qaeda (JNIM or GSIM, support group for Islam and Muslims) and branches of the Islamic State in Africa.
In Bamako, the inhabitants received the news sometimes with satisfaction, sometimes with concern. From Paris, it is above all a feeling of immense regret that is expressed. The president of the Superior Council of the Malian Diaspora (CSDM), Baïdy Dramé, considers the situation “deplorable”. “France is an old friend of Mali, we are linked by history, it is a pity that the governments did not know how to manage the situation diplomatically”, he regrets to 20 Minutesdenouncing the “attacks by interposed media” while “diplomacy must prevail”.
“The terrorists are mixed with the population”
Although he regrets this decision, he understands it. Paris was, according to him, initially pushed by the behavior of the junta and a certain part of the population on the spot. “This French decision is understandable when, by a press release, by demonstrations, it is the name of the liberator who is pointed out as if he were responsible for the ills of Mali”, he develops.
Today, concern regarding the future of the country takes precedence in the minds of Malians residing in France. “Without foreign forces, our army is not able to ensure security, that’s why the North might be invaded by jihadists, recalls Baïdy Dramé. We are worried because our army cannot do it alone, without allies. It will be a big void. This territory is very vast and the terrorists are mixed with the population, eat with it, sleep with it, they are infiltrated. »
Mali needs “a sacred union”
And if an anti-French feeling is present in part of the Malian population, for the president of the CSDM, this is not the case in the north and center of the country, where the jihadist groups have tried to establish themselves. in 2012. Conversely, in these territories, “those who are experiencing the situation are worried and many regret the departure of France”.
A division between pro and anti-French forces which threatens a little more a future stabilization of Mali because “to stabilize a country, you need a sacred union. Mali has been in a security, political, identity and social crisis for ten years. Without sacred union there is no peace, and without peace there is no development. We cannot live in autarky, we cannot consider our traditional allies as our enemies”, abounds Baïdy Dramé.
“Terrorist groups have always demanded the departure of foreign troops”
Especially since the speech in favor of the tricolor withdrawal is in agreement with the will of the jihadist groups who have been demanding the departure of foreign troops from the start. “Terrorist groups have always demanded the departure of foreign troops, so when they find a population that speaks like them, they are silent. I don’t think they are destroyed, they are happy, ”analyzes Baïdy Dramé.
The latter puts little hope in the supposed Russian presence in Mali. If the Malian authorities deny it, France and Westerners denounce the call made, according to them, to the Russian private security group Wagner, to controversial actions. Baïdy Dramé does not see how the thousand Russian mercenaries on the spot can do the work that the 2,400 French soldiers deployed in Mali, in addition to European and African partners, have failed to do.
“We want our country to be in harmony with the rest of the world”
Unlike the junta, Baïdy Dramé refuses to speak of France’s failure. On the contrary, he congratulates the many victories, sometimes too silent, of the French forces. He then applauded the fact that the French soldiers “prevented Mali from becoming an Islamic emirate, they killed the biggest terrorists who found refuge in Mali”, but, according to him, France did not communicate enough on these accomplishments, which were not understood by the population. And to those who criticize the lack of political control following having driven out the enemy, he replies that “when the cities are liberated, it is up to the Malian State to come and settle, it is not up to France to replace the Malian State. »
For his family there and his trips to Mali, Baïdy Dramé is less worried because in Bamako, the situation is not as unstable and potentially dangerous as in the north and center of the country which, as he points out, is making a area of more than one million km2. “Malians in France are like ambassadors of Mali. Beyond any political consideration, we want our country to be in agreement with the rest of the world, because the rest of the world has come to Mali to defend the freedom of Malians,” he concludes.
