"They are taking advantage of the chaos you caused and you are in no shape to do anything about it at the moment. Better pretend to be a victim."
I'm sure they are taking advantage of the situation. However, the Tuareg National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad was actually causing problems before the coup though and the army, as well as a significant part of the general population, were getting frustrated with the President's unwillingness to address the issue. However, things had been peaceful in Mali until recently. There were at least ten peaceful years after the just deposed President took over in a, wait for it, . . . a Coup. Anyway, I really don't see the good Captain stepping down. He'll probably "win" the next free election after the citizens "beg" him to run. Here's a good article: http://allafrica.com/stories/201203250178.html Some excerpts: For the past decade, Mali has been incrementally portrayed as the poster-child of good democratic transition in West Africa and its president, Amadou Toumani Touré, respected as a leader of some substance. That was until Wednesday this week, when the army ousted Touré less than one month before the next presidential election. ... Meanwhile, conflict in Mali involving the Tuareg minority in the North, the latest round of which has been simmering since the start of the year, had been proving unexpectedly difficult for government forces to quash. This week it triggered a cabal of soldiers, led by junior officers, to express their disaffection by seizing, at least temporarily, the most visible reins of Malian state power - the Presidential palace and State TV station. ... The Army's disquiet is also reflected by military families and the wider populace, particularly in the south of the country, who are unhappy at reports of heavy losses the army is suffering. February saw thousands of citizens take to the streets in protest over the way in which the government had been handling the uprising. ... Yet, that a coup should have occurred so close to the April 29th elections, when Touré was due to step down, is highly significant. It has been suggested that the seizure of power in this way is indicative of a sentiment among sections of the military, and their supporters in civilian society, who believe that politicians are unable to competently resolve the rebellion in the North. If true, then there is more reason to be concerned for Mali in the long-term. ... Touré was himself a General who came to power in a coup, if those who have grasped power do not have faith in politicians - or military commanders turned politicians - what do they envisage the future of Mali's executive branch to look like? Indeed, the interruption of Mali's democracy in this way may jeopardise its status as a bedrock of democracy in West Africa - and compromise the funding from international donors that comes with this. Aside from the widespread condemnation from other international actors, the World Bank and African Development Bank have already suspended some support. J - Ninety percent of politicians give the other ten percent a bad reputation. - Henry Kissinger Politicians are people who, when they see light at the end of the tunnel, go out and buy some more tunnel. - John Quinton ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Order the Adobe Coldfusion Anthology now! http://www.amazon.com/Adobe-Coldfusion-Anthology/dp/1430272155/?tag=houseoffusion Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/message.cfm/messageid:349048 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/unsubscribe.cfm
