Since
early 2012, Mali has been an extremely interesting, complicated, and
unpredictable country in the Middle East that many are having a hard time
wrapping their heads around. From Islamic radicals rebelling against their own
government and Al Queda moving in seeking a new region to HQ their operations,
to French military moving in to aid and recover what they once controlled,
conflict has been non-stop for months on end. While the story is abstract and
complex right now, it will only continue on this path as the conflict becomes
resolved and Malians try to recover what little is left of their government, or
rebuild it from the bottom up.
Food
security and a large amount of displaced citizens are at the top of the
"To-Do" list for most Malians, but they are not making much headway
without a strong government to back them up. While the United Nations are
intervening and trying to help out, they do not believe that the groups in Mali
who are taking charge and trying to rebuild are not allowing them to truly
help. Director for West Africa of the International Crisis Group stated that
"Malian elites do not seem ready to confront collectively. They should be
able to agree on a minimum [criteria to restore governance] and right now the
conditions for such a debate are not met." This notion that even factions
of the UN thing that the situation is still a little too hairy is a clear
signal that a true end to the conflict is far out of sight.
This
article is great at explaining what some of the overhanging problems are
present in re-establishing a government in Mali. For one, Mali has never had an
election for any sort of democratic government, which will surely be
internationally enforced. Mali was rushed into setting up a government outside
of French control and has had little time, in respect to other nations, to
develop that government. Another huge issue that needs to be dealt with is the
reformation of Mali's military. The Malian army was taken over by Islamist
Rebels and Al Queda linked groups, who still hold a significant amount of power
in the area. All parties considered, this isn't going away any time soon.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97633/How-to-tackle-Mali-s-crisis-in-the-long-term
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