Kidnapping and Release of Mali Opposition Leader Mariko an additional Chapter of Modo-Colonialism in Africa

Christof Lehmann (nsnbc) After being kidnapped from his party office in Bamako by civilian dressed armed gunmen on 11 February, the presidential candidate and leader of the SADI party Dr. Oumar Mariko, has been released by Mali´s Securité d´Ètat yesterday, 13 February. The kidnapping is apparently tied to the attempt to discredit Mariko, the SADI party and the COPAM coalition of opposition parties before elections, and an attempt to secure that, the a french-backed regime is installed in the resource rich country.

The kidnapping of Dr. Mariko elicits attempts to blame the rebellion, or parts of the rebellion, for whom associates of former President Touré and interim President Dioncounda Traoré, such as Al Qaeda leader Ihyad Ag Ghali, on Dr. Mariko, the SADI, the COPAM and MP22 coalition. The latter have all endorsed the coup d´etat of 12 March 2012, which ousted the former President Amandou T. Touré.

The March 2012 coup d´etat was prompted, when opposition parties and high-ranking military officers became aware of a plan, hedged by the former President Touré, to sell off northern Mali to France and the Touarq. Many of Mali´s most valuable resources are located in the North. 1)

The Sécurité d´Ètat, the state security service of Mali, which was responsible for the kidnapping of Dr. Mariko on 11 February, is operating under the direct supervision of interim President Dioncounda Traoré.

The kidnapping of Presidential Candidate Dr. Oumar Mariko by the Sécurité d´Ètat is not the first incident of French backed, political abuse of West-African military, police or security services. The so-called arrest of Mariko constitutes no legitimate, legally justified arrest and was a de facto kidnapping at gunpoint.

Close associates of Dr. Mariko, who wish to remain anonymous of fear for repression, were asking the question, why the European Union, who claims to be a proponent of democracy and international justice, is aiding the anti-democratic forces of Mali by granting the administration of interim President Dioncounda Traoré a grant of 250 Million Euro.

The French pre-election strategy in Mali is following a well-known, well-tested and highly effective pattern.

One element of this strategy is the attempt to manufacture a media discourse, according to which Dr. Mariko, the SADI and the COPAM alliance would be the scapegoats for the problems in northern Mali. The fact that the rebellion was caused, supported and aggravated by the former, and ousted President Touré and his attempted sale of northern Mali to the Touareq and France, and the subsequent influx of Al Qaeda mercenaries into the security vacuum, is now to be blamed on the opposition, who has tried to prevent the crisis.

The kidnapping of Dr. Mariko and his interogation however, has brought a second strategy strategy to light. It is the isolation of opposition leaders by manufacturing charges, and the attempt to prevent opposition leaders from attending international meetings abroad. The construction of false charges seems to be based on the failed, French-backed counter-coup of April 30 2012.

Laurent Gbagbo

On 30 April 2012 the FDR, led by the present interim President Dioncounda Traoré, and Ivory Coast´s President Outtara, attempted a counter coup in Mali, to reverse the ousting of former President Touré. The Ivorian President Outtara came to power by a Frech-backed military coup in 2010. 2) Outtara is also the President of the CEDEAO, which is the French instrument of monetary and economic and political control over its former West-African colonies. 3)

Similar to the ousting of the Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo, France deployed CEDEAO mercenaries during the attempted counter coup of 30 April 2012 in Bamako. The French-backed mercenaries were supported by the the Presidential Guard of the ousted President Amandou Toumani Touré, also known as the Berets Rouge. The French-backed counter coup however, failed.

Recently, the captured Berets Rouge, who are supporting the FDR and interim President Traoré, were released from prison. Shortly after their release, firefights erupted between regular military forces of Mali and the Berrets Rouge in Bamako. The arrest, or kidnapping of Dr. Oumar Mariko on 11 February is, according to close associates of Dr. Mariko, tied to the attempt to scapegoat Dr. Mariko, the SADI party and the COPAM coalition of opposition parties for the firefight.

Over the recent months, Dr. Mariko has twice been hindered from leaving Mali for political talks abroad. The arrest on 11 February and the scapegoating of Mariko for the firefight, is according to associates of Dr. Mariko tied to an attempt to manufacture a legal pretext, that would prevent Dr. Mariko from taking part in political meetings abroad. The arrest on 11 February took place only a few days before Dr. Mariko was to leave Mali for political talks in Sweden and Denmark.

France is preparing the elections in Mali, which are expected to be held as early as June – July 2013, in well-known, well-tested, and highly efficient modo-colonialist style.

Parts of the standard strategy, which also is transpiring in Mali, is the scapegoating of the political opposition, denying the opposition, including members of parliament like Dr. Mariko access to media, the abuse of police, security and intelligence services for false arrests and the manufacturing of charges, and massive economical as well as military support for the chosen representatives of a modo-colonial proxy-government.

The chain of events in Mali, including the most recent ones, clearly show, that the enemies of France and Mali are not the French-backed “rebels“, who are the catalyst for justifying the military intervention. Considering, that the former President of Mali, Touré has given direct orders to Al Qaeda mercenaries, who were led by his long-term friend, Al Qaeda leader Ihyad Ag Ghali, to attack regular Malian military forces, it ought to be obvious, that the rebels are the catalyst for justifying the “guerre par procuration à l`ONU” the war by procurement of the United Nations.

The longer the French, US, German and others involvement in Mali lasts, the more evident it becomes, that the enemy of France and its allies are not the “rebels or Al Qaeda“. The enemy of France are the people of Mali, the military of Mali, and the opposition, which represents the people and the military of Mali against the usurper.

The contemporary history of Mali is but one more chapter of modo-colonialism in Africa. It is an additional chapter in a string of tragedies which began with the murder of Lumumba, which continued with countless other tragedies up to the recent chapters of Ivory Coast and the 2010 coup d´etat against the Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo, who is being held at the International Criminal Court. It continued with the 2011 assassination of Libya´s Head of State Muammar Ghaddafi, and it is today continuing in Mali. There is good reason to fear for the safety of Dr. Oumar Mariko and the safety of anyone else in Africa, who dares to speak above his breath in contempt against the usurper. Africa can face the lion of usurpation and modo-colonialism together, or be devoured one by one.