French troops had helped stopping the
rebel advance
French troops had helped stopping the
rebel advance
Donors from more than 100
countries and a number of international organizations have in Brussels promised
billions in aid to Mali. Strings attached to the money include a national
dialogue and transition to democracy.
The international donor conference for Mali
has pledged more than 3 billion euros ($3.9 billion) to help the country,
exceeding expectations of 2 billion euros. The European Union alone will
provide some 520 million euros in 2013 and 2014. Independent of that amount,
Germany has promised 100 million, France, the former colonial power of Mali,
has pledged almost 300 million euros.
Earlier this year, a French military
intervention stopped rebels from making further inroads in the country.
"The war is won, now we have to secure the peace," French Foreign
Minister Laurent Fabius. France has begun to withdraw its soldiers and transfer
the responsibility for the security situation to a multinational African
mission. Germany's Bundeswehr wants to participate in that mission with 180
training officers.
But first and foremost the
pledged money will aim to meet the population's basic needs. The war has
devastated the country which already is one of the poorest in the world and
which even in better days was dependant on foreign aid. Additionally, the 2012
military coup had meant that many donor countries had ceased sending aid.
EU Commissioner Kristalina
Georgieva spoke of the desperate need in all of Mali. "tthe critical point
is food, 660,000 children are malnourished, 750,000 people require immediate
food aid." The EU also estimated that there are half a million refugees,
both in Mali itself as well as in neighboring countries. They too are to
receive international aid.
Reconciliation and
democratization
But in the long run this
all will achieve very little if nothing is done about the causes of the crisis.
Most of the donors, including the EU, the World Bank, the IMF and the United
Nations, set conditions on their support. EU Commission President Jose Manuel
Barroso said the reestablishment of order and government in the country linked
to Mali's sustainable development. Sri Mulyani Indrawati, the World Bank
representative, said there was urgent need "to strengthen the judicial
system and fight corruption to protect all citizens but especially women and
the poor."
Rebecca Gynspan of the
United Nations Development Program called on all of Mali's leading politicians
to engage into a "national dialogue" with all groups of society. She
added that only then would it be possible to solve the "deeply rooted
political, social and development problems." Also the German promise for aid
is made dependant on the democratization process and is to be paid only if
progress on that front is made.
No safe haven for
terrorists
It's a demand that Mali's
transitional President Dioncounda Traore wants to fulfill. The first item to do
on his list is to make himself superfluous. Brussels has asked Traore to hold
fresh presidential elections by end of July. This deadline was a challenge,
Traore said, but one "we have to accept and meet."
He said he does not want to
run for office again and added that the prime minister and other members of the
government will also not run for the job.
"We believe we can not be judges and
participants at the same time," Traore said. "We want to give the
people of Mali an election as transparent, open, honest and credible as
possible."
Despite all the country's problems, Foreign
Minister Tieman Hubert Coulibaly is hopeful.
"Mali is a country full of
promise," Coulibaly said. "The youth believe in the future. And we
believe that a stable Mali will mean a stable west Africa."
He reminded the donors of their own interests
as well. EU representatives said a torn Mali would destabilize the entire
region and could make it to a safe haven for extremists just south of Europe. A
stable Mali, however, would contribute to calming the tense situation in the
region.
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