Sinister Cultural Marxist
22nd March 2012, 16:20
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17474946
Renegade soldiers in Mali have looted the presidential palace in the capital, Bamako, after a coup.
The coup leaders have called for calm and said all borders are closed after announcing that they have seized control of the country on state TV.
A government official has told the BBC that Amadou Toumani Toure is safe and not in the custody of the mutineers.
The African Union said the "act of rebellion" was a "significant setback for Mali".
Continue reading the main story (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17474946#story_continues_2) Mali troop mutiny
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/59232000/jpg/_59232932_sonogo_bbcgrab.jpg
Mutiny leader Capt Amadou Sanogo (pictured above) has imposed a national curfew
It follows anger among troops at the government's handling of a Tuareg rebellion in the north
Amadou Toumani Toure is said to be safe and not being held by mutineers
A number of ministers have been arrested
Country has had democratic rule for 20 years
Troops in Mali attack palace (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17470950)
Mali country profile (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13881370)
Kenya's Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula and his delegation are stranded in the country, as Bamako's airport is closed, after attending an AU meeting on peace and security.
The West African regional body Ecowas said the mutinous soldiers' behaviour was "reprehensible" and "misguided".
The soldiers said they had led Wednesday's mutiny because the government had not giving them enough arms to tackle a rebellion by ethnic Tuareg in the north of Mali.
They attacked the presidential palace, traded gunfire with soldiers loyal to the government and took over the state radio and TV broadcaster in Bamako and took it off air.
After several hours of footage of traditional Malian music and dancing, a group of soldiers appeared on screen early on Thursday morning, with a caption identifying them as the "Committee for the Re-establishment of Democracy and the Restoration of the State".
The leader of the mutiny was revealed to be Capt Amadou Sanogo, who appeared briefly to announce the imposition of a national curfew, although he did not specifying the time and said the constitution had been suspended.
'Arrests' The BBC's Martin Vogl in the capital says soldiers were seen taking televisions and other goods out of the palace following the coup announcement.
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/59231000/gif/_59231643_mali_bamako_304.gif
In a second statement, read on state television on Thursday morning, the renegade troops called on soldiers who took part in the mutiny to stop shooting in the air in order to restore calm in Bamako.
They announced that all borders were closed and asked for civil servants to resume activities next week.
A source told the BBC that the foreign minister and a number of other ministers have been arrested by the renegade soldiers.
The government official, who told the BBC the president was safe, did not give any further details about his whereabouts.
Meanwhile, in the northern town of Gao, renegade soldiers said they had detained loyalist military chiefs in military barracks, according to the AFP news agency.
Our correspondent said an elite force, known as the Red Berets, could still be loyal to President Toure.
He said Mali has had democratic rule for the last 20 years, during which it has come to be seen as a model which other emerging democracies can look to.
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/59230000/jpg/_59230553_014322204-1.jpg Appeals for calm were issued after soldiers in Bamako fired into the air overnight in celebration
The unrest began on Wednesday as the country's defence minister started a tour of military barracks north of the capital.
Soldiers upset with the government's handling of the Tuareg rebellion fired in the air during the inspection, prompting an immediate strengthening of security around the presidential palace.
The Tuaregs have forced the army out of several northern towns in recent months.
A presidential election was due to take place in the country in just under a month.
The government had so far refused to postpone the poll, despite the unrest involving Tuareg-led rebels.
Both the US and France have urged the soldiers and government to resolve their dispute through peaceful means.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/22/mali-rebels-coup
Mali (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/mali) was in a state of crisis on Thursday as mutineering soldiers seized power and announced a military curfew.
A spokesman for the mutineers – who have formed themselves into a National Committee for the Restoration of Democracy and State (CNRDR) – have said the constitution is suspended and democratic institutions dissolved.
In video footage now circulating on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wB8VHaQvQi0%20Captian%20Amadou%20Haya%20Sa nogo), Captian Amadou Haya Sanogo, who is emerging as the leader of the CNRDR, appeared on Malian TV to announce an immediate curfew and appeal for calm after hours of gunfire overnight in the capital, Bamako.
Since the 1990s Mali has been known for being one of the most stable democracies in west Africa (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/africa). Sanogo was a previously little known middle-rank solider in Mali's army.
A spokesman for the CNRDR said it would oversee a transition back to democratically elected power.
"The CNRDR … has decided to assume its responsibilities by putting an end to the incompetent regime of Amadou Toumani Toure," said Amadou Konare.
"We promise to hand power back to a democratically elected president as soon as the country is reunified and its integrity is no longer threatened," he said.
However, the whereabouts of Toure remained unclear.
"The president is not in the palace, the soldiers have taken him to another location," said Cheick Oumar Sissoko, leader of Mali opposition party African Solidarity for Democracy and Independence. "We think he has been taken to another military base."
Toure, a former military commander, overthrew a military regime in a coup in 1991, overseeing a transition to democracy, and was first elected in 2002.
Anger towards his regime has been mounting in the army since January when a rebellion led by rebels from the Tuareg ethnic group began attacking towns in northern Mali. The rebellion, which has displaced 200,000 civilians in areas already affected by food shortages, has been strengthened by arms and soldiers returning from Libya, where many Tuaregs supported Muammar Gaddafi.
"Mali's army has been very angry since the Tuareg rebels started attacking towns in the north, said Sissoko. "They say they are very disappointed that the government has not done more to help them with equipment or food, and that the government has no capacity to resolve any of those problems. So they decide to stop them and now to try to continue the democracy with new elections."
In a statement, the UN secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, called for calm and stated that grievances had to be settled democratically.
Jean Ping, the head of the commission of the African Union continental grouping, said he was "deeply concerned by the reprehensible acts currently being perpetrated by some elements of the Malian army".
It seems the army is angry at being under-equipped to fight Tuareg rebels who are bolstered by well-armed warriors returning from Libya where they were mercenaries fighting on behalf of Gaddafi, but the soldiers in the army are now looting. The question of course is what next for the people of Mali? Is it going to descend into a brutal civil war? It has been a fairly stable country recently, though it is very poor.
Renegade soldiers in Mali have looted the presidential palace in the capital, Bamako, after a coup.
The coup leaders have called for calm and said all borders are closed after announcing that they have seized control of the country on state TV.
A government official has told the BBC that Amadou Toumani Toure is safe and not in the custody of the mutineers.
The African Union said the "act of rebellion" was a "significant setback for Mali".
Continue reading the main story (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17474946#story_continues_2) Mali troop mutiny
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/59232000/jpg/_59232932_sonogo_bbcgrab.jpg
Mutiny leader Capt Amadou Sanogo (pictured above) has imposed a national curfew
It follows anger among troops at the government's handling of a Tuareg rebellion in the north
Amadou Toumani Toure is said to be safe and not being held by mutineers
A number of ministers have been arrested
Country has had democratic rule for 20 years
Troops in Mali attack palace (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17470950)
Mali country profile (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13881370)
Kenya's Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula and his delegation are stranded in the country, as Bamako's airport is closed, after attending an AU meeting on peace and security.
The West African regional body Ecowas said the mutinous soldiers' behaviour was "reprehensible" and "misguided".
The soldiers said they had led Wednesday's mutiny because the government had not giving them enough arms to tackle a rebellion by ethnic Tuareg in the north of Mali.
They attacked the presidential palace, traded gunfire with soldiers loyal to the government and took over the state radio and TV broadcaster in Bamako and took it off air.
After several hours of footage of traditional Malian music and dancing, a group of soldiers appeared on screen early on Thursday morning, with a caption identifying them as the "Committee for the Re-establishment of Democracy and the Restoration of the State".
The leader of the mutiny was revealed to be Capt Amadou Sanogo, who appeared briefly to announce the imposition of a national curfew, although he did not specifying the time and said the constitution had been suspended.
'Arrests' The BBC's Martin Vogl in the capital says soldiers were seen taking televisions and other goods out of the palace following the coup announcement.
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/59231000/gif/_59231643_mali_bamako_304.gif
In a second statement, read on state television on Thursday morning, the renegade troops called on soldiers who took part in the mutiny to stop shooting in the air in order to restore calm in Bamako.
They announced that all borders were closed and asked for civil servants to resume activities next week.
A source told the BBC that the foreign minister and a number of other ministers have been arrested by the renegade soldiers.
The government official, who told the BBC the president was safe, did not give any further details about his whereabouts.
Meanwhile, in the northern town of Gao, renegade soldiers said they had detained loyalist military chiefs in military barracks, according to the AFP news agency.
Our correspondent said an elite force, known as the Red Berets, could still be loyal to President Toure.
He said Mali has had democratic rule for the last 20 years, during which it has come to be seen as a model which other emerging democracies can look to.
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/59230000/jpg/_59230553_014322204-1.jpg Appeals for calm were issued after soldiers in Bamako fired into the air overnight in celebration
The unrest began on Wednesday as the country's defence minister started a tour of military barracks north of the capital.
Soldiers upset with the government's handling of the Tuareg rebellion fired in the air during the inspection, prompting an immediate strengthening of security around the presidential palace.
The Tuaregs have forced the army out of several northern towns in recent months.
A presidential election was due to take place in the country in just under a month.
The government had so far refused to postpone the poll, despite the unrest involving Tuareg-led rebels.
Both the US and France have urged the soldiers and government to resolve their dispute through peaceful means.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/22/mali-rebels-coup
Mali (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/mali) was in a state of crisis on Thursday as mutineering soldiers seized power and announced a military curfew.
A spokesman for the mutineers – who have formed themselves into a National Committee for the Restoration of Democracy and State (CNRDR) – have said the constitution is suspended and democratic institutions dissolved.
In video footage now circulating on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wB8VHaQvQi0%20Captian%20Amadou%20Haya%20Sa nogo), Captian Amadou Haya Sanogo, who is emerging as the leader of the CNRDR, appeared on Malian TV to announce an immediate curfew and appeal for calm after hours of gunfire overnight in the capital, Bamako.
Since the 1990s Mali has been known for being one of the most stable democracies in west Africa (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/africa). Sanogo was a previously little known middle-rank solider in Mali's army.
A spokesman for the CNRDR said it would oversee a transition back to democratically elected power.
"The CNRDR … has decided to assume its responsibilities by putting an end to the incompetent regime of Amadou Toumani Toure," said Amadou Konare.
"We promise to hand power back to a democratically elected president as soon as the country is reunified and its integrity is no longer threatened," he said.
However, the whereabouts of Toure remained unclear.
"The president is not in the palace, the soldiers have taken him to another location," said Cheick Oumar Sissoko, leader of Mali opposition party African Solidarity for Democracy and Independence. "We think he has been taken to another military base."
Toure, a former military commander, overthrew a military regime in a coup in 1991, overseeing a transition to democracy, and was first elected in 2002.
Anger towards his regime has been mounting in the army since January when a rebellion led by rebels from the Tuareg ethnic group began attacking towns in northern Mali. The rebellion, which has displaced 200,000 civilians in areas already affected by food shortages, has been strengthened by arms and soldiers returning from Libya, where many Tuaregs supported Muammar Gaddafi.
"Mali's army has been very angry since the Tuareg rebels started attacking towns in the north, said Sissoko. "They say they are very disappointed that the government has not done more to help them with equipment or food, and that the government has no capacity to resolve any of those problems. So they decide to stop them and now to try to continue the democracy with new elections."
In a statement, the UN secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, called for calm and stated that grievances had to be settled democratically.
Jean Ping, the head of the commission of the African Union continental grouping, said he was "deeply concerned by the reprehensible acts currently being perpetrated by some elements of the Malian army".
It seems the army is angry at being under-equipped to fight Tuareg rebels who are bolstered by well-armed warriors returning from Libya where they were mercenaries fighting on behalf of Gaddafi, but the soldiers in the army are now looting. The question of course is what next for the people of Mali? Is it going to descend into a brutal civil war? It has been a fairly stable country recently, though it is very poor.