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Members of Ansar Eddine. Image via MaliJet
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Ansar Eddine, an Islamist group operating in
northern Mali, whose aim is to impose Sharia law in Azawad, released a statement
on December 26th which suspends the ceasefire that was agreed on
December 21st.
In a statement released on their website
(French), Ansar Eddine accuses the Malian government of buying arms, recruiting
combatants, hiring mercenaries from Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, and Liberia, and
preparing for war.
Ansar Eddine has started the year off by
releasing their political platform, in which they accuse the “fascist” Malian
government of treating the inhabitants of the Azawad region as second-class
citizens ever since Mali’s independence. They also say that the imposition of
Sharia law is a non-negotiable imperative, and they see no future for themselves
in a united Mali given the brutality and neglect that the Bamako government has
shown them over the past decades.
To illustrate the population of Azawad’s neglect
by the Malian government over the years, Ansar Eddine claims that those
currently living in refugee camps are now experiencing the best living
situation since independence, with this being the first time they have full
stomachs and education.
Ansar Eddine lists examples of Azawad’s suffering
by stating that children die from easily preventable diseases, mothers die in
childbirth, populations cannot speak their lcoal language and are left out of
national politics, and that they never reap the benefits of the resources that
are exploited by foreigners because all the profits go straight to Bamako.
Recognizing that complete independence of Azawad
is not widely accepted by the international community, Ansar Eddine requests
that Azawad "divorces" from Mali through mutual consent and becomes an
autonomous region. Once Azawad is giving its autonomy, Asar Eddine claims that
they will impose Sharia law since over 95% of Malians practice Islam, and they
will guarantee peace, stability and security for the region.
The release of their political platform at the
beginning of the new year and just before talks are scheduled to be held on January
10th in Ouagadougou between them, the Malian government, and members
of MNLA, seem to suggest that Ansar Eddine has a pre-planned and perhaps hard-line
strategy to achieve their goals. January 10th will prove to be a
unique test to see which groups are open for dialogue and conceding some of
their goals and which groups will remain firm in their demands.
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