Mali Leader Pulls No Punches In UN, France, Neighbours' Tirade

Mali's interim Prime Minister Abdoulaye Maiga lashed out at France, the UN and its neighbours in a speech to the UN General Assembly on September 24, 2022.

Maiga condemned Paris for what he called a "unilateral decision" to transfer remaining forces to neighbouring Niger, which is also grappling with Islamist militants, as is the case of much of the Sahel region that divides Northern and Sub-Saharan Africa.

"The French junta has damaged universal values and betrayed its long tradition of humanistic thought," Mali's prime minister claimed, arguing that Paris had acted "in service of obscurantism" and engaged in "neocolonial, condescending, paternalistic and revanchist" politics.

The leader also criticised UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres over his position on a row between Mali and Cote d' Ivoire. Guterres had said 46 Ivorian soldiers detained in Mali were not "mercenaries," contrary to the claims from Bamako's military government.

Maiga also slammed a number of African leaders, including Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum, who he accused of not really being Nigerien, and Cote d'Ivoire's President Alassane Ouattara, whom he said had "preserved power for himself and his clan" by changing the constitution and allowing himself to govern for a third mandate.

This article originally appeared on All Africa

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