New pass of arms between France and Mali Tuesday evening at the UN.
During a Security Council session on the Malian security crisis, Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop reiterated, with a dark look, his "
serious
" accusations
of "aggression and espionage
" vis-à-vis Paris .
In addition to the violation of his airspace, the head of diplomacy accuses his former ally of delivering weapons to jihadist groups, for the purpose of internal destabilization.
“
False and
defamatory accusations
”, reacted Nicolas de Rivière, permanent representative of France to the United Nations, denying these allegations altogether.
Nothing new in the speech of the chief diplomat of the Transition in Mali, which repeats almost word for word his letter addressed to the Security Council of August 15th.
The Minister said he was "
surprised
" that the Secretary General's report "
passed over in silence
" this referral, in which he called for a special meeting to provide concrete evidence of "
flagrant violations of Malian airspace
" by the French air force.
These, the letter claimed, would have been used to “
gather intelligence
” and “
drop weapons and ammunition
” to terrorist groups in the area.
A UN tribune for political purposes
Since then, none of the fifteen Member States has seized the Council on this subject.
Not even Russia, which nevertheless benefits from the departure of France to occupy the place in the Sahel.
Faced with this end of inadmissibility, Abdoulaye Diop returned to the charge on Tuesday by claiming, for the holding of this meeting, the support … of France itself.
"
I hope that France gives its agreement so that we can have this session as soon as possible, the Malian State brings to the face of the world concrete and tangible proof
", he hammered, bringing into play "
the credibility of the Malian state
".
And to return to the charge, the finger pointed towards the French ambassador: “
I wish that France is carrying this request
”.
Read alsoIn Mali, the junta chooses to headlong
Serious accusations or simple provocation?
“
Mali has twice had the opportunity to provide these famous proofs: during the General Assembly in September, and during yesterday's session.
Isn't it curious that he didn't?
», notes the researcher Yvan Guichaoua, teacher in conflict analysis at the Brussels School of international studies of the University of Kent.
“
Why not use other channels, for example a press conference?
".
For the researcher, this way of taking advantage of the UN forum is clearly opportunistic.
“
These are international arenas used for national purposes, and to please the popular base that supports the junta in Mali
,” he analyzes.
If the Quai d'Orsay categorically rejects these allegations, evoking a "
multiplication of manipulation of information
", the music of French destabilization within the Malian state is now well anchored in Bamako.
“
Who is blocking the Malian complaint to the UN?
“, headlined the Malian daily L’Aube on Monday.
“
Why this blockage?
France is afraid of what?
Have the UN, AU and ECOWAS finally become accomplices of the French authorities?
“continued the newspaper, taken up by many online sites.
Ghost “evidence”
Concretely, can these proofs exist?
"
On the violation of airspace, there may have been ambiguity on the temporal and geographical scope of the bilateral agreement
", explains Yvan Guichaoua.
In response to the Malian minister, Nicolas de Rivière "
formally challenged any violation of the bilateral legal framework
" between the two countries, but this defense agreement was broken last May at the initiative of Bamako.
The researcher assumes that the Barkhane force, now redeployed to neighboring Niger, was able to occasionally fly over the so-called “
three borders
” zone in the North.
In this sense, neither the junta nor France “
would be completely wrong
”.
"
On the other hand, there is not the shadow of a beginning of proof on the deliveries of weapons or fuel to the jihadists.
Mali may have surprises in store, but from the outside, it is difficult to see what these accusations refer to,
he underlines.
We are in absolute limbo
."
Nicolas de Rivière, permanent representative of France to the UN, did not fail to recall the constant progression of the jihadist threat in Mali.
Again on Tuesday, two peacekeepers from the UN mission were killed and four others seriously injured by the explosion of an improvised explosive device in the North.
"
The Minusma is in danger
", he warned, and its missions are daily "
hindered
" by the jihadist threat.
“
We are counting on the spirit of responsibility of the transitional authorities not to hasten a departure of which the Malians would be the first victims
,” added the diplomat.