Mali calls on Macron to abandon his 'neo-colonial stance'

Mali's transitional government called on French President Emmanuel Macron to completely abandon his "neo-colonialist and arrogant position" so that he understands that "no one can love Mali more than the Malians," as he put it.

Mali's junta has demanded that French President Emmanuel Macron abandon his "neo-colonial stance" and stop his criticism of the Malian army, accusing Macron of fomenting ethnic hatred.

"The transitional government demands President Macron to completely abandon" his "neo-colonialist and arrogant position" so that he understands that "no one can love Mali more than the Malians," government spokesman Colonel Abdoulaye Maiga said on the public channel.

Maiga was responding to statements made by Macron Thursday in Bissau.

Speaking of Mali, which is facing a serious security crisis and witnessed two military coups in 2020 and 2021, Macron said Thursday that West African countries have a responsibility to work to ensure that the Malian people can "express the sovereignty of the people" and "build a framework of stability" to allow for "an effective fight against terrorist groups".

Macron also talked about the agreement between the financial system and the forces of the Wagens Group, which was a decisive factor in pushing Paris to withdraw its 2,400 troops from the country.

"It is clear that the choices made by the Malian Military Council today" and its work with the Wagner Group "are not effective in the fight against terrorism," the French president said.

Relations between the ruling military junta in Bamako and Paris, the former colonial power, have deteriorated significantly in recent months, especially since the arrival of paramilitary forces from the Russian Wagner Group in Mali, which pushed the two countries into a rupture after nine years of continuous French presence to combat armed groups.

Bamako also condemned "with the utmost firmness" the "defamatory and hateful" statements made by Macron, who warned of violations attributed to the Malian army against members of the Fulani tribe during recent military operations.

The Malian army and the Russian paramilitaries in particular were accused of perpetrating a massacre of civilians in the Mora (central) region, where, according to the non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch, about 300 civilians were executed at the end of March.

Bamako considered Macron's "serious accusations" that would "stir up ethnic hatred" in Mali, where "the social fabric has deteriorated in recent years due to conflicts" at the level of local groups.

"It is important for President Macron to constantly remember the negative role and responsibility of France in the genocide of the Tutsi in Rwanda," Maiga said.