Amid
UN Inaction on
Mali, Ban
Denounces
Extremists but
not
Syria
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
August 8 -- So
far nine of 16
mausoleums in
Timbuktu have
been
destroyed.
Yesterday
Burkinabe
dipomat
Djibril
Bassole met
with
the group
charged with
the
destruction,
Ansar Dine, in
Kidal and told
them they
could be part
of the
"national
dialogue" if
they
public cut all
ties with
terrorists.
But
what would
that mean?
Inner City
Press asked
ECOWAS'
Commissioner
for Political
Affairs, Salamatu
Hussaini
Suleiman of
Nigeria, how
Ansar Dine
would be
expected to
signify this
cutting:
some sort of
press release?
She did not
answer on the
logistics,
only
that ECOWAS
will not
negotiate with
terrorists.
Even
US
network CNN,
grandstanding
from the
Burkina Faso
border,
reported
support for
the
"extremists"
in northern
Mali from
Saudi
Arabia and
Qatar. The US
quickly denied
this; both
countries are
US
allies, most
recently on
Syria.
Inner City
Press has previously
asked why
UN
Secretary
General
Ban Ki-moon
directed his
telephone
calls about
Timbuktu
destruction to
Qatar and
Saudi Arabia
and not a
closer
monarchy with
an interest:
Morocco.
Ban's
spokesman
Martin Nesirky
replied that
it is about
influence, not
geography. But
what kind of
influence?
In
his
briefing to
the Security
Council
Tuesday,
Ban urged
"serious
consideration
to the
imposition of
targeted
travel and
financial
sanctions
against
individuals or
groups
in Mali
engaged in
terrorist,
religious
extremist or
criminal
activities."
Some
wondered
why he hasn't
made a similar
call regard
some of the
groups
active in
Syria.
A
Security
Council
members
exclusively
told Inner
City Press
that his
and other
delegations'
concern is
that the
ECOWAS plan is
"too
ambitious" and
does not yet
have the
buy-in of the
Malian
military. This
may come at a
meeting taking
place until
August 11.
Watch this
site.
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