As
France Calls
Meeting on
Mali, Its
Pen-Holding
Hasn't Worked,
Prodi in
Bamako
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
January 10 --
In mid
December on
Mali, at
the UN the
French Mission
bragged how
they would get
the resolution
they drafted
adopted
by the
Security
Council.
France took
the lead in
drafting the
resolution
because they
"hold the pen"
for the
Council on
Mali, as they
hold it on the
Democratic
Republic of
Congo and
former
colonies Cote
d'Ivoire and
Central
African
Republic.
But
now that
things have
gotten even
worse in Mali,
with rebels
reacting
to empty saber
rattling by
taking over
Konna, should
France still
have the pen?
The French
Mission to the
UN loudly
called for
another
Security
Council
meeting on
Thursday, and
scheduled it
for 6 pm.
Then, they
described the
topic as "the
sitution in
Mali,
following
terrorist
offensive from
the North."
But there were
reports of the
Malian Army
attacking
first this
time, along
with chartered
aircraft
piloted by
non-Malians.
Could these be
mercenaries?
Earlier
on
Thursday, when
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
spokesman was
asked
a
softball
question,
it allowed him
to recite that
UN
envoy Romano
Prodi,
based out of Italy but
paid the full
time salary of
a UN Under
Secretary
General,
is today in
Bamako. To
what end?
After
the French
drafted
resolution
passed on
December 20,
Mali's foreign
minister Tieman
Coulibaly came
to the
stakeout and
Inner City
Press asked
him if Captain
Amadou Sanogo,
who led the
earlier coup,
is still
involved, and
why that prime
minister
resigned at 4
am after being
arrested at
the airport. Video
here from
Minute 5:10.
He
was not
arrested at
the airport,
new foreign
minister
Coulibaly cut
in. He said
prime minister
Diarra -- the
brother of a
former UN
Under
Secretary
General --
resigned for
the good of
the country:
it "was
necessary to
move forward,
the former
prime minister
had become a
problem for
Mali.
Satisfied?" Video
here from
Minute 5:40.
Moments
later
Inner City
Press asked
Cote d'Ivoire
Ambassador
Bamba,
speaking for
the West
African group
ECOWAS, if
Sanogo should
still be
involved. No,
Bamba
answered.
This is where
thing stand on
Mali. Watch
this site.
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