Military Coup in Mali

[Krasny-Volny]

They should become a part of the Chad obviously.

Better suggestion:

SPLIT IT.

The north belongs to the Touareg, the south to the Malinké. Kindly ask the south to give full independence to the north? It's not like that border (rawn with a colonial ruler no less) has any ethno-linguistic or historic value.

With the north gone, the south can focus on restoring civilian law.

The north can do as it pleases. Institute a council of Marabouts, if they want.

If this happens the north will quickly become the biggest haven for Islamists the Maghreb has ever seen. This is exactly what happened in 2012-13. The Taureg secessionists were quickly thrust aside by Ansar Dine.

[Shrillland]

Better suggestion:

SPLIT IT.

The north belongs to the Touareg, the south to the Malinké. Kindly ask the south to give full independence to the north? It's not like that border (rawn with a colonial ruler no less) has any ethno-linguistic or historic value.

With the north gone, the south can focus on restoring civilian law.

The north can do as it pleases. Institute a council of Marabouts, if they want.

If this happens the north will quickly become the biggest haven for Islamists the Maghreb has ever seen. This is exactly what happened in 2012-13. The Taureg secessionists were quickly thrust aside by Ansar Dine.

Alas, that is true. Azawad went from being a Taureg state to a terrorist-run mess that no one could support.

What a mess this is.

[The Archregimancy]

That's one of those things that sounds better in theory than it likely would be in practice.

1) Where, precisely do you plan on drawing the proposed border?

2) How do plan on resolving the fact that there have been multiple northern rebel groups with very different ideological goals and very different territorial claims?

3) Having hived off the Tuareg (and possibly other northerners?) in Mali, what do you plan on doing with the Tuareg in northern Niger and southern Algeria? Leave them where they are, or join them to your new northern Mali?

4) Having set this precedent, which other African countries do you propose in your wisdom to divide on ethno-linguistic lines?

5) Without in any way underplaying the fact that the current boundaries are a legacy of European colonial empires, why ignore that northern and southern Mali have previously formed part of long-lasting and historically significant states? Notably - and slightly ironically in context - the Empire of Mali (as an aside, the brief 1959-1960 Mali Federation - which included both modern Mali and Senegal - would have functionally recreated Mansa Musa's state).

Not to mention the AU would most likely oppose it and would create a lot of friction elsewhere in Africa. While the borders of many African states don't make total sense in terms of ethnic distribution, the history of ethnic based civil wars and rebellions makes secessionism a very unpopular thing among African states. It took a long time to get South Sudan to become independent.

That was implicitly my point under point 4), above. The fact that most of Africa's borders are artificial colonial constructs has obviously led to significant tensions - and often violence - in the post-colonial era. But the process of redrawing those boundaries raises its own difficult questions. There are issues over who would draw those borders, where those borders would be drawn, and whether the political cultures of a 'reunited' ethnic group that had previously been divided by colonial or post-colonial borders would be compatible; the people of Somaliland (former British Somaliland), for example, don't seem convinced that their future necessarily lies with their fellow Somalis in Somalia (former Italian Somaliland), despite the serious attempt to found a single ethnic Somali state after 1960.

It's also worth stressing that the creation of monoethnic states is no guarantor of stability (see Somalia again), and the existence of a state with a history that predates European colonialism is no guarantor against violence (see Ethiopia, Rwanda, or Burundi). So while Africa's colonial-era borders have at times been a contributing factor to post-colonial state stability, attempting to redraw them isn't necessarily the panacea it might appear to be.

[Kowani]

Both the president and the PM have now formally resigned as part of mediation efforts

[Japerlasa]

Coups. You know you can't just stop after your first.

[Great Aletia]

Where have I heard this before.

[Insaanistan]

Both the president and the PM have now formally resigned as part of mediation efforts

Yeah...
Resigned...

[Heloin]

Both the president and the PM have now formally resigned as part of mediation efforts

Yeah...
Resigned...

I love democracy.

[The Derpy Democratic Republic Of Herp]

Two military coups and one attempted coup this year.

I fear tyrants are making a comeback.

[Kowani]

Two military coups and one attempted coup this year.

I fear tyrants are making a comeback.

...5 coups (maybe 6)
Successful: Mali, Myanmar

Failed: Armenia military coup, Jordan palace coup, US Capitol Storming.

Currently ongoing-Samoa (non-military)

Threatened: France (military)

[Kowani]

Constitutional Court declares Col. Assimi Goita the new transitional President

well that was fast

[Samudera Darussalam]

Macron threatens to withdraw troops from Mali

Mr Macron told Le Journal du Dimanche newspaper that he had told regional leaders that France would not support countries where there was no democratic legitimacy or transition, and that France had no intention of keeping its troops in Africa forever.

[Senkaku]

Macron threatens to withdraw troops from Mali

Mr Macron told Le Journal du Dimanche newspaper that he had told regional leaders that France would not support countries where there was no democratic legitimacy or transition, and that France had no intention of keeping its troops in Africa forever.

I really mean it this time guys! You better behave or we’ll leave! I’m serious!!

[Kowani]

Mali suspended from the African Union

[Vikanias]

being one of the richest nations ever due to one guy

To a country who had 3 coups in under a decade.

[Kowani]

Assimi Goita has just been sworn in as the interim president of Mali

[Kowani]

An update

the four-day national forum on returning the country to civilian rule, convened by the military-dominated government, has expressed itself in favor of an extension of the transition period from six months to five years.

A new electoral timetable will be published soon. The participants didn't believe that free and fair elections could be held in February 2022, as convened after the 2020 coup. A constitutional referendum had already been postponed in October.

The forum was boycotted by most opponents of an extension of the transition. The forum, however, reached an agreement on the creation of a Senate after the transition.

Mali has never had a bicameral system, though the establishment of an Upper House has been discussed several times over the past twenty years. The incorporation of a presidential impeachment procedure into the new constitution has also been confirmed.

The ban on junta members from standing for elections is confirmed, as well as the diaspora's right to vote in national elections.

[Ikania]

What should we make of this? A five-year extension seems excessive and I couldn't believe the military won't string Mali along for maybe half that time before going back on their promise.

[Bear Stearns]

Did they assault the SACRED CAPITOL and the TRUSTED INSTITUTIONS that protect OUR DEMOCRACY

[Shrillland]

The couped president, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, has died at age 76 after a long illness

[-Astoria-]

The couped president, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, has died at age 76 after a long illness

That's rough.

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Did they assault the SACRED CAPITOL and the TRUSTED INSTITUTIONS that protect OUR DEMOCRACY

Real non sequitur right here.