Foreign Digest: Mali, Burma, Sudan, Cuba

The Coup in Mali

     There has been a longtime separatist Tuareg rebellion in the north of Mali. The returning Tuaregs, who were mercenaries for Libya’s Muammar Qaddafi, were boosted recently by their acquisition of Libyan weapons after the fall of the Qaddafi dictatorship. Malians had grown increasingly concerned about the progress of the rebellion and the apparent lack of sufficient effort on the part of the representative government to crush it. Finally, the Malian military recently staged a coup d’etat. The president went into hiding.

     The Tuaregs are loosely allied with a jihadist affiliate of al-Qaeda that wishes to impose Sharia on the unwilling populace. Thus, the Malian coup has major international significance, especially in regard to the War on Terrorism, as al-Qaeda could potentially establish a base of operations in the Sahara Desert. Alas, the effect of the coup was the opposite as intended, as the chaos provided the opportunity for the Tuaregs and their allies to seize all of the north, including Timbuktu, a World Heritage Site. The rebels declared the vast area they call “Azawad” independent.

     The successful coup was internationally condemned and aid cut off. A visitor of this blog returned to Bamako, the Malian capital, shortly after the coup; the source reported the city was calm and was mostly returning to normal. However, pressure built on the leaders of the coup to restore representative government, as they had promised. The popularly-elected President resigned in order to allow the constitutional transition to power to the leader of parliament, who will take power later this week. 

     I call for a peaceful restoration of representative civilian government. I hope the new government of Mali will defeat the jihadists and deny them their safe harbor in the Sahara. I call for the international community to support the new Malian government in its efforts.

Burmese Parliamentary Elections 

     The parliamentary elections in Burma were characterized by the participation of opposition candidates, particularly Aung San Suu Kyi, the human rights activist and chief opponent of the authoritarian military junta that has ruled Burma for decades. However, Burma remains a dictatorship and the elections, in which only a relatively small number of seats were contested, thereby guaranteeing the junta would remain in power, were not free and fair. Nevertheless, Suu Kyi was among the victors and she will take her seat in parliament as the leader of the opposition. 

     The tolerance of opposition candidates is part of a softening of the rule, including the release of many political prisoners. The Burmese government has been making a number of such moves in order to soften international sanctions for its repression. It has also distanced itself somewhat from its ally, China. 

      The election of Suu Kyi legitimatizes her while delegitimatizing the regime that had kept her under house arrest for much of the last two decades. A concern is that her membership in parliament will legitimatize the regime as representative and free, which would thereby make opposition to it more difficult. Nevertheless, Suu Kyi will now have a voice, even as the leader of the loyal opposition, to cry out publicly for liberty in the very hall of Burmese power.

Fighting in Sudan Intensifies 

     The fighting in Sudan in the Blue Nile States and South Kordofan between rebels and the Sudanese government has intensified recently. There is some international concern that the fighting will spread to South Sudan, which won independence from Sudan last year after a long, bloody war, followed by a mediated peace settlement and plebiscite. Sudan and South Sudan have territorial disputes and the Islamist government of Sudan accuses South Sudan of supporting the rebels in the north. However, South Sudan is not likely involved with conflict, which long predates the South’s independence.

     The international community must protect South Sudan’s independence and territorial integrity, while calling for human rights in Sudan and a peaceful settlement of the rebellion in the Blue Nile States and South Kordofan, as well as in Darfur.

Miami Marlins Suspend their Manager for Pro-Castro Remarks

     I commend the Miami Marlins major league baseball club for suspending its manager for remarks that appeared positive toward the Communist dictator, Fidel Castro – the first time a major league employee was punished for other than racial remarks. The manager apologized and disavowed his statements. Miami is the home to the largest concentration of Cuban-Americans. The club did not think it appropriate to minimize the suffering caused by the five decades of brutal repression of the Castro regime.

     Cuba libre!