Ekeomah Atuonwu
Anti-French protestors marched through Mali’s capital, carrying Russian flags and destroying cardboard cut-outs of French President Emmanuel Macron, in celebration of France’s envoy’s expulsion from Bamako.
Last week, Mali expelled the French ambassador for making “hostile and offensive” remarks, according to the country’s transitional administration.
Relations between Mali and its former coloniser have deteriorated since the junta that seized power in August 2020 failed to follow through on a promise to hold elections in February and instead vowed to stay in power until 2025.
As a result of the inability to hold elections, France and other European Union (EU) countries have imposed harsh economic and financial penalties.
EU imposed penalties on five people on Friday, including Mali’s transitional prime minister Choguel Maiga and members of temporary president Assimi Goita’s close circle, including travel bans and asset freezes.
One of individuals sanctioned by the EU was Adama Ben Diarra, also known as Camarade Ben Le Cerveau, a vociferous nationalist pro-Russian activist who the EU accused of assisting in the overthrow of the government in August 2020.
Before the EU sanctions were announced, the organization organized a protest on Friday, Diarra told the cheering crowd that being on the EU’s sanctions list was an honor.
The expulsion of France’s ambassador, he claimed, was a significant move. The departure of almost 5,100 counter-terrorism troops stationed in Mali to assist insurgents affiliated to the Islamic State and al Qaeda is the next stage, he continued.
“For the security of my people, I am ready to make a pact with Satan to drive out France and its terrorist allies,” Diarra said, referring to the deployment of Russian mercenaries to Mali, another issue that has soured relations between Mali and France and other Western partners fighting militants in the Sahel.
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