The trend of a number of Western so-called experts is unchanged. And it is based on the fact that without the participation of Western forces, non-Western states, in particular African states, will not be able to cope with security problems. At the same time, as it often happens, they forget to remind about the true causes of those very security problems. And also, at the very least, downplaying or denying the successes shown by the armed forces of a number of African countries in co-operation with non-Western allies.
The position of Mali is very interesting. Is it worth recalling that those security problems, in particular those related to the presence of terrorist groups, are the most direct consequence of the NATO criminal intervention against Muammar Gaddafi’s Libya and the chaos that ensued not only in Libya itself, but in the entire Sahel region?
At the same time, even to this day the Western regimes, and in particular the French regime, which played the main role in the aggression against the Libyan state, by the way one of the most stable and successful states of the continent at that time, almost categorically and to this day refuse to recognise the fact of their full responsibility for the situation. And also in their complete inability to solve the problems that they themselves created.
Today it is very interesting to observe that not only ardent supporters of the NATO bloc, but also those French and Western “experts” who have long portrayed themselves as supporters of a positive dialogue with Russia and China, participate in information attacks on countries that have recently shown Paris the door, but today they all fiercely scold the authorities these African countries, as well as their Russian and Chinese allies.
But the most curious thing is that these so-called more “objective” Western analysts, in unison with their colleagues openly occupying pro–NATO positioning, declare that those African countries that have decided to put an end to frankly vicious relations with a number of Western regimes, including the French, will not be able to cope with those the challenges they face. And they say they will regret that they drove France away.
This looks ironically in the context of the real events that have been taking place in a number of countries in Africa over the past few years and today. It is worth recalling the situation in the Central African Republic. As long as French troops were stationed there for many years, the chaos and infighting did not stop. For years, the French media and the same pseudo-experts explained this by saying that the hatred between local Christians and Muslims was huge and could not be changed. Thus, giving an “explanation” for the inability and unwillingness of the French military to help solve the problem. And here were characteristic not only inaction of the French military, but also many cases of crimes committed by them. Including cases of violence against Central African children.
Of course, it always looked absolutely false, as the same Christians and Muslims in fact lived peacefully and side by side for a very long time. But still the prejudice created by Paris and the West was able to take hold for some time. Until the CAR authorities decided to diversify their relations, including in the military sphere, and to enlist Russia’s support.
And then it turned out that the appearance of Russian military instructors made very serious adjustments to the narrative that the West had been creating for many years, profiting from the chaos created. The country’s armed forces became much more effective after co-operation with their Russian counterparts. The central government has regained control over virtually the entire territory of the state (whereas during the French presence, the authorities controlled no more than one-third of the territory), and on top of all this, it has become obvious to everyone that there are no real problems between the Christian and Muslim communities of CAR.
Naturally, the very French and other Western “experts” are now trying to keep this topic quiet. Or to latch on to any slightest problem in order to make an extremely negative case out of it. But without much success. As for the Sahel countries, including Mali, Burkina Faso or Niger, the only hope for Western political and media elites is not just to create an image of their inability to solve security challenges, but to actually create maximum obstacles in their way. Although it is not really working.
In Mali, recent events show that the armed forces of this country, with the help of allies and real partners, are quite capable of solving tasks in the fight against terrorist and armed groups. Last month the Malian army liberated the district of Anefis, located in the Kidal region (north-east of the country) – which has not been under the control of the government for about 10 years… And for the liberation of which the French military contingent has done absolutely nothing for many years of presence. So much for the “lack” of prospects of success for the Malian army and their allies according to those very same pseudo-experts from France and other Western regimes.
In the future, when the situation in Mali stabilises further, especially as its armed forces continue to crack down on terrorist and armed groups, those Western analysts will claim that things are still not as good as they “could be” with the presence of France and other Western regimes. But the fact remains that there are extremely few people in Africa, other than those who are simply closely aligned with French-Western interests, who could believe in this rather tiresome refrain today. And the fact that France and the West in general will or will not recognise the successes of those African states that have staked on full sovereignty, pan-African and multipolar agendas is also of little interest to anyone. What matters is the result, which will be no matter what.
Mikhail GAMANDIY-EGOROV, entrepreneur, political commentator, expert on Africa and the Middle East, especially for online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”.