The French public broadcasters Radio France Internationale (RFI) and France 24 will soon no longer be heard in Mali, if it is up to the military transitional government of the West African country. In an online statement the government writes that the channels are spreading ‘false accusations’ about the Malian army.
The straw that broke the camel’s back was probably the attention that RFI and France 24 paid this week to a research of Human Rights Watch† The human rights organization concludes that Malian armed forces have killed at least 71 civilians since December last year. The organization speaks of a dramatic increase in the number of victims due to military violence.
RFI spoke earlier already with dozens of Malians who were allegedly mistreated by soldiers. In some cases, according to witnesses, Russian troops were also involved.
Two military coups have taken place in Mali in the past two years. The current transitional government is following a nationalistic course, aimed against what they see as excessive interference from the old colonizer France. That country recently decided to cease the military mission in the country† Although the authorities deny it, there is evidence that the Malian armed forces are assisted by Russian mercenaries.
‘Serious human rights violations’
United Nations Human Rights Commissioner Michelle Bachelet said in a speech last week to be concerned about reports of very serious violations of international human rights by security forces.
The Malian authorities contradict this and say it is a media hype. They call the accusations a cleverly devised strategy aimed at destabilizing the transitional government. They compare the “criminal intentions” of RFI and France 24 with the infamous radio station Mille Collines, which fueled the genocide in Rwanda in 1994 by spreading hate speech.
Support for regime
Part of the Malians applauds the hard line against the west. There are regular demonstrations in support of the regime in the streets of the capital Bamako, often accompanied by anti-French slogans.
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