... if you remove the religious references and Salafi rhetoric, the entire document could easily have been written by the MNLA propaganda machine. It’s Touareg nationalism pure and simple. This goes a long way to explain the occasional alliances between the MNLA and Ansar ud-Dine. At their core, their several projects are one and the same – a strong, independent, proud and free Azawad. It’s the Salafi and Shari’a aspect that divides them. In country less prone to settling its political problems with the Kalash, these positions might be represented by two legitimate political parties, one that favours a secular, liberal, democratic and pro-Western approach and another that favours an Islamist, Shari’a driven, anti-Western one. The situation in northern Mali is in fact analogous to that in Tunisia or Egypt. It’s only the stark peculiarity of the territory, with its vastness, its remoteness, its vacuum of governmental power, its lack of state security apparatus etc, that gives the political struggle in northern Mali its peculiarly violent, anarchic and dramatic character.
The second striking aspect of the platform is that the portion about crime, corruption and moral degradation in southern Malian society could equally easily have been written by one of the religious luminaries of southern Mali, such as Mahmoud Dicko, the President of the High Islamic Council, or Mohammedoun Ould Cheickna Hamala, the ‘Chérif of Nioro’. It might also have been written by any literate member of their enormous body of followers. It’s a stark illustration of the morality and law and order debate that has gripped Malian society for a number of years.
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And what is the position of the MNLA in all this? They have declared their desire to find a settlement to the crisis by peaceful means, placing their faith in the Burkinabé sponsored peace talks with the Malian government. No doubt, this will endear them to the international community, with whom they have been desperate to find favour for many months. But it will not endear them to the average Touareg nationalist footsoldier, in whom the dream of independence still shines bright. The dilemma facing the young Touareg men of the north will now become even more tortuous than ever before. Go with the MNLA and compromise your dream of independence, whilst also opting for by far the weakest organization in the region in military terms? Or go with Ansar ud-Dine and their military strength, and accept Iyad’s Salafi dream? It’s a devilish choice indeed.