Soumeylou Boubèye Maïga: “Mali will not recognize the NTC before the formation of a government in Libya”

The Malian Foreign Minister, Mr Soumeylou Boubèye Maïga has ruled out the idea of Colonel Muammar Kadhafi fleeing to the region of the Sahel or the Sahara. According to him, the flight of the ousted Libyan leader is not important for the time being. “The main important at the moment is to face up efficiently to the circulation in the region of the weapons stolen in Libya” Mr Boubèye Maïga said in an exclusive interview with Echorouk.

• Echorouk : Ibrahim Ag Bahanga, the Touareg rebel leader of Mali has recently passed away in the north-east of the country. Could you elaborate on the circumstances of his death?
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• Mr Boubèye Maïga : According to information in our possession, Ibrahim Ag Bahanga has died in a road accident near Kidal in northern Mali. His death has greatly affected his family, his friends and his partisans.
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• Echorouk : Certain observers fear a worsening of the security situation in the Sahel region after Ag Bahanga’s death. How do you see the future of the region after the demise of the Touareg rebel leader?
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• Mr Boubèye Maïga : After his death, his partisans became as “orphans”. I think that they should now reorganize and pursue the efforts made by late Ibrahim Ag Bahanga towards the achievement of peace and security in the region in line with the Algiers accord signed in July 2006.
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• I hope that the Touareg rebels would give up war and armed struggle. The Algiers accord should be given a new and solid momentum.
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• Echorouk : What would be the repercussions on tourism in the region if Muammar Kadhafi succeeded in fleeing to the Sahel of the Sahara?
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• Mr Boubèye Maïga : I don’t think that Colonel Kadhafi will flee towards the Sahara. Anyway, it is now premature to speak about that.
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• The most important thing now is to drastically curtail the proliferation of weapons stolen from Libya and funneled to the Sahel region. These arms could fall into the hands of terrorist groups.
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• Echorouk : Who is to be blamed for the different types of arms pouring into the Sahel?
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• Mr Boubèye Maïga : The terrorist groups, Nato, the western countries who intervened military in Libya and the National Transitional Council (NTC) are at the origin of this alarming proliferation of arms in the region.
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• Echorouk : When will the Malian government recognize the national transitional Council (NTC) as the sole legitimate representative of the Libyan people?
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• Mr Boubèye Maïga : We will recognize the NTC after the formation of a government in Libya representing all the regions of the country.
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• This means that Mali is neither in favour of the NTC nor against it.
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• Mali is wholly committed to respecting the decisions taken by the African Union on the Libyan file.
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