Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire, was featured on Press TV News Analysis on August 30, 2012. Azikiwe discussed the history and significance of the Non-Aligned Movement that met in Iran., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.
To watch this interview with Abayomi Azikiwe,editor of the Pan-African News Wire, just click on the website below:
http://www.presstv.com/detail/2013/01/26/285665/mali-war-is-spreading-across-the-region/
Sat Jan 26, 2013 3:37PM GMT
A political analyst tells Press TV that the war in Mali is spreading throughout the entire region and many governments have called for the resumption of comprehensive peace talks in order to resolve the situation in Mali.
This is while the African Union has been seeking to increase the size of the African-led force in Mali as French and Malian troops push further towards northern parts of the West African country.
Press TV has conducted an interview with Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire, to further discuss the issue.
What follows is an approximate transcription of the interview.
Press TV: The UN Security Council blasted the coup leaders in Mali last year. Now most of the same powers that is, including France, have intervened in Mali based on an invitation from the same coup leaders. How is the intervention justified?
Azkiwe: The aggression is not justified. We have to understand that the United States had strong ties with the Malian military. In fact in today’s New York Times it indicates that some five hundred million dollars was spent over a period of years in training some of the top officers in the Malian military and all of this training has been a complete disaster because when it came time for the Malian military to confront the separatists in the north of the country they collapsed immediately and a lot of the military equipment and even some of the combatants took off their uniforms and blended into the population.
So France’s military intervention in Mali right now is exacerbating the human rights violations and humanitarian crisis that exists in northern Mali at this time.
Press TV: Mali had twenty years of democracy, a constitution and an elected government. Now their restoration is not on the French agenda in Mali. What do you make of that?
Azkiwe: I think that it should be on the agenda. Many governments throughout the region, many non-governmental organizations have called for the resumption of comprehensive peace talks in order to resolve the situation in Mali and the war of course is spreading.
We saw what happened last week at the In Amenas gas fields in Algeria and now France just announced today that they are deploying special forces units to guard the Areva uranium mines located in neighboring Niger.
These mines are very valuable to the Western Industrial Complex. So this war is not just being maintained within the internal borders of Mali but it is spreading throughout the entire region of North and West Africa.
So we very urgently call upon the African Union which is meeting right now in Ethiopia as well as the Economic Community of West African States to demand that France ceases military intervention in Mali and also bring about comprehensive negotiations for a peace settlement inside the country.
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