EU training mission will fail if there is no reform – Mali needs help, not a symbolic gesture!

The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) criticizes that Germany is planning to partake in the training mission for the Malian army. "The mission will not help to stabilize northern Mali – it will be a waste of money," said the STP's Africa-expert, Ulrich Delius, in Göttingen on Monday. "It would be better to use the money to provide help for the development of the impoverished country than to support an estranged army. The troops are not protecting the civilian population – they need to be protected from themselves. Without a comprehensive reform of Mali's armed forces, every Euro spent on these troops is wasted." On February 19, the federal cabinet is to decide whether Germany will join the EU training mission.

However, a comprehensive reform of the Malian army is not in sight. On Wednesday last week, Captain Amadou Sanogo became chairman of a committee that is supposed to conduct the reform of the troops – but it is clear how little initiative there is to reform the armed forces, considering that the committee was already convened seven months ago. It has remained idle ever since – despite the disastrous state the troops are in. "Also, Captain Sanogo must be seen as a fox to keep the geese," warned Delius. "With his military coup of March 22, 2012, it was Sanogo himself, who made it possible for the Tuareg rebels and Islamists to advance so easily in. This captain is not willing to conduct a reform of the army – he is a very controversial personality, not only among the soldiers."

Following pressure from the Economic Community of the West African States ECOWAS, Sanogo was now entrusted with task, to ensure that he can no longer spread turmoil within the army. "But the appointment will not be of much use regarding the long overdue military reform," said Delius. Instead, Sanogo should be questioned in court, because his supporters had tortured and abducted unpopular soldiers after the military coup.

Anyone who wants to stabilize northern Mali must also work on a political solution for the conflict. "Five weeks after the French military intervention, the Malian politicians still show very little willingness to enter a dialogue with the Tuareg," said Delius. To the contrary, the fact that France insists on political a debate with the Tuareg is seen as an interference with the internal affairs of the country. "Any European effort will remain unpromising if Mali's politicians don't appreciate the fact that the country can only be stabilized in the long run, if the Tuareg can participate."

"The idea of helping African countries to help themselves sounds convincing – but this requires a unified army that supports the stately institutions," said Delius. "The Malian army does not fulfill this requirement. Europe should not engage in self-deception, but should openly discuss the enormous challenges of a long-term stabilization of northern Mali."