International Crisis Group

After a series of bloody terrorist attacks in France last week, we recommend reading Crisis Group’s report France and its Muslims: Riots, Jihadism and Depoliticisation published 9 Mar 2006.

“France faces a problem with its Muslim population, but it is not the problem it generally assumes. The October-November 2005 riots coupled with the wave of arrests of suspected jihadists moved the question of Islam to the forefront of French concerns and gave new life to concerns about the threat of a Muslim world mobilised by political Islamism. Yet the opposite is true: paradoxically, it is the exhaustion of political Islamism, not its radicalisation, that explains much of the violence, and it is the depoliticisation of young Muslims, rather than their alleged reversion to a radical kind of communalism, that ought to be cause for worry. The key to minimising the risks of rioting and militant jihadism is to curb forms of state violence being exercised against predominantly Muslim, working-class neighbourhoods and to promote political participation by their residents.”

A FULL REPORT from 2006 is available in French.

Photo: Cicilie Fagerlid/flickr

France risks long stay after misjudging Central African Republic | John Irish and Daniel Flynn

When France sent troops to halt violence between Christians and Muslims in Central African Republic, commanders named the mission Sangaris after a local butterfly to reflect its short life. Three months later, it is clear they badly miscalculated.

Buoyed by a swift victory in last year’s war against Islamists in Mali, France’s military predicted six months would be enough to quell sectarian conflict in Central African Republic, which began in March when Muslim Seleka rebels seized power in the majority Christian country.

FULL ARTICLE (Reuters)

Photo: hdptcar/flickr

Mali: Security, Dialogue and Meaningful Reform

Dakar/Brussels | 11 Apr 2013

Mali and its international partners need to seize the moment for national dialogue to forestall renewed political and security crises.

Mali: Security, Dialogue and Meaningful Reform, the latest report from the International Crisis Group, examines the situation in Mali after France’s military intervention to restore the north of the country to government control and as the UN Security Council considers the deployment and mandate of a stabilisation mission. Sporadic fighting in the north continues and formidable threats to security remain. The presidential election, currently scheduled for July, poses particularly acute challenges. An inclusive political process, involving national dialogue and reconciliation between Mali’s various communities, are critical to preventing a resurgence of violence. Over time, only improved governance can ensure sustained peace and stability.

The report’s major findings and recommendations are:

• Mali’s political leaders need to make public and well-publicised commitments to peace and reconciliation, or risk an election campaign that reinforces divisions, inflaming tensions after the vote, and jeopardising badly-needed reforms.
• Mass communication, especially through the radio and television stations listened to across the country, is crucial to encourage political participation and reduce tension. By the same token, a new mechanism for monitoring the media should check inflammatory or divisive language.
• Mali’s regional and international partners should help persuade the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) that its interests are best served by renouncing its armed struggle and participating in a political process. For their part, leaders in Bamako should avoid imposing conditions on armed groups that close the door to dialogue, however discreet. Such dialogue will be vital to give all northern Malians the opportunity to participate in the elections, without which the far north could again become a base for armed rebellion.
• A clear distinction should be maintained between, on the one hand, the planned UN stabilisation mission, with its large civilian component, and, on the other, a “parallel force” responsible for counter-terror operations, whose legal basis and geographic mandate should be clarified.

“Elections must be held soon but not at any cost”, says Gilles Yabi, Crisis Group’s West Africa Project Director. “Reconciliation must begin now, as should the provision of basic social and economic services to the north. The radicalisation of public opinion is a major risk and Mali’s leaders and institutions must take firm action to prevent people, especially those in the south, lumping together rebels, terrorists and drug traffickers with all Tuaregs and Arabs”.

“Focusing on terrorism alone risks distracting from the main problems”, says Comfort Ero, Crisis Group’s Africa Program Director. “Corruption and poor governance are more important causes of the crisis than the terrorist threat, the Tuareg issue, or even the north-south divide. The challenges for the region and the UN are to align their positions on the political process, and to insist that Malians, especially their elites, assume responsibility for reversing bad governance and preventing another crisis”.

FULL REPORT

Paris tente de relancer l'opposition syrienne, sans illusions | l'Orient le Jour

Mais la communauté internationale semble résignée à l'attentisme. “C'est un conflit qui pour l'instant n'a été coûteux que pour les Syriens, pas pour les acteurs extérieurs. Pour le moment ces derniers se contentent de regarder, de voir où ça mène et de prendre quelques mesures velléitaires en attendant. Et personne ne cherche sérieusement une solution”, estime Peter Harling, spécialiste de la Syrie à l'International Crisis Group.

Qui ne voit pas non plus d'issue à court terme du côté des protagonistes syriens. “Pour l'instant, les gens les plus raisonnables sont pris en otages par les éléments les plus radicaux”, du côté du régime comme de l'opposition, relève-t-il.

ARTICLE COMPLET (l'Orient le Jour)

Photo: James Gordon/Flickr

Annan says Syria ‘at a tipping point’ after massacre | LA Times

By Patrick J. McDonnell

U.S. and world leaders dramatically increased pressure on Syria in the wake of a civilian massacre, with special envoy Kofi Annan declaring the country to be at a tipping point and urging its president to implement a peace plan that could fatally weaken his grip on power.

Annan spoke Tuesday in the Syrian capital as a group of nations — including the United States, Britain, France and Australia — expelled Syrian diplomats in an orchestrated response to last week’s massacre of more than 100 people, the majority of them women and children, in the central Syrian township of Houla.

Most of the victims were initially thought to have died in government shelling, but the U.N. human rights office said Tuesday that evidence indicated most were summarily executed in a house-to-house rampage Friday. The U.N. said residents who were interviewed blamed shabiha, pro-government militiamen who rights groups say have acted as regime enforcers and executioners.

The Syrian government has denied responsibility for the massacre, whose graphic images of bloodied and mangled corpses have prompted global revulsion. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland on Tuesday condemned what she called an “absolutely indefensible, vile, despicable massacre.”

Nuland said the United States would look for ways to “tighten the noose” around the regime of President Bashar Assad.

Germany and Britain said they were expelling the Syrian ambassadors to their countries, and the U.S. said it was giving the charge d'affaires, the top Syrian diplomat in Washington, 72 hours to leave.

Iran Nuclear Crisis: What’s On The Table At The Baghdad Talks? | Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty

By Charles Recknagel

World powers are meeting in Baghdad with Iran this week over the Islamic republic’s controversial nuclear program. Here are five things to know ahead of time. 

Who is meeting and why?

The five permanent Security Council members – the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China – plus Germany (better known as the P5+1) are sitting down with Iran in the Iraqi capital on May 23 to discuss ways out of the Iran nuclear crisis. Western powers accuse Iran of pursuing a nuclear weapons program under the cover of its nuclear-energy activities. Iran denies the charges.

What’s on the agenda?

The most urgent item on the agenda is to convince Iran to give nuclear inspectors access to the Parchin military site near Tehran. Concerns over Iran’s nuclear intentions have increased since the UN nuclear-watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), reported in November that Iran has carried out past activities “relevant to the development of an explosive nuclear device.”

Western officials suspect Iran built a container at Parchin in 2000 for the probable testing of high explosives and want to know more about experiments there. They also accuse Iran of refusing to let UN inspectors inside Parchin until Tehran can remove incriminating evidence. Iran has dismissed the allegations as “ridiculous.”

Overall, the UN Security Council is demanding that Iran suspend uranium enrichment and other activities they say could contribute to acquiring bomb-grade nuclear material until it proves its program is peaceful. Tehran says it has the right to enrich uranium as part of its nuclear energy program.

FULL ARTICLE (Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty)

Photo: AFP