Mali’s foreign minister has announced that the country will leave the International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF), following Niger and Burkina Faso.
The Malian Government argued that France did not respect the sovereignty of the African nation.
“The OIF, instead of accompanying Mali in the realisation of the legitimate aspirations of its people, has distinguished itself by the selective application of sanctions and contempt for Mali’s sovereignty,” the government stated in a press release on March 18.
“Mali cannot remain a member of an organisation whose actions are incompatible with the constitutional principles that guide public action in Mali, based on the sovereignty of the State, the sovereign choices of the people and the defence of their interests,” the statement added.
Mali’s withdrawal comes a day after a similar announcement on March 17 by Burkina Faso and Niger, its allies in the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).
Relations between Mali and OIF were already tense.
In 2020, the country was suspended from the group after a military coup overthrew then-president Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta.
At the time, the OIF had called for the release of Keïta as well as “the establishment, as soon as possible, of a transitional government led by a civilian authority”.
In December 2024, Mali started the “decolonisation” of its public spaces. Streets and squares in the capital Bamako, several of which evoked the former French colonial power, were renamed.
The latest announcement marked a new break-up stage between France and its one-time colonised African countries.
Reacting to the news, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of France’s left-wing La France Insoumise party, expressed his “grief”.
“France is paying dearly for [French President Emmanuel] Macron’s missteps in Africa: Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali have left the International Organisation of La Francophonie in the last 48 hours,” he said.
He then criticised the OIF over what he said were its links to Rwanda.
“But the organisation remains chaired by an English-speaking Rwandan, a former minister under dictator Paul Kagame, the invader of the DRC [Democratic Republic of Congo],” he added.
Mali alongside Niger and Burkina Faso were among the first to join the OIF in 1970.
The organisation was designed to promote the French language and French ideals and culture around the world. It has also supported projects in the development of education and research in Francophone countries and their economic development.
French President Emmanuel Macron’s Defence Council plans to cut the country’s West African military presence to a handful which analysts warn will create a vacuum for Russia. https://t.co/TSV4HIWbp8
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) February 7, 2024
