Libyan influence in Timbuktu

Whenever anyone urges me to take a trip to some remote, fiery place, I try to take it in the best spirit, as advice to broaden my horizons. It was in the same spirit that, last November, I attempted to make my way to Timbuktu, that renowned, legendary caravan city of Mali. Regrettably, kidnappers and murderers, possibly Al-Qaeda, got in the way.

There may turn out to be some continuity between the old and the new Libya...- John Attard Montalto

It was just a few days before I arrived in Mali that three kidnappings and a killing, where all the victims were foreigners, induced the authorities to warn Westerners to stay away. Another city I wanted to visit, Djene, was also included as a no-go area. The day before the Timbuktu incidents, two French people were abducted in a nearby village.

The frustration of my travel plans could be counted as a private matter. However, the issue of security is not. With the Mali incidents, huge areas of the Sahel have now been declared unsafe. It is part of a pattern that I have described in other articles.

There are several reasons for seeing the developments of the southern Sahara as off-limits for Europeans (and other Westerners) as a matter of political interest.

There is, of course, the obvious one. Europe and its member states should be concerned about any threats made to lawful European citizens, even in areas falling outside European jurisdiction.

In this case, however, the threats have ramifications that go beyond a huge desert. The area is being taken over, it is said, by the branch of Al-Qaeda in North Africa. If it succeeds in acquiring de facto control over a huge stretch of territory, which spreads into several states, the power base of Al-Qaeda could actually shift to our part of the world, from Arabia and Iraq.

Such concern is by no means alarmist. Several reports mention the possibility of an Africanisation of the terror organisation. It would mean that not only would organised terror have a base that can move up towards us, it could also move southwards and displace large numbers of people, many of whom are likely to migrate north, towards Europe.

Another reason to pay attention to Mali has to do with Libya. My time there was spent in the capital, Bamako.

It is a bustling modern city. The French influence is still evident despite the fact that independence was acquired over 50 years ago.

French is the official language, which is also the language of some Mali songs that have become hits. Although, unfortunately, many colonial buildings have been pulled down, and there was little of interest that I saw by way of monuments, the main roads and bridges are impeccable, the plentiful cars driving on them mainly French.

I could not help comparing the state of infrastructural development with that of other Sahel countries, such as Niger.

Apart from France, however, one could not help notice the influence of Libya. Or perhaps I should say Muammar Gaddafi’s Libya.

I was impressed by the three bridges crossing the Niger River. My driver explained that the latest and most modern bridge was a gift of the late Libyan leader. On the way to my hotel he also indicated at least two hotels, built by Col Gaddafi and aptly named Libya Hotel. The final gift was a whole government city on the banks of the Niger, consisting of ministries and departments individually constructed on a very large site with state-of-the-art material and design. I did not have to ask what the Malians thought of Col Gaddafi. Unfortunately, many denounced the Libyan revolution and blamed the Nato bombings for Col Gaddafi’s downfall.

I point this out to complete a picture of Libyan influence over various African countries, which I have been sketching over the last few months. The matter also raises a question over the new Libya’s relations with its neighbours and Africa in general.

I do not know if Libyan investment in Mali was, legally speaking, a national Libyan investment or by the Gaddafi family. It has a bearing on what Libya’s new government does. Does it have to begin a legal process of reclaiming property in the state’s name? Will it have to decide whether to continue to maintain its investments in Mali or will it choose to divest?

Such decisions will have consequences for neighbourly relations and Libyan influence. There may turn out to be some continuity between the old and the new Libya, even if the influence is used for different ends.

Such influence may need to be sought anyway. The bustling pavements of Bamako are one big souk, full of people bartering, buying and selling. Among the people I saw were several Tuareg, in their distinctive cloaks and turbans.

The Tuareg, of course, are the desert people who were recruited to aid the Gaddafi family during the armed conflict and since. Mali is one of their home bases.

What happens politically in the country of the exotic Timbuktu is not so far, in influence, from Malta’s neighbourhood. When well-wishers next suggest I take a long journey, I may find I need to travel even farther than I thought.

Dr Attard Montalto is a Labour member of the European Parliament.