Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09BAMAKO479
2009-07-16 14:11:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Bamako
Cable title:  

A TALE OF TWO RIOTS IN WESTERN MALI

Tags:  PREL PGOV EAID KDEM PINR PINS ECON ML 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO9265
RR RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHBP #0479/01 1971411
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 161411Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY BAMAKO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0574
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAMAKO 000479 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV EAID KDEM PINR PINS ECON ML
SUBJECT: A TALE OF TWO RIOTS IN WESTERN MALI

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAMAKO 000479

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV EAID KDEM PINR PINS ECON ML
SUBJECT: A TALE OF TWO RIOTS IN WESTERN MALI


1. Summary: During the week of July 13, authorities were
faced with two outbreaks of violence in western Mali. On
July 15, youth groups in Kita looted and burned public
buildings when the news spread that tax officers had killed a
transporter who refused to stop at a security checkpoint.
Several days before this, union workers in the gold mining
region of Kenieba attacked a South African operation,
demanding employment. Malian authorities dispatched military
units to both locations in an attempt to restore order.
Though unrelated, both incidents are part of periodic
outbreaks of violence in western Mali. Located close to the
Guinea border, Kita is a known transit point for smugglers of
goods and people. The gold mining zone of Kenieba, a largely
isolated region in which there is little alternative economic
activity, is the site of frequent employment disputes. These
two events underscore the tensions between local authorities
and residents faced with severe economic pressures. End
summary.

--------------
Violence Erupts in Smuggling Zone
--------------


2. On July 15, a member of the National Guard who was part of
a mobile team of Malian tax officers shot at a passenger
transport vehicle when the driver failed to stop at a
regularly scheduled checkpoint 55 miles from Kita, 100 miles
northwest of Bamako. An apprentice driver was wounded and
subsquently died. Upon hearing news of the driver's death,
youth groups took to the streets, looting and setting fire to
public buildings in Kita, including the customs office, the
justice department, and police housing. The rioters also set
fire to seven official vehicles and a number of motorcycles.
One policeman and a National Guardsman were seriously
injured. Malian authorities dispatched military police to
the area in an attempt to restore order, and by evening, the
crowd seemed to have calmed. In a nighttime televised
address, Minister of Territorial Administration Kafougouna
Kone delivered a brief communique describing the events of
the past two days and appealing for continued calm. Other
officials, including the prefect of Kita, a National Assembly

deputy, and Kita's mayor, repeated this call on local radio
stations.


3. The riot appeared to be a spontaneous reaction by youth
groups upon hearing the news of the driver's death. Kita is
located close to the Guinea border and is a known transit
point for smugglers of goods and people. Customs and tax
officials, who have mobile units that include armed guards,
patrol the border in an attempt to curb this trade.

--------------
Employment Riots in Gold Mining Region
--------------


4. The riot in Kita was the second violent demonstration Mali
experienced in recent days. On July 10, gold mine workers in
Loulo, 220 miles west of Bamako, attacked vehicles and
equipment in an employment dispute that continued to escalate
as the rioters set fire to a restaurant and housing units on
the mining compound. The Loulo gold mining company is owned
by South Africa's Randgold. The rioters, members of the
mining union, SOMADEX, demanded that Loulo hire 200 laborers
who had been left jobless when a neighboring mine, Morila,
shut down in April 2008. The violence spread to the town of
Kenieba, site of the Canadian-owned Tabakoto mine located 200
miles west of Bamako. A geologist employed at Tabakoto
reported on July 12 that the rioters were threatening the
safety of Tabakoto employees, who were provided with
evacuation instructions should the violence escalate.
Military units were dispatched on July 13 to Loulo and
Tabakoto to control the situation and have been ordered to
remain at those sites for two weeks.

--------------
Comment: It All Boils Down to Economics
--------------


5. The riot in Kita is symptomatic of the frustration felt by
a large youth population possessing few educational and
professional opportunities. Dissatisfied with the poor
quality of schooling, recurring teachers' strikes, and little
employment options, youth groups are quick to use any
confrontation with authorities, whether regional or national,
to signal their discontent. Sadly, local and national
government response is limited to restoring momentary order
and calming passions.


6. Comment continued: The riots in Mali's gold producing
region are part of a more targeted strategy to gain
employment as well as local development projects from
international mining companies. The demonstrations against
international mining companies may also be consonant with the

BAMAKO 00000479 002 OF 002


sentiment shared by many Malians that foreign companies,
rather than Malians themselves, benefit most from
exploitation of the country's natural resources. End
comment.


7. The Embassy's policy is that Chief of Mission personnel
must abide by all traffic laws which include stopping at all
road checkpoints.
BARLERIN