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A Weekly Digest Of African Affairs MALI Discontent With UPDM Rule AN One year after Mali's long-awaited return to constitutional govern ment, an economic crisis verging on bankruptcy has spurred political instabili ty and widespread con demnation of the twelve year rule of President Moussa Traore. Members of the ruling party agree the current crisis is the most difficult Traore has faced since taking power from former President Modibo Keita in a bloodless coup in 1968. As the economy worsens, political tensions are fed by nostalgia for Keita's government, which pursued socialist development policies. Keita himself, considered to be Mali's counterpart to Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, died in prison in 1977, an event which sparked protests. A country of farmers and herders, Mali has lost 80 of its livestock in a decade-long drought, and its main export crops of cotton and peanuts have sold poorly on the interna tional market. , Mismanagement and cor ruption have contributed i to an already perilous economic situation. Mali's debt from foreign aid an-1 nually amounts to one-' third more than the coun try's $60 million budget. With an annual per capita income of $90, Mali is one of the poorest na tions in the world. Experts agree that major changes 1 must be made in the ad ministration of the coun try if life is to be breathed , back into the economy. The current crisis facing the Traore government is due in large part to frustrated expectations over the return to con stitutional rule. A new policital party, the Democratic Union of Malian People (UPDM) was formed to replace the military junta that ruled from 1968 to 1979, and, elections were held last June, but neither develop ment brought the civilian rule that Malians had hoped for. Though a number of civilians were elected, the military holds one-fifth of the seats in the 137-member National Council, a dispropor tionate number in relation to its size of 4500. Inaddi-' tion, on the 18-person cen tral executive bureau of the UPDM, six come from the military. Turnout in the election was considered high, with over three million votes cast a fact that many nevertheless interpreted more as a bid for par-' ticipation in government than as support for Presi dent Traore, who was the only candidate. The lack of enthusiastic support for the government was in evidence on March 22, when only several hundred persons showed up for a pro-Traore rally for which the UPDM had declared a work holiday. According' to one observer, students1 threw rocks at those in volved in the demonstra tion. Traore has survived dif ficult crises before, most' notably the severe drought of the early '70s and a 1978 coup plot that , resulted in the purge of three powerful members of the military council. In addition, the Malian head of state has managed to nullify the remnants of the Keita regime, the leaders of which are now living in exile in Africa and Europe. This group in-, By Joe Black d : up mmmm&Jfawmwmmm The Good Book tells us: "a little child shall lead them"; and in the complex and changing society of today, our young people represent the future leadership of the Black community and some aspects of our national government. However, they need some guidance, and we, Black adults and designated Black leaders, have a responsibil ity to encourage and assist these leaders of tomorrow. We must remember that a college grad uate of 1975 was probably born in 1953; thus, he or she was only 2 when Mrs. Rosa Parks was too tired to move to the back of the bus; 10 years of age during the outrage of snarling dogs and forceful fire hoses in the park in Birmingham and the memorable "March On Washington," and 12 when thousands marched from Selma to Montgomery. As a result, too many of our young don't know, or understand, the thrust of the Civil Rights Movement. Too many of them have chosen to be guided by emotion and want to believe that it was to prove that Black can beat white or mistakenly thinking that we were to receive something just because we're Black. It's time for Black adults to forget popularity and have the intestinal fortitude to tell youthful Blacks that they are spending too much time worrying about the word "racism." It is not something new... when we were young, we called it "prejudice," "segregation," and "jim crow." Despite the fact that we have more college-educated Blacks than ever before, we also have higher unemployment. Racism is not, I repeat is not the primary reason. Too often our college-bound students select "sop" courses rather than those studies that will make them competitive in today's labor market. In other words, it is a combination of a college diploma and the quality of their prepara tion that will enable them to take advantage of the doors opened by the Civil Rights Movement. If we get this message across to our youths, then we can borrow from Dr. King and say: "This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, 'my country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my father died, land of the Pilgrim's prid,e, from every mountainside, let freedom ring " JGeBhck Vice President The Greyhound Corporation eludes: Sidi Demba Sou mounou, a close Keita associate who regularly calls for revolt from his exile in Libya; former Planning Minister Seydou Badian Kouyate, a Dakar based writer who em bodies the spiritual heritage of the Keita regime; Madeira Keita, the principal ideologue of Malian socialism, who lives in Guinea; and the former president's brother, Moussa Keita, who resides in France. By most accounts there is neither contact among the exiled leaders nor cooperation between them and the student dissidents. Consequently, Traore has been able to concentrate on maintaining loyalty; and unity in the military. ' Despite the lack of a well-organized political' oppostiion, continuing! student unrest has caused major problems in recent months. At one point, in the capital of Bamako, soldiers armed with French hardware patrolled the city streets in Soviet tanks and stood guard at principal buildings. The turbulence began last November, with stu dent strikes that have since spread throughout the country, often spilling in to the streets and involv- ing other disaffected youths in violent confron tations with the army. In March, Amnesty Interna tional reported that mass arrests, torture and death had resulted. Some fifteen youths were killed in December, the organiza tion said, and thirteen more were shot, bayonet ted or tortured to death in March, including the Secretary General of the National Union of Pupils and Students (UNEM), Abdul Karim Camara. Although the school strikes have reportedly ended, several students are stilt unaccounted: for. andi ii is aouoiiui tnai me nar shness with which authorities met the pro tests will be forgotten. The stage was set for the student protests early in 1979 when representatives of UNEM broke their ties with the IDPM's youth movement and advocated scientific socialist develop ment while the UDPM was in favor of an "independent and plann ed national economy." The strikes erupted in November when new en trance exams for further training were instituted, making it more difficult to qualify for civil service employment in one of the 26 state-owned enter prises. Traore gave in to all the student demands, in cluding amnesty for students and teachers ar rested during the distur bances, before classes) could be resumed early this month. i State-owned enterprises1 are often virtually the only' employer of graduates looking for jobs cor- responding to a particular skill. The organizations employ 13,000 people and' represent 290 million, Malian francs (35 of Mali's gross national pro duct), but they have a debt of 250 million MF. Besides having to cope with near bankruptcy, the state-run businesses are made almost totally inef fective by mismanagement .and corruption. France has often paid government debts to pre vent bankruptcy but refus ed to do so last year, reportedly because Paris wanted to dictate terms of government reorganiza tion which were unaccep table to the UDPM. As a result, the national bank is running on the day-to-day deposits of foreign aid, civil servants are not paid regularly and most people are straining to meet fami ly needs. These conditions nurture a considerable amount of petty corrup tion largely attempts to turn public money into private funds for sub sistence survival. Freak floods along the Niger River near Tim- isuiwu lost OCyiCIIIUCI j washed away rice crup, compounding the dif ficulties Mali has found in feeding its 5.5 million residents. The food shor tage in the area is so severe that it has forced people to eat the grain found in the small prickly seedcase of burrs. Though landlocked, Mali holds a strategic position between north and west Africa, and is the site of numerous ancient empires, including those of the Ouagadou, Man ding and Songhai, which were built on trans-Sahara trade and the production capabilities of Malians. This has given Mali a unified past with rich ' traditions which many hope will be the basis for the mobilization needed to bring the country back to prosperity. Mali has the potential to become one of the stronger economies in west Africa through the planned development of agriculture and animal husbandry. Projection by the U.S. Agency for Inter- SAT., MAY 24, 1980 TKf TIMES 13 f -. )rs Mali Struggles Toward Solid Economy Despite its agricultural potential, Mali is gripped by economic and political malaise. (Left) A Mali youth on way to market with chickens. (Above) Typical 'banco' (mud brick) architecture in the Malian town of Sofara. UN Photo national Development and by the French government show that Mali is not far from self-sufficiency in staple nuts and grains. Food shortages arise from a poor transport system and the illicit trade by farmers with neighboring countries; by crossing the border they can earn up to four times as much for their produce. The government's food pricing policy is designed to pro vide the urban centers with low-cost food in order to minimize political unrest. To do so, prices paid to the farmer must be kept unreasonably low. In an effort to make Mali's potential a reality, the international com munity has financed pro jects such as the Senegal River Valley Development Organization, which in corporates Mali, Senegal and Mauritania in a regional project of the Sahel nations. After fif teen years of planning, and the largest contribu tion of Arab oil money to Africa's development, the Organization began con struction of a dam in Senegal last December and is expected to begin work on another in Mali this year. In addition, both Continued on Page 16 MONT C ARID It proves once and for all that a luxurious car doesn't have to have a luxurious price tag, " " oil Monte Carlo Sport Coupe STUDY MONTE CARLO'S DISTINCTIVE STYLING. We invite you to pay partic ular attention to Monte Carlo's sculptured, flowing fender line. How the impressive grille and dual rectangular headlights highlight its distinctiveness. Look it over carefully. And assure yourself no other car looks quite like a Monte Carlo. Or will make you feel quite so special. TAKE IN ITS LUXURIOUS INTERIOR. The emphasis of a Monte Carlo interior is on comfort. The comfort of contoured, sumptuous, full-foam seating. The comfort of ample leg, hip and shoulder room in the front and rear seats. You'll also take comfort in an easy to read instrument panel richly accented with vinyl wood-grain. An instrument panel that invites you to take Monte Carlo down a road smoothly, quietly and comfortably. CONSIDER THE RESPONSIVENESS OF ITS STANDARD V6. Under the hood rests a 3.8 Liter V6 engine. A highly respon sive engine that will provide you with a smooth rush of power. And, at the same time, please you with its EPA estimates. EPA ESTIMATED MPG 26 HIGHWAY ESTIMATE REMEMBER: Compare the "estimated MPG" to that of other cars. You may get different mile age, depending on how fast you drive, weather conditions and trip length. Actual highway mileage will probably be less than the highway estimate. Monte Carlo is equipped with GM-built engines produced by various divisions. See your dealer for details. BUT SAVE THE BEST PART FOR LAST: MONTE CARLO'S CHEVROLET PRICE. Sound good to you so far? Then take a look at Monte Carlo's price sticker. Automatic transmission, power brakes and power steering are standard. So is a highly tuned sport suspension system. But check the bottom line for Monte Carlo's Chevrolet price. It proves once and for all that a luxurious automobile doesnt have to have a luxurious price tag. 1980 Monte Carlo. See your Chevrolet dealer about buying or leasing one today.
The Carolina Times (Durham, N.C.)
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May 24, 1980, edition 1
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