“THE TUAREGS AND REBELLION IN MALI: THE 2012 REBELLION AND FRENCH MILITARY INTERVENTION” YUSUF IBRAHIM GAMAWA YILDIRIM BEYAZIT UNIVERSITY MAY 2015 THE TUAREGS AND REBELLION IN MALI: THE 2012 REBELLION AND FRENCH MILITARY INTERVENTION A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES OF YILDIRIM BEYAZIT UNIVERSITY BY YUSUF IBRAHIM GAMAWA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS Approval of the Institute of Social Sciences ………………........................ Prof. Dr. Zeki Salih ZENGİN Head of Institute I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. .............................................. Prof. Dr. Birol AKGÜN Head of Department This is to certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. ............................................. Asst. Prof. Dr Bayram SİNKAYA Supervisor Examining Committee Members Prof. Dr. Birol AKGÜN (YBU, International Relations) ............................. Asst . Prof. Dr. Bayram SİNKAYA (YBU, International Relations) .............................. Prof. Dr. Selcuk ÇOLAKOĞLU (YBU, International Relations) ............................... Prof. Dr. Angelo SANTA GOSTINO (YBU,.Economics) ............................... Assist. Prof. Dr. Mehmet ÖZKAN (Polis Academy) ................................ PLAGIARISM PAGE I hereby declare that all information in this thesis has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work; otherwise I accept all legal responsibility. Yusuf Ibrahim Gamawa ..................................... i ABSTRACT “The Tuaregs and Rebellion in Mali: The 2012 Rebellion and French Military Intervention”. Yusuf Ibrahim Gamawa Ph.D., Department of International Relations Supervisor: Asst Prof.Dr. Bayram SINKAYA May 2015, 258 Pages The Tuaregs, a normadic group occupying the north of Mali had rebelled against the Malian state since 1963, only 3 years after Mali gained independence from the French. The group again rebelled in 1990 against the Malian government, and ever since then the Malian state has found itself in constant confrontation with the group and has remained in one negotiation or the other with the group until the outbreak of the 2012 rebellion that saw the intervention of France. The 2012 rebellion appeared to have differed from previous rebellions in that certain transnational group along with the Tuaregs rebelled against the Malian state. The Malian state’s inability to stop the rebel advance resulted in the request by the Malian president for Paris to intervene. This research seeks to find out why France intervened in the 2012 conflict in Mali? The intervention can be viewed from two perspectives; the French perspective, which can be explained in terms of security threat to French economic interests not only in Mali but also in neighboring states like Niger, where France is seen to have invested heavily in various sectors of its economy, and the Malian perspective, which is explained in terms of the weakness of the Malian state and the eminent threat posed by the rebel groups, and the inability of the state to counter the offensive of the rebel groups which threatened stability in the region and the need to avoid what Paris termed as the emergence of a terrorist state in the Sahel region. Keywords: Mali, Tuaregs, France, Intervention, UN, Negative Sovereignty. ii ÖZET “Tuaregler ve Mali'deki İsyan: 2012 İsyani ve Fransiz Askeri Müdahalesi” Yusuf Ibrahim Gamawa Doktora, Uluslararası İliskiler Bölümü Tez Yöneticisi : Asst Prof. Dr. Bayram SINKAYA Mayis 2015, 258 sayfa Mali’nin kuzeyinde göçebe bir grup olan Tuaregler, Mali devletine karşı Mali’nin Fransa’dan bağımsızlık kazanmasından üç yıl sonrasından (1963’ten) beri isyan etmektedir. 1990’da grup yine isyan etti ve o günden beri Mali devleti kendini grupla sürekli karşı karşıya buldu ve grupla Fransa’nın müdahale ettiği 2012 isyanının çıkışına kadar bu ya da öteki şekilde pazarlık içinde kaldı. 2012 isyanı belli bir ulus ötesi grubun da Tuareglerle birlikte Mali devletine isyan etmesiyle önceki isyanlardan farklılaşmış göründü. Mali devletinin isyan hareketini durdurmadaki başarısızlığı Mali devlet başkanının Paris’e müdahale etmeyi önermesiyle sonuçlandı. Bu araştırma Fransa’nın 2012 ihtilafına müdahale etmesinin nedenlerini bulmayı amaçlıyor. Bu müdahaleye iki perspektiften bakılabilir, Fransız perspektifi, Fransa’nın yoğun şekilde çeşitli sektörlerde yatırım yaptığı, Mali’yle sınırlı kalmayan Nijer gibi diğer komşu devletlerde de Fransız ekonomik çıkarlarına karşı oluşan güvenlik tehdidi bakımından açıklanabilir, Mali perspektifi ise Mali’nin zayıflığı ve isyancı gruplarn yarattığı sürekli tehdit, devletin bölgenin istikrarını tehdit eden isyancı grup saldırılarına karşılık verememesi ve Paris’in Sahel bölgesinde terörist bir devletin ortaya çıkması olarak adlandırdığı şeyi önleme ihtiyacı bakımından açıklanmıştır. Anahtar sözcükler: Mali, Tuaregler, Fransa, Müdahale, BM, Negatif Egemenlik. iii This thesis is dedicated to the memory of my grandfather, Malam Ibrahim Gamawa for his love, kindness, uprightness, and for his total support while alive. To Brenda for all her love and care to me in my childhood. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I thank God Almighty for making it possible for me to acquire a doctoral degree, without God’s guidance and support, it would have been impossible for me. I am indeed grateful to my parents, my father, for his encouragement and advice, my mother for her patience and understanding. My BIG uncle for his encouragement and support, to all family members that have shown support to me, and my friends for their support too. I remain indebted to my humble and hardworking adviser, Asst Professor. Dr Bayram Sinkaya, words are not enough to express my appreciation to this gentleman, I thank him for being patient with me and for his insights and advice regarding my work, Sir, I thank you so much. I thank the members of the thesis review Committee which include Professor Selcul Colakoglu and Professor Angelo Santa Gustino. I also thank Professor Birol Akgun our Head of department and Professor Mehmet Ozkan of the Police Academy who were part of the Jury during the defence of my thesis. I remain grateful to all the professors in the institute for the knowledge they have imparted on me and specifically thank the following people Professor Ramazan Gozen, Asst Professor Sabit Subasic, Dr Eryada Progonati and Professor Mustafa Sitki Bilgin. I thank my friends in the students Affairs department and specifically to Merve Erol for being a friend and always willing to help. I thank all my colleaques in the Ph.D programme who have been a family in the institute Abdulrazaq, Muzzein,Ibrahim Aydemir, Mustafa, Canan, Ozge and Yavuz in particular. I thank all my friends here in Ankara for the wonderful time. I thank Ms Meera Sethi of the International Migration Organization for her help and support with materials that aided the writing of this thesis and for her friendship as well. I also thank Nancy for her support and interest in the progress of my work.. Burcu for the translation and editing of the work. I also thank Mr Adnan Alajeeli my Iraqi friend for his help in the course of adjusting this thesis. The staff of the Starbucks Coffee in Kizilay where all of this thesis was written for the friendship and support. I thank all those that have made my stay here memorable, particular to the African community . v TABLE OF CONTENTS Plagiarism Page……………………………………………………….………………..i Abstract………………………………………………………………………………...ii Ozet…………………………………………………………………………………….iii Dedication……………………………………………………………………………...iv Aknowledgement………………………………………………………………………v Table of Contents………………………………………………………………………vi List of Abbreviations………………………………………………………………..…ix CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………….1 1.2 Research Question, Argument and Hypothesis…………………………..……….….12 1.3 Theoretical Framework………………………………………………………………14 1.4 Literature Review…………………………………………………………………….30 1.5 Outline of the Research………………………………………………………………35 1.6 Methodology……………………………………………………………………….…37 CHAPTER TWO LAND AND PEOPLE OF MALI 2.1 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………..39 2.2 Physical Setting and Social Structure………………………………………………..40 2.3 The Ancient Mali Empire……………………………………………………………47 vi 2.4 The French Incursion Into Mali………………………………………………………50 2.5 Post Independence Mali………………………………………………………………55 2.6 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………61 CHAPTER THREE PREVIOUS TUAREG REBELLIONS IN MALI 3.1 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………62 3.2 Who are the Tuaregs?...................................................................................................64 3.3 Tuaregs and the Malian State……………………………………………………...…69 3.4 The Tuareg Rebellion of 1963……………………………………………………….80 3.4.1 Declaration of Rebellion by the Tuaregs…………………………………………...83 3.4.2 General Organisation and Operations………………………………………….…...88 3.4.3 Victory of the Malian Army and End of Rebellion…………………………………91 3.5 The Second Tuareg Rebellion (1990)…………………………………………….…..94 3.5.1 Transformation of the Tuareg Society and the Need for Revolution……………….97 3.5.2 Peace Process and Negotiations……………………………………………………105 3.6 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………110