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Viewing cable 09BAMAKO479, A TALE OF TWO RIOTS IN WESTERN MALI

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
09BAMAKO479 2009-07-16 14:11 2011-08-25 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy Bamako
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 
 
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