Foreign Policy In Focus

EMIRA WOODS, CODIRECTOR, FOREIGN POLICY IN FOCUS, IPS: I think we have to understand [that] what's happening in Mali is the direct result of an international intervention in Libya. The ousting of Muammar Gaddafi essentially unleashed . . . weapons that . . . were part of Gaddafi's caches. Others [were brought by] NATO forces. But these weapons flowed from Libya across boarders, from Algeria into Mali, creating a real crisis situation, 

[where] . . . in the midst of this ongoing conflict for self-determination and greater rights of the North, you enter these weapons, the heavy flow of weapons from Libya. And it's just been a recipe for disaster.

I think there needs to be comprehensive efforts to address the root cause of this crisis, which is the marginalization of the North, people of the North feeling completely isolated politically and economically. . . .

JAY: But what do you say to the people of the South who do not want to be ruled by the people of the North, and if the army in the South is in such disarray, it may not be able to prevent that without some kind of intervention or support?

WOODS: I think we have to—you know, we cannot underestimate the power of political negotiations for longer-lasting peace . . . I think we have to recognize what gains have been made through those processes and continue to demand that those processes be a part of a comprehensive approach by the international community, as well as by the regional actors.