{"article":{"id":258302,"heading":""Liberating Mali": The President of France hails the beginning of a long-term occupation","author":"Cem Ert\u00fcr","created":"2013-02-08 16:10:13","modified":"2026-10-25 17:02:54","last_modified":"Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:02:54","article":"

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\r\nLe\r\nMonde, 5 February 2013<\/span>
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\r\nFrance\r\nis to stay in Mali for a long while<\/span>
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\r\nAfrican Armies will find it difficult to take over
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\r\n[caption]   Malian army convoy arrives at Timbuktu on\r\nFebruary 2nd.
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\r\nLe\r\nFigaro, 4 February 2013<\/span>
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\r\nleft:    Hollande\r\nrelishes French victory in Bamako <\/span>
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\r\n         \r\ncaption:  After receiving a triumphant welcome in Mali,\r\n[France’s President] Francois Hollande delivered a speech\r\nwhich justifies French presence [in Mali] as fighting
\r\n           \r\n           \r\n\"against terrorism\" and repaying \"today our debt to you\".
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\r\nright:   An interview of the U.S. Vice-President with Le Figaro
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\r\n \r\n        \"The United States\r\nsupports France in Mali without hesitation.\"<\/span>
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\r\n          [US\r\nVice-President] Joe Biden begins his tour of Europe and is due to be\r\nhosted this morning by [France’s President] Francois\r\nHollande. He explains US logistic
\r\n          support\r\nfor the military action led by France.
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\r\nLe\r\nJournal du Dimanche, 3 February 2013<\/span>
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\r\nWe\r\nare staying<\/span>
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\r\n[France’s President] Francois Hollande in Mali.
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\r\n•    \"We haven't accomplished our\r\nmission yet\"
\r\n•    \"We are very close to the\r\nhostages\"  
\r\n•     The account of the most\r\nimportant trip in President's political carrier.
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\r\ncaption:  President Francois Hollande salutes French troops in\r\nTimbuktu yesterday.
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\r\n[Note:\r\nThe person standing next to Mr Hollande is Mali's interim President\r\nDioncounda Traore<\/span>]
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\r\nDimanche\r\nOuest France, 3 February 2013<\/span>
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\r\nHollande\r\nwelcomed as a liberator in Mali<\/span>
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\r\ncaption:  [France’s] President \"Papa Francois\r\nHollande\" was warmly greeted by the crowds in Timbuktu and Bamako\r\nyesterday.
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\r\nNote:\r\nThe excerpts from French newspapers have been translated by Cem\r\nErtür.  <\/span>
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\r\n____________________________________________________________________________________________________
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\r\nFrom\r\nthe archives:<\/span>
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\r\nThe\r\nIndependent, 16 September 2011<\/span>
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\r\n
\r\nConquering\r\nheroes hail new dawn for Libya - but have they jumped the gun?
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\r\ncaption:  In [Libya's capital] Tripoli yesterday, from left:\r\n [French philosopher] Bernard-Henri Levy, [France’s\r\nPresident] Nicholas Sarkozy, [Chairman of Libya’s National\r\nTransitional Council] Mahmoud Jibril and [UK Prime Minister] David\r\nCameron.
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\r\n___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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\r\nhttp:\/\/www.indybay.org\/newsitems\/2013\/02\/06\/18731494.php
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\r\n“Liberating\r\nMali”: The President of France hails the beginning of a\r\nlong-term occupation<\/span><\/big>
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\r\nPropaganda alert
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\r\ncompiled by Cem Ertür
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\r\n7 February 2013
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\"Yes,\r\nit’s true: I took a grave decision on 10 January to commit\r\nFrench soldiers alongside Malian soldiers. It was [in response to] the\r\nappeal made to me by [Mali's] President Traoré. It was the\r\nduty of France, who was acting on behalf of the international community\r\nwith the support of the European countries, in the framework of the\r\nUnited Nations. Yes, we had to respond: it was important to fight,\r\nbecause it was terrorism. Terrorism here in Mali, terrorism in West\r\nAfrica, terrorism everywhere. By acting in this way, France was living\r\nup to her history, to the Republic, to human rights and therefore to\r\ndemocracy.\"
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\r\n[France's\r\nPresident Francois Hollande, speech delivered in Mali's capital Bamako,\r\n2 February 2013]  <\/span>\r\n[1]
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\"Alongside\r\nthe Malians and the Africans, we have liberated this town. Today\r\nTimbuktu. Tomorrow Kidal. And others are still to come. You have\r\naccomplished an exceptional mission.\"
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\r\n<\/div>\r\n[France's\r\nPresident Francois Hollande, speech delivered to French troops in\r\nTimbuktu, 2 February 2013]  <\/span>\r\n[2]
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\r\n[1]  President\r\nHollande voices resolve during Mali visit
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\r\nwebsite of the French Embassy in London, 4 February 2013
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\r\n[2]  Timbuktu\r\nhails France's President Francois Hollande, its saviour in a suit\r\n
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\r\nby David Blair, Sunday Telegraph, 3 February 2013
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\r\nRelated\r\narticles:<\/span>
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\r\nU.S.\r\nescalate imperialist war in Mali and Niger
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\r\nHollande visits Timbuktu and then escalates bombing operations
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\r\nby\r\nAbayomi Azikiwe, Global Research, 4 February 2013<\/span>
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\r\nHollande´s\r\nMali visit: “Liberating” Mali by occupying the\r\ntruth?
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\r\nby\r\nChristof Lehmann, nsnbc, 3 February 2013<\/span>
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\r\nIllegal\r\ninvasions, “rogue states”, forgotten victims and a\r\nshaming plea
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\r\nThe usual suspects have embarked on another mass butchery –\r\nsorry “training exercise” - in mega-resource-rich\r\nMali, and are meddling, with lethality, in Algeria.
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\r\nby\r\nFelicity Arbuthnot, Global Research, 31 January 2013<\/span>
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\r\n<\/span>
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\r\n“France\r\nunder jihadist threat”: French media promotes the war on Mali
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\r\npropaganda\r\nalert by Cem Ertür, Indybay, 18 January 2013<\/span>
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\r\n___________________________________\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\n","contact":"","link":"http:\/\/www.indybay.org\/newsitems\/2013\/02\/06\/18731494.php","address":"","phone":"","parent_id":0,"mime_type":"text\/html","summary":""Alongside the Malians and the Africans, we have liberated this town. Today Timbuktu. Tomorrow Kidal. And others are still to come. You have accomplished an exceptional mission." [France's President Francois Hollande, speech delivered to French troops in Timbuktu, 2 February 2013] ","numcomment":0,"fileurl":"\/uploads\/","filesize":null,"article_url":"\/news\/2013\/02\/258302.php"},"attachments":[],"comments":[]}