Building peace in Mali

Two weeks into the French-led military intervention in Mali, members of the international community have accelerated their support while the mission to hunt down extremists and Islamist militants is making headway. The mission, backed by the United Nations, is believed to be instrumental in rounding up rebels linked with al-Qaida and restoring order in the West African country.

The crisis in Mali should draw the attention of the world community to the new challenges that have emerged in fighting extremist and terrorist groups operating in parts of Africa and West Asia, as the spillover of the Mali crisis is already a reality.

The deadly hostage crisis in Algeria, which resulted in the deaths of 37 foreigners of eight nationalities, presents a ready example of the spillover as most members of the extremist group behind the well-planned attacks came from Mali. The group has threatened more attacks against foreign targets if France does not bring an immediate halt to its military operation in Mali.

Meanwhile, there are growing concerns from Mali's neighbors about the prospect that the military operation in Mali is driving rebels across their borders. A humanitarian disaster is another big issue at the moment. A UN estimate predicts the ongoing military operation may compel more than 700,000 people to flee the country.

Continued instability in the region has made countries like Mali a haven for international terrorists. Mali's own nightmare began last year when armed extremists returned and joined Mali extremists after fighting for Muammar Gadhafi in Libya.

The groups linked with al-Qaida operating in the region are increasingly mobile and better armed, and they are capable of launching spontaneous attacks under concealment. All these should sound the alarm to the world community and remind us of the arduous tasks of peacekeeping and peacebuilding in countries like Mali.

While giving priority to the urgent need of keeping the peace in a turbulent country, more should be done to consolidate and maintain peace, as it is a long-term task that cannot be achieved by peacekeeping operations alone.

Hence, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon made an important point when he said on Monday that "multidimensional peacekeeping remains a highly cost-effective investment in progress toward lasting stability".

The UN should assume a role other than that of a firefighter by stepping up efforts to mobilize international efforts to strengthen peacebuilding activities.

(China Daily 01/25/2013 page8)