Touareg rebels proclaim independence of Azawad - sign of things to come in Africa?

[Artevelde]

The Touareg rebel movement in Northern Mali has proclaimed the independence of Azawad, according to the website of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad. The rebels already control most of Northern Mali.

BBC News - Tuareg rebels declare independence in north Mali

Is this a sign of things to come in Africa? We already had the secession of Eritrea from Ethiopia and more recently of South Sudan from Sudan. The old colonial borders of the many failed African states may no longer hold. Frankly, I think this would be a good thing. Certainly it would bring instability, but the only stability many of these failed African states have brought over the last 50 years is the stability of poverty and underdevelopment. It's time for these old failed structures to give way to new political structures that are more closely related to the actual national groups and the reality on the ground.

Obviously there are risks in this. In Mali one of the risks is that the Azawad movement may be hijacked by Muslim extremists. But there are also opportunities for better government in breaking up the old failed states.

 

[High_Gravity]

When Africa was colonized and these countries were set up rival tribes were forced to share a country together and that was a shitty idea, Sudan for example is terrible because you have the Muslims there commiting genocide on the people in Darfur and now the Nuba people, that country should have never been formed and Darfur, the South and the Nuba should have had their own country. Maybe this is the best way, Mali is already a failed state for the most part, as long as they don't give shelter to Al Qaeda types let them have at it.

 

[Artevelde]

The so-called Democratic Republic of the Congo is another conglomerate that's ripe for a break-up into more homogeneous and viable entities.

 

[High_Gravity]

The so-called Democratic Republic of the Congo is another conglomerate that's ripe for a break-up into more homogeneous and viable entities.

Oh of course, Nigeria is headed in that direction too, and Somalia needs to be broken up as well.

 

[Dr Grump]

Yep, all those countries needs to be broken up and put back together again, this time with tribal boundaries put in place

 

[Artevelde]

The so-called Democratic Republic of the Congo is another conglomerate that's ripe for a break-up into more homogeneous and viable entities.

Oh of course, Nigeria is headed in that direction too, and Somalia needs to be broken up as well.

Somalia doesn't really exist anymore as a state and Somaliland has already declared independence.

I agree that Nigeria will break up too, as will Ivory Coast.

 

[High_Gravity]

The so-called Democratic Republic of the Congo is another conglomerate that's ripe for a break-up into more homogeneous and viable entities.

Oh of course, Nigeria is headed in that direction too, and Somalia needs to be broken up as well.

Somalia doesn't really exist anymore as a state and Somaliland has already declared independence.

I agree that Nigeria will break up too, as will Ivory Coast.

Well there is also Puntland in the North, they want independence as well and they deserve it, they are doing fairly well on their own.

Puntland - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia