Press Release
France Leads New Crusader Assault in Mali

Earlier this month, on 11 January 2013, French President Francois Hollande announced French military intervention in Mali, in the form of airstrikes and troops on the ground. These troops will remain "as long as necessary" in order to achieve "security in Mali, a legitimate authority, an electoral process, and no more terrorists threatening the integrity of the country," as subsequently stated by Hollande. The Australian Government supports this attack on Mali, with Foreign Minister Bob Carr expressing his gratitude and appreciation to the French leadership.

Hizb ut Tahrir / Australia, in expressing its strong and unequivocal condemnation of this Western assault on Mali and the Australian Government's position with respect to it, emphasises the following:

1. This assault on Mali by France, which we condemn in the strongest of terms, is nothing more than a colonial assault for economic and political gain. France seeks by it consolidation of economic and political influence in Mali and West Africa more broadly.

2. The Australian Government is once again tagging along with the oppressive foreign policy of Western powers, seemingly having not learnt anything from failures in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Australian Government should know that it is once again seeking to become complicit in the attacking and killing of Muslims, a matter Muslims globally will not forget.

3. France has no right to intervene...appalling record as coloniser...

4.Claims of wanting to assist the people of Mali or establish democracy are mere smokescreens...France and its allies having supported dictators in the Muslim World for decades and continue to do so today in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Jordan, and elsewhere.

5. Attack on Muslims in Mali is considered attacks on Muslims everywhere...

6. Calls on Muslims to continue working for Khilafah "Caliphate" which alone will end ongoing political, economic and military abuse of the Muslim World by hostile foreign states.

Hizb ut Tahrir / Australia will be sending a delegation to the French Consulate in Sydney tomorrow, Wednesday 23 January, to deliver an open letter. A small protest outside the consulate will also be held condemning the French-led Western intervention in Mali.

The Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir in Australia

 Contact: Uthman Badar, Media Representative, on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 0438 000 465.