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REBELLION: AL-JEBHA 297origins. During the communal elections of 1999, the UMADD managed to gain10 of the 21 seats in the Ménaka council, thus forming a political force to bereckoned with.The rebellion had been instigated to achieve Tamasheq independence. Thisposed a threat to the existence of the Malian state. Therefore, nationalismbecame an important feature of the Ganda Koy. To justify its existence, itclaimed that it defended the nation in ardent patriotism against people who, itwas argued, did not want to be Malian and in fact were not Malian. It is significantthat the Songhay movement quickly changed its name from simplyGanda Koy to Mouvement Patriotique Ganda Koy. As most nationalist discoursesin wartime, that of the Ganda Koy was directed foremost against theenemy, instead of in praise of their own nation, which in this case meant thatthe negative stereotypes of the Kel Tamasheq and Arab communities formedthe most important discourse in the movement. After being attacked by theFIAA in June 1994, the inhabitants of Niafunké wrote an open letter to theMalian press to complain about their fate and to strengthen their resolve to finda solution.Faced with this situation and total abandonment by the Government, we, the inhabitantsof Northern Mali, are faced with a choice between three solutions: A. Toaccept being the slaves of the Tuareg rebels. In fact, this is one of their principalaims. The Tuareg culture and mentality has always made them feel racially superiorto others. Therefore, they have never taken up productive work and will never do so.They only put effort into bedding their big-breasted women and robbing decentpeople who gain their livelihood by the sweat of their backs. B. To abandon our landto the profit of the nomads. This hypothetical option would permit them to reachtheir goal: the creation of a Tuareg state, based on the use of ethnic blacks for choresand productive labour. Historically, the land in question has been owned and tendedby the Bambara kingdom of Segu, the Peulh empire of Macina, the Mali Empire andthe Songhay Empire (...) In our history, there has never existed a Tuareg empire orkingdom. C. To defend our fatherland by all means. 81In nationalist war rhetoric, the other is not just the other. Rather, it is aninvading other from outside. Most rebels had been involved in the Teshumaraand Tanekra, which meant they had lived in exile outside Mali for a longperiod. This was put forward as a sign that the rebels were not Malians. Afterthe FIAA attack on Gao, in October 1994, passports were found on the bodiesof killed FIAA attackers. These Malian passports were issued in Tamanrassetand N’djamena, which led the pro-Ganda Koy press to conclude that Zahabyould Sidi Mohamed’s FIAA had hired Algerian and Chadian mercenaries, des-81‘Le nord à la lisière de la guerre civile. Nous refusons le diktat touareg’, LeRépublicain, 22/06/1994.