MALI / LADSOUS WRAP

United Nation's head of peacekeeping operations Hervé Ladsus was in Mali this weekend (29-30 June) where he visited the northern city of Timbuktu, and a distribution centre in the capital Bamako where Malian authorities have started distributing electoral cards to potential voters ahead of the upcoming elections. MINUSMA

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:02:24
• Production Date: 1 July 2013
• Asset Language: Original
• Corporate Name: UNITED NATIONS MULTIDIMENSIONAL INTEGRATED STABILIZATION MISSION IN MALI - MINUSMA
• Subject Topical: PEACE AND SECURITY; ELECTIONS
• Geographic Subject: MALI; MALI
• MAMS Id: U130701f

Description

STORY: MALI / LADSOUS WRAP
TRT: 2.24
SOURCE: MINUSMA
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: FRENCH / ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 30 JUNE 2013, TIMBUKTU, MALI / 29 JUNE 2013, BAMAKO, MALI

Shotlist

30 JUNE 2013, TIMBUKTU, MALI

1. Wide shot, airport of Timbuktu with UN cars in front
2. Med shot, Ladsus shaking hands with Burkina Faso military
3. Pan right, delegation walking away from the plane
4. Wide shot, group of people and donkey walking Timbuktu streets
5. Close up, Malian solder with machine gun
6. Med shot, delegation entering Town Hall
7. Various shots, meeting
8. SOUNDBITE (French) Hervé Ladsus, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations:
"I believe this is an occasion to hail, as you already did yourself Mr. Mayor, the courage and abnegation of Burkina Faso's and all other West-African contingents who have worked without break with French and Malian armies to restore state authority that you have now here in this city."
9. Close up, Burkina Faso solder
10. Med shot, Burkina Faso solder with machine gun on top of the pickup truck
11. Med shot, group of kids under a tree
12. Wide shot, front wall of the Djingareyber, the great mosque of Timbuktu
13. Med shot, details of the architecture
14. Med shot, Imam greets Ladsus
15. Tilt up, delegation walks in the courtyard led by imam to minaret
16. Med shot, Iman talking to Ladsus and delegation
17. SOUNDBITE (English) Hervé Ladsus, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations:
"I had a very good meeting with the Governor, with the Mayor, they are good people, they are working very much, by the way, hand-in-hand with the civil society to make the act, the getting together and we the UN are here to support them."

29 JUNE 2013, BAMAKO, MALI

18. Wide shot, crowd in front of school
19. Med shot, staff verifying voting card
20. Close up, staff handing over the card
21. Close up, noting voter information
22. Med shot, to Ladsus entering the classroom, shaking hands with agents
23. Close up, boxes of cards
24. Med shot, Ladsus leaving, boxes with cards in foreground
25. SOUNDBITE (French) Hervé Ladsus, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations:
"I believe it's important to see all the authorities mobilized in effort to distribute these electoral cards. I think it is going well, it's intense, they need to distribute as many as possible within the legal timeframe."
26. Med shot, voting centre exterior

Storyline

On Sunday (30 June), just a day before the United Nations (UN) was to take over the stabilization mission in Mali from the hands of the African Union (AU), the Under Secretary-general of the United Nations for peacekeeping, Herve Ladsus has visited northern city of Timbuktu, soon to become one of two regional mission centres.

The City of Timbuktu was occupied by the Muslim extremists for more than 9 months in 2012 to be eventually freed by the French military intervention.

With the return of the Malian army and backed up by the AU peacekeepers, the population also slowly trickled back in.

SOUNDBITE (French) Hervé Ladsus, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations:
"I believe this is an occasion to hail, as you already did yourself Mr. Mayor, the courage and abnegation of Burkina Faso's and all other West-African contingents who have worked without break with French and Malian armies to restore state authority that you have now here in this city."

Currently, a battalion of Burkina Faso is the main security force in Timbuktu. On 1 July, they will become a part of the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in Mali, known by its French acronym MINUSMA.

Timbuktu, medieval cultural and educational centre is a home to several world heritage sites.

During the jihadists occupation, thousand of ancient manuscripts were burned and several museums torn down.

SOUNDBITE (English) Hervé Ladsus, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations:
"I had a very good meeting with the Governor, with the Mayor, they are good people, they are working very much, by the way, hand-in-hand with the civil society to make the act, the getting together and we the UN are here to support them."

With presidential elections just one month away, Malian authorities have started distributing electoral cards to potential voters. The National Identification Number cards (NINA) were printed in France and transported by the UN from Bamako to regional centres. From there, local authorities are taking over its distribution.

During his visit to Mali, Ladsus visited one of the distribution centres in the capital Bamako.

SOUNDBITE (French) Hervé Ladsus, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations:
"I believe it's important to see all the authorities mobilized in effort to distribute these electoral cards. I think it is going well, it's intense, they need to distribute as many as possible within the legal timeframe."

Presidential elections in Mali are expected to put an end to the political and security turmoil that grasped the country following the coup by a part of the Malian army in March 2012.