Ramaswami: THE French military invasion of their former West African colony, Mali, which began on January 11, seems to be already taking the shape of a long drawn out occupation. The French forces, flown in from the neighbouring Chad, were greeted enthusiastically when they first landed in the Malian capital, Bamako. The implementation of strict Sharia law in the areas controlled by Islamists in the North, along with the fear of dominance by the Tuareg and Arabs, had made the black majority in the South fearful.