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After being elected President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Nana Akufo-Addo, has notified the convening of a consultative meeting on the current political instability in Mali.
This was revealed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, in Accra at the Ministry of Information on Sunday.
According to her, the meeting is scheduled for September 15, 2020 at the Presidential Lodge, Peduase.
It will start at approximately 10:00 am.
It should be recalled that at the 57th Summit of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, President Akufo-Addo was unanimously elected as President of the ECOWAS Authority for a period of one year.
According to her, the security challenges in the region range from terrorism and violent extremism to insecurity at sea, political instability, election-related violence, drug and human trafficking, epidemics and pandemics that tend to cause instability in the region.
Addressing threats to human life and property, democratic governance and growing insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea and the Lake Chad basin, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso and northern Nigeria are crucial, he said.
“It cannot be denied that trade and economic development cannot thrive in an environment of insecurity, hence the need to maintain regional peace and security, democracy and good governance, and the strengthening of cooperation between states. members”.
He noted that the political crisis in Mali poses a great threat to the region if not properly addressed.
“With a vast territory lacking effective governance and the operations of various dissident terrorist groups operating in the country, the deterioration of Mali’s socio-political crisis represents a serious threat to the security of the region,” he said.
“The country has been the target of three severe attacks since the military coup of August 18, 2020 with far-reaching ramifications in Burkina Faso and Niger. Reports indicate that while jihadists have killed several people, more than seven hundred (700) jihadist activities have been neutralized since the start of the coup in mid-August. These events should be considered a worrying sign for security and stability in the country and the region ”.
“The current situation in Mali may encourage the jihadists to launch more attacks that will further paralyze the country and destabilize the region,” he said.
“This is the reason why ECOWAS has made efforts to address the situation since it began in June 2020 and following the coup that toppled the government of President Keita on August 18, 2020 and his subsequent resignation and dissolution of the National Assembly. on August 19, 2020 ”, according to her.
Since the start of the demonstrations in Mali, ECOWAS has carried out a series of mediation activities, he explained.
At the 57th Ordinary Summit of the E COWAS Authority held on September 7, 2020 in Niamey, Niger, the Heads of State reaffirmed their determination to ensure that constitutional order is quickly restored in the country, with a political transition led by a president civilian and Prime Minister for twelve months, said the Foreign Minister.
The Authority upheld all the decisions made at its Extraordinary Summit on August 28, 2020 and took note of the ongoing consultations among Malian stakeholders initiated by the National Council for the Salvation of the People (CNSP). The Authority also ordered that the Head of the Transitional Government and the Prime Minister, both civilians, be appointed no later than September 15, 2020, ”he said.
“The Consultative Meeting called by the President of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government on the political situation in Mali on September 15, 2020 in Peduase is part of the ECOWAS mediation efforts to return Mali to a constitutional regime and prevent the political situation from deteriorating further, ”he said.
The opposition rejects the transition agreement
The meeting takes place at a time when the opposition coalition that led the mass protests in Mali before last month’s coup has rejected a transition letter.
On Saturday, September 12, 2020, Mali’s military leadership agreed to establish an 18-month interim government until an election could take place.
The agreement followed three days of talks with the opposition and civil society groups.
However, the M5-RFP group, which participated in the negotiations, noted that the resulting document was an attempt by military leaders to “seize and confiscate power.”
The group also claimed that the document did not take into account what it said was a majority vote for an interim civilian leader and “did not reflect the views and decisions of the Malian people.”
This despite the fact that the provisional charter announced by the military leaders establishes that a provisional legislative body will be established composed of members of the M5-RFP.
The 75-year-old ousted former president, it will be recalled, left Mali last week for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on September 5 for medical treatment.
That was after he suffered a mild stroke, according to military officials.
—Daily guide
