SAHEL: CHOGUEL KOKALLA MAÏGA CRITICIZES FRANCE’S POLICY TOWARDS AFRICAN COUNTRIES
Following Macron’s recent statement on the «epidemic» of coups d’état against democracy, the Malian Prime Minister Choguel Kokalla Maïga has expressed his point of view. At the ceremony to welcome Mali’s new CAMES-accredited doctors, he criticised France’s policy of double standards, and even double standards, towards African countries.
The Malian Prime Minister questioned France’s reaction to a coup d’état in a sovereign country. He criticised the fact that a defence council is convened in another country in response to a coup d’état. Choguel Kokalla Maïga stressed that this policy of double standards is unacceptable to Africans. He cited the example of a recent coup d’état in Gabon, which did not elicit the same condemnation as other cases.
The Prime Minister pointed out that the coups d’état in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger had not called democracy into question, contrary to what might be thought from the outside. According to him, security is the main concern in these situations, and when people are fighting for their survival, the type of regime in place becomes secondary.
His Excellency Choguel Kokalla Maïga also gave advice to the new authorities in Niger, encouraging them not to expel the French ambassador in haste. He explained that this ambassador, who no longer interacts with the institutions of the country of accreditation, will end up leaving of his own accord. He warned that France could use his arrest as a pretext for military intervention, and advised against falling into this trap.
On the subject of military agreements, the Prime Minister explained that these agreements are concluded between states and not between the authorities in place. So when the State of Niger denounces these agreements with France, France must comply with this decision, regardless of the legitimacy or illegitimacy of the authorities in place.
