ECOWAS : Lift of sanctions, what Malian Authorities think
The Republic of Mali, under military rule since May 2021, is among those countries that benefited from the « leniency » of ECOWAS on February 24th, when the conference of heads of state and government decided to lift sanctions. These were economic and financial sanctions imposed on states that experienced coups d’état.
Since the announcement of this decision nearly a week ago, there has been no official reaction from the four (04) concerned states (Burkina Faso, Guinea Conakry, Mali, and Niger). Such reactions are naturally expected by the public opinion. However, we know a bit more about the position of Malian authorities on this matter.
During a press briefing held on Wednesday, February 28th in Moscow with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, the Malian Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Abdoulaye DIOP, had an opportunity to address the issue of the lifting of sanctions. He arrived the same day with a high-level government delegation for a friendly and working visit.
On the question of the lifting of sanctions, the Malian minister deemed it unnecessary to comment on the decision, given that his country had already withdrawn from the organization a month ago. As a reminder, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger had announced on January 28th their immediate withdrawal from the West African community.
Regarding the organization itself, the Malian diplomatic representative reiterated the perception of the authorities of the three states that decided to withdraw and formed an alliance, AES, since September 2023. According to their perception, the organization of West African peoples has become an instrument serving foreign powers, notably France.
According to him, this power seeks to sow chaos in the region and create troubles for the countries in the area in order to assert its supremacy. Several events have already confirmed this reality. It is now clear that this former colonial power in most of the countries in ECOWAS wants to destroy its former colonies for its own interests.
To do so, it uses and manipulates African institutions to achieve its goals. The message perceived in the words of the Malian diplomat is that there is no possibility of returning to this organization as its leaders wish.
« We have also decided to provide a geopolitical response by joining forces with a number of countries with which we share the same reality but also the same vision of solidarity among countries. We are working to achieve what we could not accomplish within the framework of ECOWAS », he affirmed.
