The Organization of West African States (ECOWAS) refuses any transition beyond 24 months in Guinea Conakry and does not rule out the use of “heavy sanctions” if the military junta does not comply.
“Unacceptable and non-negotiable”, launched on Wednesday the current president of ECOWAS, Umaro Sissoco Embalo, who is campaigning for a rapid return of civilians to power. The Bissau-Guinean president thus expressed himself during an interview granted to the French media RFI and France 24 on the eve of an extraordinary ECOWAS summit which is being held this afternoon in New York, on the sidelines of the General Assembly of the United Nations.
Embalo seems to stick to a compromise that he would have found with the junta during a visit to Conakry. “I was there, in Guinea Conakry. We have discussed. We have reached a consensus, we cannot exceed 24 months”, he indicated, specifying that any three-year timetable will lead to “heavy sanctions”.
The interview with the current president of ECOWAS coincided with the trip of the head of the Guinean junta, Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, to Mali, another country in transition, also in the sights of the sub-regional organization. Doumbouya said he was next to his brother Assimi Goïta to celebrate the independence of Mali which takes place this Thursday and “accompany the Malian people, who are a brotherly people”.
The extraordinary ECOWAS summit, convened at the initiative of the Bissau-Guinean presidency, will be mainly devoted to “reviewing the situation in Guinea and Mali” according to Embalo’s words.
Burkina Faso, which is also led by a military junta, would not be concerned by this meeting because, according to this regional official, Ouagadougou “respects the roadmap” agreed with ECOWAS.
By OMA Newsletter N° 868 of 09/22/2022
Article published under the direction of Dr. Najib Kettani
The OMA, NGO with an Intercontinental vocation
For the development of cultural exchanges
Valuing human potential
The promotion and consolidation of Africa’s development, and
Inter-African integration
