Hit hard, hoping that the violence of the blow will lead the brazen to better intentions. This is in substance the strategy adopted on Sunday January 9 by the heads of state of West Africa to force Colonel Assimi Goïta, the head of the Malian junta, and his transitional government to give way to a president elected much faster than they hear.
Gathered in Accra, the Ghanaian capital, for an eighth summit devoted to Mali since the coup of August 2020, the presidents and representatives of the member countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have in fact heavily reinforced the sanctions already taken in December against the authorities in Bamako. Among the battery of new measures announced “With immediate application” : the closure of land and air borders with Mali; the suspension of all commercial transactions, with the exception of basic necessities, drugs, petroleum products and electricity, and the freezing of Mali’s assets at the Central Bank of West African States in all commercial banks in the region.
If his lifting “Gradual” is conditioned to “The finalization and implementation of an acceptable and approved timetable”, this diplomatic banishment and economic blockade to allow a return to constitutional order appeared inexorable. The last regional tour of the head of the Malian diplomacy to try to wrest the leniency of his neighbors or even the last minute offer of Assimi Goïta, in order to ” maintain dialogue and good cooperation with ECOWAS ”, to hand over his power to a president elected in four years rather than in five, have had no effect. The Heads of State have in their press release judged “Totally unacceptable” the schedule that had been proposed to them at the end of December 2021, considering that it “Simply means that an illegitimate military transitional government will take the Malian people hostage for the next five years.” ”
The choice of words is not insignificant in a region which believed itself to be free of the putsch and which in less than eighteen months saw two young officers overthrow old presidents “Elected” in Mali then in Guinea. It reflects both the desire of the West African presidencies to limit this return of the military to the political scene as quickly as possible, as well as their particular exasperation towards the head of the Malian junta and the government that surrounds him.
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