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After brandishing retaliatory measures once morest the sanctions of the Community of West African States, the head of the Malian junta, Colonel Assimi Goïta, played appeasement on Monday by inviting the regional organization to dialogue and calling on his compatriots calm and “resilience”.
After the response, the call to dialogue. The head of the Malian junta, the colonel Assimi Goïta, decided, Monday, January 10, to extend a hand to the Community of West African States (ECOWAS), following the regional organization imposed sanctions on his country.
“Even if we regret the illegitimate, illegal and inhuman nature of certain decisions, the Mali remains open to dialogue with ECOWAS to find a consensus between the best interests of the Malian people and respect for the fundamental principles of the organization, “he said in a speech broadcast on public television.
He did not announce any new response measure, but neither did he make any new proposal to get out of the political crisis.
“I ask you to remain calm and serene because we have made the choice to be sincere in order to take our destiny in hand by forging our own path. The ECOWAS and the West African Economic and Monetary Union (Uémoa) have assumed responsibility. , we will do the same, ”he added.
Guinea distances itself from ECOWAS comments
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) imposed on Sunday a battery of retaliatory measures, including the embargo of Mali. It harshly sanctioned the junta’s plan to continue ruling the country for several years and the breach of its promise to hold elections on February 27 bringing civilians back to power.
The measures began to be felt. The Ministry of Transport assured that “the flights of” non-ECOWAS “companies will continue to serve the airports of Mali”. But Air France announced that it might not provide service to Bamako “because of regional geopolitical tensions”.
However, the ECOWAS sanctions are not unanimous. The ruling junta in Guinea, a country bordering Mali, announced that “Guinea’s air, land and sea borders remain open to all sister countries in accordance with its pan-Africanist will”.
In a statement read Monday evening on public television, the National Rally Committee for Development (CNRD, made up of soldiers) said that Guinea, “in no way, was associated with the decision of the fourth extraordinary summit of chiefs. State of the ECOWAS relating to the sanctions taken once morest Mali “.
The international community worries
The junta had already expressed its anger in a statement read on national television in the middle of the night by the government spokesperson in uniform, promising to recall its ambassadors in ECOWAS member states and to close the borders with these countries. , largely symbolic reciprocity measures.
The junta then accused the ECOWAS of allowing itself to be “exploited by extra-regional powers”, an obvious reference to certain partners, foremost among which is France, militarily engaged in the Sahel but with which relations have seriously deteriorated since 2020.
During a meeting of the UN Security Council, France gave its “full support to the efforts of the ECOWAS”, the Malian authorities, “once once more”, having “not respected the demands of the ECOWAS and their own commitments “.
The United States said it was “deeply concerned regarding the lack of progress in Mali” and urged the Malian authorities “to return to democracy in due course”.
In Contratio, Russia called for support for the “understandable efforts” of the junta “aimed at restoring order” and said it understood “the difficulties faced by the Malian authorities in preparing for the elections.
With AFP
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