APA – Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) Leaders of the West African regional grouping have been scrambling to make sense of the intention of three of its members to leave the bloc. Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger last month announced their immediate and unequivical withdrawal from Ecowas, accusing it of being at the back and call of foreign powers.
The Ministerial Mediation and Security Council (CMS) of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) held an extraordinary emergency meeting on Thursday to discuss the withdrawal of the countries from the Sahel States Alliance (SSA).
The reasons given by Burkina, Mali and Niger to justify their withdrawal from the organisation “are nothing but smoke and mirrors,” participants at the Abuja meeting said.
They believe the real reason is the intention of the leaders of the three countries “not to comply with their obligations under the Treaty and the Protocol.”
“They have no intention of relinquishing in the near future the political power they have acquired through extra-constitutional means,” the CMS said.
The Sahel Alliance states announced and insisted on the “irreversible nature” of their decision to withdraw from the regional bloc.
They criticised it for sanctioning coups in violation of its own laws, for deviating from its founding principles and for being in the pay of foreign powers.
However, the ministers encouraged Ecowas to continue its rapprochement and openness with the three member states to ensure that their concerns are quickly addressed and that they are kept abreast of developments in the situation.
In particular, they recommended that “Ecowas exchange views on this issue with the African Union, the UEMOA, the United Nations and international organisations, as well as other bilateral partners, with a view to urging the three member states to remain members of the community.”
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