Several ministers from the three countries united within the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) were in Ouagadougou this Thursday, February 15. A meeting a few weeks after Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger announced their withdrawal from ECOWAS. An irrevocable decision, the ministers repeated. The three Sahelian states led by soldiers now want to create a confederation.
3 mins
With this meeting at Burkina Faso, the three Sahelian countries are taking a further step in setting up the confederation they want to create. “ Ouagadougou today offers us the opportunity to take a further step in the continued establishment of the instruments, mechanisms and procedures of our alliance, as well as in the legal architecture of the confederation envisaged by our three States. “, declared the Burkinabè Minister of Defense, General Kassoum Coulibaly.
“Historical references specific to the people of the Sahel »
Alongside him, the Burkinabè, Malian and Nigerien ministerial delegations were present. “ This mechanism will allow our alliance and the confederation to function effectively and to the great happiness of our populations. », Supported his Nigerien counterpart, General Salifou Modi. This confederation project was already discussed at the beginning of December in Bamako during a meeting of the foreign ministers of the three countries. On Sunday, in an interview on national television, the head of the Nigerien CNSP, General Tiani, also mentioned the possible creation of a common currency.
The ministers did not revise the charter of the alliance of Sahel States but they agreed that the future treaty relating to the creation of the confederation will take into account their immediate withdrawal from ECOWAS. “ Regarding the treaty establishing the confederation, an alliance of Sahel States, the ministers noted the need to base the confederation treaty on historical references specific to the people of the Sahel. », declared Karamoko Jean-Marie Traoré, the head of Burkinabe diplomacy. “ The ministers also urged foreign ministers to continue reflection on the treaty with a view to improving it before the holding of the inaugural session of the summit of heads of state “, he added.
Read alsoMali-Niger-Burkina: a common currency, at what price?
THE MaliBurkina Faso and Niger announced their withdrawal from ECOWAS a few weeks ago. Today, in Ouagadougou, the ministers affirmed: this decision is irreversible and irrevocable since the regional organization has, according to them, diverted from its main objective of serving the people.
For his part, the Nigerien Minister of Defense once again denounced the sanctions imposed by the ECOWAS to his country following the coup d’état of July 26. Ministers from the Alliance of Sahel States condemned what they consider to be a “ baseless confiscation of Niger’s financial assets by UEMOA » through the central bank of West African States. “ The AES ministers demand the immediate lifting of this unique measure which only aims to unjustly punish a people whose only wrong is to aspire to the full enjoyment of their sovereignty and taking control of their destiny. », added the head of Malian diplomacy, Abdoulaye Diop.
“The AES is not a credible alternative to ECOWAS »
In any case, this idea of confederation is not unanimous in the Sahel. Ismaël Sacko, member of the opposition platform Appeal of February 20, which brings together political parties and civil society organizations demanding a return to constitutional order, the AES is a solution for the Sahelian military regimes, but not for populations. “ The creation of this organization was not decided in a referendum and the population was not involved. The AES is not a credible alternative to ECOWAS », judges the president of the African Social Democratic Party (PSDA), targeted by a dissolution procedure initiated by the Malian authorities.
The countries that have carried out a coup d’état need to help each other and they will create the necessary legal framework in this sense.
Ismaël Sacko, member of the opposition platform “Appeal of February 20”