Malian President Assimi Goïta spoke on Monday evening in a televised speech on the conclusions of the double summit of the heads of state of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (Uemoa) and of the Economic Community of the States of the West Africa (ECOWAS) held the day before in Accra. And its share of sanctions taken against his country.
“Reading the ECOWAS and WAEMU press releases gives the impression that the complexity of the situation in Mali has unfortunately not been taken into account. It is regrettable that the efforts of the transitional authorities were ignored, ”the junta leader said in his speech on Monday (January 10th).
Recalling the context that led to the transmission of a timetable for the transition on December 31, 2021 to the President of ECOWAS, Nana Akufo-Addo, in particular the organization of the National Assembly of the refoundation, Assimi Goïta spoke of a regret. “We hoped that before the extraordinary ECOWAS conference, a careful examination would be made of the submitted timetable and a period would be given to discuss our proposal before taking a decision.”
“Finding a consensus”
In his speech of a little over 4 minutes, the president of the transition indicated that his country “remains open to dialogue with ECOWAS to find a consensus between the superior interests of the Malian people and respect for the fundamental principles of organization ”,“ even if we regret the illegitimate, illegal and inhuman nature of certain decisions ”. “Our commitment to a return to normal, peaceful and secure constitutional order has never failed,” he said. Before calling on ECOWAS “for a thorough analysis of the situation” by placing “Mali’s best interests above all consideration”.
“The socio-political history of our country has shown us time and time again that it is imperative that we thoroughly review our system in order to avoid an eternal restart. This is what we have tried to convey to the heads of state of the ECOWAS, because Mali is a country for which African integration is worth the renunciation of part of its territory “, continued Colonel Assimi Goïta.
“We measure the seriousness of the situation”
At the place of the Malians, the killer Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta (IBK) calls for a “rally” to “reaffirm our positions of principle and defend our homeland”. “Every Malian, every Malian wherever they are, must behave as a defender of the best interests of Mali. We understand the gravity of the situation. It is up to everyone to silence divisions of whatever nature and to come together around the essential that is Mali, our homeland. Also, I call for constant mobilization and resilience in the face of the situation “, he suggested the author of two putschs in less than a year.
Before this address, a lot of water had flowed under the bridge. Shortly after the announcement of ECOWAS sanctions – which decided to freeze Malian assets in the region’s central and commercial banks, to close the borders between the country and the other member states, to suspend commercial transactions with Bamako as well that any financial aid from financial institutions – the Malian government, by way of reciprocity, has announced the effective closure of its borders with its neighbors, members of the organization and the recall of its ambassadors.
