Several ministers from the three countries united in the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) were in Ouagadougou this Thursday, February 15th. A meeting a few weeks after Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger announced their withdrawal from ECOWAS. An irrevocable decision, the ministers reiterated. The three Sahel states led by soldiers now want to form a confederation.
Published on: February 15, 2024 – 11:28 p.m
3 mins
With this meeting about Burkina Faso, the three Sahel states are taking another step in the formation of the confederation they want to create. “Ouagadougou offers us today the opportunity to take a further step in further establishing the instruments, mechanisms and procedures of our alliance, as well as the legal architecture of the confederation envisaged by our three states,” explained the Burkinabe Defense Minister, General Kassoum Coulibaly.
“Historical references specific to the people of the Sahel”
In addition to him, ministerial delegations from Burkina Faso, Mali and Nigeria were present. “This mechanism will enable our alliance and the confederation to function effectively and to the great happiness of our people,” said his Nigerian counterpart, General Salifou Modi. This confederation project was already discussed in Bamako at the beginning of December at a meeting of the foreign ministers of the three countries. On Sunday, the head of Nigeria's CNSP, General Tiani, also mentioned the possible creation of a common currency in an interview on national television.
Ministers did not revise the Charter of the Alliance of Sahel States, but agreed that the future treaty establishing the Confederation will take into account its immediate withdrawal from ECOWAS. “With regard to the treaty establishing the Confederation, an alliance of the Sahel States, the ministers pointed out the need to base the Confederation Treaty on historical references specific to the people of the Sahel,” explained Karamoko Jean-Marie Traoré , head of Burkinabe diplomacy . “The ministers also called on foreign ministers to continue reflection on the treaty to improve it ahead of the opening session of the Heads of State Summit,” he added.
Read also: Mali-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 reiterated: This decision is irreversible and irreversible, since, in their opinion, the regional organization has deviated from its main objective of serving the people.
For his part, the Nigerian Defense Minister once again condemned the sanctions imposed ECOWAS to his country after the July 26 coup. Ministers from the Sahel Alliance have condemned what they say is the UEMOA's “unfounded seizure of Niger's financial assets” by the Central Bank of West African States. “The AES ministers call for the immediate repeal of this unique measure, which only aims to unjustly punish a people whose only wrong is to seek the full enjoyment of their sovereignty and to take control of their destiny,” added the head of the Malian diplomacy, Abdoulaye, added Diop.
“The AES is not a credible alternative to ECOWAS”
In any case, this idea of a confederation in the Sahel is not unanimous. Ismaël Sacko, a member of the opposition platform Appeal of February 20, which brings together political parties and civil society organizations demanding a return to constitutional order, believes that the AES is a solution for the military regimes in the Sahel, but not for the Population. “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,” says the president of the African Social Democratic Party (PSDA), which is the subject of dissolution proceedings initiated by the Malian authorities.
The countries that have carried out a coup must help each other and in this sense will create the necessary legal framework.
Ismaël Sacko, member of the opposition platform “February 20 Appeal”
David Bache