At the end of the ECOWAS and WAEMU summits, the West African presidents decided to sever their diplomatic relations with Mali, to close the common borders and to freeze the Malian assets at the Central Bank of the States of the 'West Africa.
The rupture is total, between Mali and the block of fifteen West African countries whose heads of state met this Sunday. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) refused to seek any compromise with Mali on the roadmap proposed by the Malian military.
The summit of heads of state also adopted new sanctions with regard to Bamako: the severance of diplomatic relations and the closure of embassies, the suspension of commercial transactions with member countries, as well as the closure of land and air borders.
It is another economic sanction that provoked the ire of the Malian government : the freezing of Mali's assets by the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO). "The freezing of a state's assets cannot be applied by the Central Bank, which remains an independent body to which each member state has granted its sovereign rights of issue", deplores the Malian government in a press release.
The government of Mali also considers the Ecowas sanctions as "illegal and illegitimate", but also "inhuman", and deplores its heterogeneity with "solidarity and the Pan-African ideal".
Mali also accuses, almost openly, ECOWAS of having had its decision dictated by France, without naming the latter. "The government of Mali regrets that West African organizations are being exploited by extra-regional powers with ulterior motives", deplores the Malian government.
Towards a militarized conflict?
For its part, Bamako has decided to apply reciprocity and recall its ambassadors to ECOWAS member states. The Malian government also wants to guard against a "deployment of foreign forces" on its territory and calls on the army to "redouble its vigilance and remain mobilized".
Whatever the case, this ECOWAS decision proves, once again, that the organization will not make any concessions on the Malian dossier.
But what is the isolation of Mali the name? "This isolation only serves the interests of a hostile and unreasonable France vis-à-vis Mali", sums up an observer, who also deplores the security consequences of this ECOWAS decision. While the countries of the bloc should face the threat of cross-border terrorism, disunity serves the interests of armed groups.
Decisions whose consequences are still unknown.
The behavior of ECOWAS towards Mali is proportional to France's rage to lose what it considers to be its geopolitical preserve and above all, its reserve of natural resources. The black and white enemies of the Malian people advance with open faces.
- Nathalie Yamb (@Nath_Yamb) January 9, 2022