How Embaló and ECOWAS want to isolate Guinea, Mali and Burkina Faso at the UN

The President of ECOWAS, Umaro Sissoco Embaló, has asked the Secretary General of the United Nations to prohibit the interventions of presidents and transitional governments at the UN rostrum.

Tired of being compared to a West African “union of presidents”, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) would now like to be spared by speakers at the United Nations forum. After the sanctions announced against Guinea, the government of the Transition of Mali had emphasized "that the objective of ECOWAS is to improve the living conditions of the populations and not to adopt counter-productive sanctions affecting them".

During a speech at the United Nations last month, Malian Prime Minister Abdoulaye Maïga attacked several ECOWAS presidents, including Alassane Ouattara, accused of having launched "a maneuver to drag on in power" . To Umaro Sissoco Embaló, he recalled the original role of the sub-regional body and indicated that “the dynamic that has made ECOWAS great must not be broken”. Maïga had claimed to have taken note of “the threat of sanctions made against Mali. And, far from being impressed by sanctions, I would like to point out to the current President of ECOWAS that at the end of his mandate, the West African people will judge him on the efforts he has made to improve living conditions. lives of populations and not on media shows serving foreign agendas”.

Strong exchanges between Embaló and the transitional leaders

An attack in order which has somewhat irritated the Bissau-Guinean president, currently at the head of the body. According to Jeune Afrique, Umaro Sissoco Embaló sent a letter to the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres. The current president of ECOWAS would have urged the boss of the UN to block any intervention by Guinea at the United Nations platform. More generally, the Bissau-Guinean head of state asks that no more president or member of a transitional government resulting from a coup d'etat be invited to speak publicly in front of his peers.

In addition to Mali, the Bissau-Guinean president was also targeted by Guinean Prime Minister Bernard Goumou. The latter believes that Umaro Sissoco Embaló is a "puppet in the mantle of a statesman". The head of the transitional government, who describes Embaló as a "public entertainer of Bissau", believes that Guinea has become an "obsession" for ECOWAS. The president of the body would prefer not to be targeted, especially when directing his gaze towards the UN platform. Will his missive sent to the secretary general of the international organization be followed up? In any case, this looks like a new attempt by ECOWAS to isolate Guinea, Mali and Burkina Faso.