Pascal Arogorn Ibe
The West African regional bloc ECOWAS announced Tuesday that it was ending sanctions imposed against Mali after a military coup in August, saying it wished to back the return to civilian rule .
In a statement , the Economic Community of West African States
( ECOWAS ) said
“ heads of state and government have decided to lift sanctions ” after noting positive steps towards a constitutional government .
It noted the publication of a roadmap for the transition period .
The 15- nation group imposed tough sanctions against one of Africa ’ s poorest countries after president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita was ousted following mass protests .
The coup was bloodless but triggered widespread alarm among Mali ’ s neighbours.
A coup in 2012 was followed by an uprising in northern Mali which morphed into a bloody Islamist insurgency , claiming thousands of lives and threatening neighbouring Niger and Burkina Faso.
The ECOWAS sanctions , imposed on August 20, included border closures and a ban on commercial trade and financial flows but not basic necessities, drugs, equipment to fight coronavirus , fuel or electricity.
Under pressure , Mali ’ s junta endorsed a “ charter” to restore civilian rule within 18 months and appointed a committee which chose 70-year – old retired colonel Bah Ndaw as interim president .
Despite this , ECOWAS insisted on the publication of the transition roadmap and warned it could not accept junta leader Colonel Assimi Goita , who is interim vice president , as Ndaw’ s potential replacement.
The bloc has now taken into account “ notable advances towards constitutional normalisation , ” according to a French text of Tuesday’ s statement , signed by President Nana Akufo- Addo of Ghana, who currently chairs ECOWAS.
It also called on “ all bilateral and multilateral partners to support Mali. ”
The communique also called for civilian and military officers detained during the coup to be released , and for the junta, which calls itself the National Council for the Salvation of the People ( CNSP) , to be dissolved .
The statement was issued a day after Ndaw appointed a government , headed by former foreign minister Moctar Ouane, in which junta members occupy key positions.
The “ charter” also sets down the goals of re -establishing security across the nation , two -thirds of which are outside government control; of “ restoring the state”; and of staging general elections .
AFP
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