Interview

Lifting of ECOWAS sanctions: “The ball is in the court of the military juntas”

It is a failure and an admission of weakness of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), believe some analysts.

Paul-Simon Handy, director of the East Africa regional office of the Institute for Security Studies, affirms on the contrary that ECOWAS has shown pragmatism by lifting sanctions against Niger, Mali and Guinea, and that the ball is now in the court of the military in power in these countries.

Interview.

Flags of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission countries are displayed inside Nigeria's presidential villa, after the extraordinary session of heads of state and government of ECOWAS in Abuja, Nigeria, February 24, 2024. AFP - KOLA SULAIMON

By: Guillaume Thibault

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RFI: Paul-Simon Handy, do you consider, like other analysts, that the decisions taken by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) are an admission of weakness

?

Paul-Simon Handy:

It is a wise, pragmatic reaction, which opens the way to more frank negotiations.

There are many personalities who were beginning to ask ECOWAS to do so, not to adopt the same arm wrestling strategy that the military juntas seem to appreciate.

We will see, now that the ball is in the juntas' court, if their leaders are ready to discuss.

In my opinion, they hit the instance a lot.

Some took the liberty of saying that the decision was irreversible, which also demonstrates a certain political naivety.

Because in politics, nothing is impossible.

We cannot exclude any option in politics.

So, in effect, the ball is in their court and they will have to demonstrate pragmatism roughly equal to that which ECOWAS has just demonstrated.

Can ECOWAS not exist without these military juntas, both geographically and economically?

ECOWAS does not want it!

This was not a scenario that had been planned.

But it is clear that it can exist.

But the question that should be asked is: can these three countries really exist within the Alliance of Sahel States that they created?

An alliance out of spite, which has no real political project, which is a somewhat frightened reaction to what they consider to be, wrongly, in my opinion, an injustice on the part of ECOWAS.

Read also Lifting of most sanctions against Niger by ECOWAS: “the social cost was very high”

What’s next for ECOWAS and these military juntas?

Should they resume a dialogue

?

They find themselves in a situation where both parties have every interest in meeting around the table: there is a mediator appointed by ECOWAS, President Faure Gnassingbé of Togo.

I think that now the Togolese mediation should redouble its efforts, find options acceptable to both.

If ECOWAS must rebuild itself, it certainly cannot be at the cost of celebrating military coups.

But, that said, we should not confine ourselves to condemning only military coups.

One of the great weaknesses of the ECOWAS systems and instruments consisted of only pointing out the seizures of power by the military, but not the manipulations of the Constitution, that is to say constitutional coups d'état.

Read alsoCédéao: the regional organization's plea to convince Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger to stay

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