Lifting of ECOWAS sanctions on Mali linked to nomination of civilian PM
Bamako, Mali (PANA) - The Mission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on the Malian crisis, chaired by mediator Goodluck Jonathan, announced here Friday that sanctions of the sub-regional organisation on Mali would be lifted when a civilian prime minister was appointed.
The ECOWAS mediator, who was speaking right after the inauguration of the president and vice-president of the transition, declared that the sanctions would be lifted when a civilian prime minister was appointed.
The mission stressed “the importance and emergency for the nomination of a Prime Minister, civilian head of government, who will be in charge of leading, under the authority of the transitional president, the paths for the reforms of the national inclusive dialogue and to prepare for the next presidential and parliamentary elections".
The mission insisted on the importance to obtain the final an official version of the Transition’s Charter taking into consideration the decisions made from the summits of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government, particularly “the dissolution of the National Committee for the People’s Salvation (CNSP), the junta who seized power on 18 August, before or after the investiture of the chairman of the transition.
The mission also insisted on "the urgent release of civilian and military personalities of the former regime in detention since 18 August, 2020, date of the coup d’etat against former president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.
The ECOWAS mission, which was chaired by former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, which stayed in the Malian capital from Wednesday to Friday, included the Ghanaian minister of foreign affairs, chairwoman of the Council of ECOWAS ministers, Mrs Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, and the chairman of the ECOWAS Commission, Jean-Claude Kassi Brou.
The special representative of the UN Secretary-General in Mali, chief of the UN multi-dimensional integrated mission for Mali stabilization (MINUSMA), Mahamat Saleh Annadif, and the African Union senior representative for Mali, Pierre Buyoya, were also part of the delegation.
The mission would evaluate the progress made in the implementation of the decisions taken during the extraordinary summits of heads of state and government on 20 and 28 August 2020, as well as the Accra meeting on 15 September 2020 for a return to normal constitutional order in Mali.
During its visit to Mali, the delegation met with the chairman of the transition, President Bah N’Daw, the National Committee for the People’s Salvation (CNSP), chaired by its president, Colonel Assimi Goita, ambassadors of the permanent members of the Security Council accredited in Mali, and the permanent delegate of the European Union (EU) in Mali.
-0- PANA GT/IS/MSA/RA 25Sept2020
