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| Amadou Toumani |
The military junta in Mali has unveiled a new constitution that puts the country in the hands of an ad-hoc commission. Nearly two-thirds of the commission's 42 members are from the military.
This is even as
the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS announced the suspension
of Mali from its fold.
Meanwhile the new
constitution exempts all members of the junta and the ad hoc commission from
future prosecution. None will be able to run in upcoming elections, the date
for which has not been set.
The junta has
re-opened land and air borders, lifted a curfew and called on Malians to return
to work.
Soldiers ousted
President Amadou Toumani Toure just weeks before the presidential election that
would have marked his retirement from office.
The soldiers were
angry that the government had not properly equipped them to fight Tuareg rebels
in the north. The army had suffered several bitter defeats and numerous
casualties since the insurgency kicked off in January.
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| Sonny Ugoh |
The fighting has
displaced as many as 200,000 people. Many Malians, even those against the coup,
say they share the junta's frustration at President Toure's perceived disregard
for insecurity in the north that has allowed drug traffickers and
al-Qaida-linked terrorists to set up shop in recent years. A delegation of
Chiefs of Defense Staff from the Economic Community of West African States
(ECOWAS) will travel to Mali Wednesday to inform the military junta ECOWAS
wants the country returned to democratic rule.
ECOWAS
spokesman Sonny Ugoh
said the military delegation is expected to be followed later in the week by
another delegation comprising six ECOWAS heads of state.
ECOWAS suspended
Mali’s membership in the regional group following last week’s military coup d’ that
toppled democratically elected President Amadou Toumani Touré.
Ugoh said ECOWAS
is sending a message to the junta in Mali that there is no reward for military
escapades.
“It’s one of the
basic things we do when you have this kind of intrusion by the military into
governance, and it is in the spirit of our commitment to our regional protocol
and democracy and governance through which we insist on zero tolerance for
power opting through any other means apart from democratic process,” he said.
Ugoh said the
military delegation will deliver a strong message from ECOWAS’s about the
military takeover.
“Beyond this
suspension, tomorrow, a delegation of Chiefs of Defense Staff is heading to
Mali with the mandate to sensitize the junta on the need to return to
constitutional rule and to intimate them of further consequences that the
region intends to impose on them should they refuse to heed the provision of
regional leaders,” Ugoh said. He said the heads of state agree to activate the
ECOWAS standby force to send a stronger message that the region may consider
the use of force if the junta in Bamako refuses to restore democracy.
“We believe that
they will see the handwriting on the wall.
We believe that they will understand the gravity of the situation and
the enormity of what confronts them,” he said.
Ugoh said a
delegation of ECOWAS heads state is expected in Bamako later in the week as
part of an overall regional effort to engage the junta leaders in Mali and to
put pressure on the military leaders.
He said the
regional leaders also discussed the possibility of applying economic sanctions.
“One of the
prospects that they discussed is the possibility of a travel ban on members of
the junta. We want make them as
uncomfortable as possible.
We want to
demonstrate to them that there can be no reward for this kind of behavior, not
just in their own case, but also as an example to others who might want to tow
this line of adventurism, to discourage such behavior,” Ugoh said.
He also said it is
not fair to compare the role of ECOWAS peacekeepers in Ivory Coast during that
country’s conflict in 2010. He said
ECOWAS has the resolve to deal with peace and security in the sub-region.
“The French, who
intervened in the case of Cote d’Ivoire, did say that they did so at the behest
of the UN, and the UN has primary responsibility for peace and stability in the
whole world, West Africa included. So,
if indeed some power has been able to resolve the situation within the
responsibility of the UN, I don’t think it would be fair enough to condemn a region,”
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