The governments of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso have made public their plans to form a confederation following their ‘exit‘ from ECOWAS.
“Our excellent diplomats then recommended to the Heads of State the creation of a Confederation bringing together Burkina, Mali and Niger, awaiting the creation of a Federation of the three countries,” said the Malian government spokesperson, Abdoulaye Maiga, on Thursday in a Facebook post.
It was part of a speech the army colonel delivered at a meeting that ministers of the three states held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
Mr Maiga, who is also Mali’s minister of Territorial Organisation and Decentralisation, said the recommendation to create a confederation was made in a November 2023 meeting by the countries’ ministers of development affairs.
They also recommended expanding the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) objectives in diplomacy and economic development. The AES was created in September 2023, a few months after the Niger coup.
The three states last month announced their withdrawal from ECOWAS on grounds of what they said were illegal and inhumane sanctions.
Mr Maiga in his speech on Thursday reiterated the accusations against ECOWAS. “From an organisation supposed to weld the social fabric between populations, it has become, by some leaders, an instrument that tried to pile populations against each other.”
“From an organization called to support governments’ efforts to stabilise states, ECOWAS has found no other unfortunate inspiration than to threaten to militarily attack a sovereign state, whose people have simply decided to take their destiny in their hands,” he added.
Mr Maiga noted that “this current” ECOWAS is a perfect illustration of what the AES will never be, adding that it will remain an alliance of states united by a common ambition of the emancipation of Africa.
“This new era will see the alliance between our states strengthen further to assert itself as a force in the service of peace, security, development and integration of our peoples for the good of our nations,” he said.
Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso are currently led by putschists who carried out successful coups in their countries. The current leaders of the three countries have resisted the demands of ECOWAS to implement transitions to civilian rule. The West African regional bloc, based on its rules, imposed sanctions on the countries as part of efforts to get them to return to civilian rule.
It is in response to the sanctions that the countries announced their exit from ECOWAS. The regional body responded by saying it will continue to dialogue with the leaders of the countries.
Editor’s Note: The original speech was in French and was translated by Facebook
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