The Centre for Democracy and Development has charged the leadership of the Economic Community for West African States to rise up to the challenges of the crisis in Mali.
The CDD, in a statement by its Director, Jibrin Ibrahim, said that if the leadership of ECOWAS does not act fast, through military intervention, the crisis may degenerate beyond repairs.
Ibrahim, in the statement made available to The Eagle Online on Saturday, said that with the capture of a section of Northern Mali on January 10, 2013 by a rebel alliance backed by al-Qaeda, the crisis was certain to get out of hand if not quickly contained.
He said: “It was the signal that told the world clearly that the ambition of the insurgents was not just to keep Northern Mali but to reconquer the whole region and extend the repressive governance they have introduced beyond the current frontiers. This consists of public whippings, amputation of limbs and stoning after summary trials. There is also regular raping of women and even banning of music.”
The CDD said that with the United Nations Security Council already discussing the establishment and deployment of a 3,300 strong-mission to Mali, with the acronym AFISMA, for an initial period of one-year, it was obvious something urgent had to be done but the international community had been lackadaisical about taking action.
It noted that it appears the only solution would be a military intervention, adding: “The French intervention of Friday 11th January with air strikes halted the advances by the insurgents and helped the Malian government forces reconquer Konna. These developments justify the consistent position of ECOWAS that halting the Islamic insurgents was necessary and it required military intervention.”
The CDD said it was aware of moves by some countries to thwart the effort at restoration of peace in Mali.
It said: “We are aware that a lot of underground politics has underpinned the reluctance of the UN to move quickly. Algeria and Mauritania in particular have deployed their vast lobbying powers in the African Union and the United Nations to push the line of “negotiations only.” As many of the insurgent Islamic troops in Northern Mali are from these two countries, it is clear that this strategy is aimed at allowing the insurgents to consolidate their hold. They have also done all in their power to block the leadership role ECOWAS has tried to play. For us in West Africa, we cannot allow Algeria and Mauritania continue this policy of exporting their problems to our region….
“The rise of the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria, the Malian coup of 21st March 2012, Tuareg/radical Islamic rebellion in Northern Mali accompanied by the declaration of the State of Azawad are all indications about an agenda to pursue the political disintegration of West Africa which must be resisted. Persistent reports of a linkage between the Boko Haram insurgents with the Ansar Dine radical Islamists in Northern Mali is a clear indication of the emergence of a regional threat we must confront. We therefore demand as follows:
“1. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is the principal stakeholder in the Malian/West African conundrum and this should be recognised by the African Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN) on the basis of the already accepted principle of subsidiarity;
“2. The international community, should move urgently towards the establishment of AFISMA under the control of ECOWAS to contain the European Union foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton for “accelerated international engagement.” We above all commend ECOWAS for its consistency since the problem arose. Nigeria, Niger, Burkina Faso, Togo and Senegal have been consistent on the need for immediate action and we encourage them to remain steadfast.
“3. Algeria and Mauritania should immediately desist from the obstructive antics and allow action to contain the spread of Islamic insurgency in West Africa;
“4. West African and Malian Civil Society should remain vigilant about the numerous interests being played out in Mali and pursue its campaign to promote and work towards the restoration and preservation of a peaceful and democratic region.
“We finally urge all democratic forces to continue efforts that will lead to the restoration of both the national integrity and constitutional and democratic governance of Mali.”