Security analyst, Col. Festus Aboagye (Rtd) says ECOWAS may not get the desired results from the meeting with the military junta in Guinea due to the involvement of the President of Côte d’Ivoire, Alassane Ouattara.
Speaking on Joy FM‘s Top Story, he explained that the coup in Guinea happened mainly because deposed President Alpha Conde reengineered the country’s constitution so he could stay in power.
Hence, it is an insult to the coup leaders to send another President who did the same thing in his country but was spared any consequences by his military.
“I think the inclusion of the Ivorian leader is counterproductive. The inclusion of the Ivorian leader is an insult to the coup leaders. You don’t send an ECOWAS track one team to go and talk to those who have overthrown a leader, who has reengineered a constitution and include in the team, a leader who has also changed his constitution and was lucky to have gone away with it,” Col Aboagye told Ernest Manu on Friday…
This comes after Chairman of ECOWAS, President Akufo-Addo, on Friday, travelled to Guinea to meet the country’s military leaders.
His visit comes a day after the regional bloc imposed travel and financial sanctions on members of the junta and their families.
In a Twitter post, President Akufo-Addo stated that he is in the country to hold talks with the military leadership in Guinea led by Col. Mamady Doumbouya.
The talk, he said is centred largely on the fate of President Alpha Conde. Ghana’s Head of State is accompanied by the President of Côte d’Ivoire Alassane Ouattara, for this meeting.
Meanwhile, Col Aboagye believes that this talk with the military junta should have been the regional bloc’s first point of action
He stated that the emergency summit which saw the leaders in the sub-region impose sanctions on Guinea was not an engagement.
Col Aboagye stated that “they should have gone to dialogue with them, find out the facts on the ground, understood whether the new leaders are embarking on the road map and brought their responses to the meeting yesterday.”
But, it was rather conveyed to the new leaders that if they do not hand over power and release the deposed President the country will face sanctions, he said.
“Now, that is not how we negotiate. Ecowas must not be seen to be in a hurry to impose sanctions. Even if they (the military) are not going to rule and appoint a new civilian administration, the constitution has been overthrown.
“So, there is no constitution in Guinea and you can’t hold elections without the constitution that provides the framework for multi-party pluralism,” Col Aboagye added.
