The Liberian government has categorically condemned Monday’s coup d’etat in Mali, where army officers under the auspices of Col. Assimi Goïta staged the country’s second military takeover in nine months. At an ECOWAS extraordinary summit in Accra over the weekend, President George M. Weah denounced the “illegitimate action”, which he said is completely “unacceptable under the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Governance”.
The coup leaders, under international pressure, have reportedly released from detention the country’s Interim President, Bah Ndaw, and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane, who have been stripped of their powers.
“We see this unfortunate incident as yet another attempt to return Mali to the military rule of its recent past,” President Weah said, noting that the coup could potentially reverse the “hard-won democratic gains that the Malian people deserve and demand”.
The President reminded his colleagues that his position on the Malian situation has not changed: “There were some of us, including myself, who maintained that the transitional leadership should not include the military, as this would be tantamount to a tacit admission that a coup d’etat had taken place, and that this was now being accepted and supported by ECOWAS, against some of our core democratic principles.”
He called on ECOWAS leaders not to compromise the organization’s principles. “I love Mali, I love Malians, and all I want is peace and prosperity for the good people of Mali. I therefore cannot and will never support insurrection that denies them their democratic freedoms and rights,” President Weah told the gathering.
Meanwhile, the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Governments has with immediate effect suspended Mali from ECOWAS institutions, in accordance with the regional body’s provisions.
The ECOWAS leaders have said the coup is counter-productive to regional peace and security, and is a violation of the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance, which calls for ascendency to power through free and fair democratic elections.
The heads of state at their extraordinary summit maintained that the decision of their summit on September 15, 2020, which mandated a smooth transition to civilian rule through election, which were scheduled for the 27th February 2022, be upheld.
They then called for a new civilian Prime Minister to be nominated immediately, and an all-inclusive government be formed to proceed with the transition program.