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The professor of international law at the University of Ghana, Kwadwo Appiagyei-Atua, criticized ECOWAS for its domination over the military junta which impeached President Alpha Condé of Guinea on Sunday, September 5.
Professor Appiagyei-Atua argued that the ex-communication of the regional bloc of Guinea and asset freeze decision members of the ruling junta is unwarranted at this point.
Claiming that the decision of the bloc led by Nana Akufo-Addo is “harsh,” the law professor argued that what the Ghanaian president and other regional leaders should have done was to give the National Reconciliation and Reconciliation Committee a deadline. development (CNRD) which ousted the besieged Condé.
The deadlines, he told Samson Lardy Anyenini on Newsfile, could be: “within a month the former appointees should be released from prison; next month [they should] think about building a new constitution from the ground up or amending the current one… ”
ECOWAS leaders, he continued, could then move forward with sanctions if the military junta led by Colonel Mamady Doumbouya fails to meet the targets.
The speaker lamented that the “hard” decision of ECOWAS could be counterproductive and that the victims would be ordinary citizens of Guinea if the junta turned arms against them.
His comments follow the fallout between the ruling junta and other West African leaders, operating through ECOWAS, the regional bloc.
Special forces in Guinea under Doumbouya’s command arrested and detained President Condé over concerns about poverty and corruption, and because he was serving a third term after cracking down on the opposition to amend the constitution to allow it. .
ECOWAS has since called for the unconditional release of Condé and the restoration of Guinea to constitutional rule within six months.
The junta says the deposed president will stay in the country, calling the ECOWAS bluff. The coup plotters say, however, that they will soon establish a transition.
Meanwhile, ECOWAS continues to be criticized on its inability to override coup catalysts – such as the arbitrary falsification of constitutions – in the sub-region.
Article 23 (5) of the African Union Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance prohibits tampering with local laws to perpetuate the tenure of leaders. ECOWAS itself has promulgated an Additional Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance which prohibits illegal stay or change of government.
However, the AU and ECOWAS have not taken a strong stand against presidents who forcefully amend their country’s constitution to allow third-party or indefinite terms.
Alassane Ouattara, the guilty president of Côte d’Ivoire, was part of the ECOWAS delegation to Guinea in an effort to convince the coup plotters to step down, a move that analysts see as a slap in the face of the Guinean junta.
Despite this, the army in Guinea must remain apolitical and must prepare to cede power to a democratically elected group, a fact highlighted by Professor Appiagyei-Atua.
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