As a response to aspirations for “total sovereignty,” Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have withdrawn from the West African bloc known as ECOWAS, according to the prime minister of Burkina Faso.
A united statement from the three nations on Sunday declared their intention to withdraw from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), with which they have contentious relations since armed takeovers.
“This decision responds to legitimate expectations, concerns and aspirations of our people to see their countries go, in an irreversible way, towards their total sovereignty,” Burkinabe Prime Minister Appolinaire Joachimson Kyelem de Tambela said after a cabinet council.
“It’s a carefully considered decision and (was) preceded by an indepth analysis of the functioning of the institution and of the possible consequences of the withdrawal,” he added.
In 1975, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger became founding members of ECOWAS. However, the group suspended all three countries after military coups toppled democratically elected administrations.
It put Niger and Mali under harsh sanctions, which are still in place against Niamey. The coups occurred in 2020 in Mali, July in Niger, and July in Burkina Faso.
The premier of Burkina Faso stated, “We know that it will not be without consequences for our states and their economies.”
However, he expressed their conviction that they could “build a viable, resilient economic space that is listening to the true aspirations of our populations.”
All three claim to have officially informed ECOWAS of their intention to withdraw.
The prime minister of Burkina Faso claimed that ECOWAS had become a “technocratic instrument” and criticized it for its “indifference” to the issues facing the region’s nations.
With all three countries, ECOWAS has stated that it seeks “a negotiated solution to the political impasse.”
Since 2015, violence in Burkina Faso has resulted in about 20,000 deaths and more than two million internal displacements.