Dialogue and Mediation best options for restoring democratic rule in Niger-Bombande
Former Executive Director of the West African Network for Peace Building (WANEP) Emmanuel Bombande has suggested to the West African leaders to resort to dialogue and mediation to restore democratic rule in Niger.
Bombande also appreciated the efforts that have been made by the Economic Community of West African States(ECOWAS) leaders since the coup happened in Niger.
The UN Senior Mediation Advisor further stated that although ECOWAS is permitted to use military intervention in restoring constitutional rule in Niger, the leaders should consider meeting with the military junta once again to see how best the issue can be resolved.
“I think the message of trying to use what has been described by the ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs as ‘by all means’ is basically to have a very strong and firm hand and to insist that ECOWAS will not relent”.
“But for me, the language should exactly portray the ECOWAS political engagement through dialogue and mediation and not create a misrepresentation that the military option has not come to the fore”.
“I say for this simple reason, what is the objective of the ECOWAS? The objective of ECOWAS, going back to its own protocols, particularly the one on democracy and good governance of 2001, does not present what you might call a military option when a situation like this arises”.
“What it presents more is to use the type of preventable diplomatic effort, negotiations, and dialogue though in the repertoire of choices to make for the restoration of constitutional rule, Ecowas could now deploy any other means that might ensure that constitutional rule is reestablished”, Bombande noted in an interview monitored by The Ghana Report on TV3.
READ ALSO: Niger Coup: Ecowas Military Intervention Could Be Disastrous – Security Analyst
ECOWAS security chiefs met in Accra on Thursday, August 17 to find strategic ways to restore democratic rule in Niger.
Before the crunch meeting, ECOWAS approached the military junta earlier this month to see how best they can handle the matter at hand to reinstate the Niger president, Mohamed Bazoum.
Consequently, the military junta failed to meet with the West African leaders as planned and decided to prosecute President Bazoum over treason afterward.
The Political Affairs, Peace & Security Ambassador Abdel-Fatau Musah of ECOWAS after the meeting held in Accra cautioned that with all the unconstitutional measures the military junta is taking now if anything happens to President Bazoum and his family, ECOWAS will hold them very responsible.
ECOWAS has ordered all the African state leaders to deploy their military to face the military junta in Niger in an ambush.
President Mohamed Bazoum was overthrown by the military on July 26, 2023.