Ghana News Agency (Accra) – Ghana has joined the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the international community to condemn the mutiny in Mali.
The incident has resulted in the arrest and the resignation of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, as well as the dissolution of his government and the National Assembly.
Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, said: “The event in Mali is taking place at a time when the country is experiencing socio-economic and political difficulties, complicated by security threats posed by jihadists and extremists which have been worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The security situation in Mali poses grave danger to regional security if not urgently and effectively managed,” she said.
Ms Botchwey was speaking as shhe represented President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at a virtual extraordinary summit of ECOWAS heads of state and government.
Free Keïta
She expressed her appreciation to President Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger, as chairman of ECOWAS, for convening the extraordinary summit on the political crisis in Mali promptly.
Ms Botchwey said the situation in Mali could escalate jihadist activity in the country and the Sahel region. She added that it also has the potential to destabilise the region and further undermine development within Mali.
Ghana reiterates its solidarity with the resolve and strong sanctions imposed by ECOWAS and the African Union, the minister said, as well as the positions expressed by the United Nations Security Council in rejecting the unconstitutional change of government in Mali.
“The Government of Ghana adds its voice to the calls for the immediate release of President Keïta and senior officials of his government,” she said.
“We also support the proposal for the immediate dispatch of an ECOWAS delegation to Mali to ensure the return to normalcy, peace and order as well as a constitutional rule.“
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Post-independence Mali was long hailed as a pillar of stability and democracy in West Africa, but it has been beset by violence and instability since 2012, when a coup created a power vacuum that Islamist extremists took advantage of.
President Keïta won the 2013 election in a landslide, emerging from a field of more than two dozen candidates to get more than 77% of the vote.
He won re-election five years later, but his fortunes have plummeted since the start of persistent protests in the country by the oppositionist Mouvement du 5 juin-Rassemblement des forces patriotiques.
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