ABUJA: The West African regional bloc said on Saturday it would lift tough sanctions on Niger as it seeks a new strategy to dissuade the three junta-led states from withdrawing from the political and economic union – a move that threatens regional integration.
Leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) met to address the political crisis in the coup-hit region, which was deepened in January by the decision of military-ruled Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali to leave the 15-nation bloc.
After closed-door talks, ECOWAS said it had decided to lift Niger sanctions, including border closures, central bank and state asset freezes and the suspension of trade transactions, with immediate effect.
The communique said it was done for humanitarian reasons, but the move will be seen as a gesture of appeasement as ECOWAS tries to convince the three junta states to stay in the nearly 50-year-old alliance. Their planned exit would bring a chaotic disconnect from the bloc’s nearly $150 billion-a-year trade and service flows.
The bloc “further urges countries to reconsider their decisions in light of the benefits enjoyed by ECOWAS member states and their citizens in the community,” it said.
It also said it had lifted some sanctions against junta-led Guinea, which has not said it wants to leave ECOWAS but, like other junta states, has not committed to a timetable for a return to democratic rule.
ECOWAS Commission President Omar Touray said some targeted sanctions and political sanctions remain in place for Niger, without giving details.
RECONSIDER THE STRATEGY
Earlier, ECOWAS President Bola Tinubu said the bloc must rethink its strategy in trying to get countries to restore constitutional order, urging Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali and Guinea “not to see our organization as an enemy”.
ECOWAS closed its borders and imposed strict measures on Niger last year after troops detained President Mohamed Bazoum on July 26 and installed a transitional government, one of a series of recent military takeovers that exposed the bloc’s inability to halt democratic descent.
The sanctions have forced Niger, already one of the world’s poorest countries, to cut government spending and default on more than $500 million in debt.
