The parliamentary arm of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) said on Monday that it supports all decisions made by ECOWAS heads of state on the coup in Niger, including the imposition of sanctions.
In an exclusive interview with Newslodge, the Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Sidie Tunis, said that the parliament is united and supports all the decisions of the authority of the heads of state.
“We, as a parliament, support all the decisions of the authority of the heads of state at their two summits,” he said.
Parliament held a virtual meeting on Sunday with some 65 of its 115 members in attendance. After the meeting, several news articles surfaced saying that the parliament was divided with some members supporting military action in Niger while others did not.
Tunis told this newspaper that the parliament asked the ECOWAS Commission to prioritize diplomacy to restore constitutional status in Niger and leave military intervention as a last option.
“I understand that there are various interpretations of our position in parliament, including that we are divided. Yes, people will have the right to say that we are divided, simply because we are not an echo chamber, ”he said.
“Parliament is supposed to be a forum for dialogue, we debate and if everyone is on one side, then…naturally, as representatives of the people, we have to debate issues; we debate military intervention, we debate diplomatic options, we debate sanctions.
“In parliaments around the world, people have different opinions. I think that is why people say we are divided but we are united behind our leaders,” Tunis added.
He noted that parliament “unequivocally” condemned the coup and called for a return to democratic rule as soon as possible and the immediate and unconditional release of President Mohamed Bazoum and his family.
sanctions
When asked about the current sanctions imposed on Niger and their effectiveness, the speaker said that the sanctions, including the power cut by Nigeria, in his opinion, should be listed under the diplomatic efforts that ECOWAS is making.
“You can’t separate them at all,” he said.
ECOWAS in the first emergency summit held to address the coup in Niger imposed several sanctions on Niger, including the closure of land and air borders and the freezing of accounts. The bloc also gave the coup leaders a seven-day ultimatum to reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum. The putschists ignored ECOWAS and, defying the bloc, formed a government on the eve of a second emergency meeting.
Some experts have said that ECOWAS spoke too quickly about the use of force, while others argue that it should not be an option. For Mr. Tunis, “You can never say that ECOWAS spoke too fast, despite the fact that the seven-day deadline was given, the diplomatic proposals were still ongoing. In my opinion, military action is definitely an option on the table and we support it.”
Although sanctions mainly hurt ordinary people, Mr. Tunis believes that sanctions are a global means to achieve a goal and should be used. He added that targeted sanctions should be the next face of sanctions as the dialogue between ECOWAS and the putschists continues.
Newslodge reported how sanctions are already crippling businesses in Nigeria’s border communities.
Since ECOWAS heads of state resolved to deploy a standby force to restore constitutional order in Niger if the coup leaders remain recalcitrant, many Nigerians have reiterated their opposition to the war and the deployment of troops in the neighboring country. President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria has also reiterated that he, as head of ECOWAS, supports the continued use of dialogue to resolve the crisis in Niger.
In the interview with Newslodge, Mr. Tunis said it is important for members of the public to be clear that ECOWAS is not going to war as has been widely perceived. He said the bloc was considering a military intervention that could take various other forms and not necessarily go to war.
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Let hear it in the comment below if you do have an opinion on this; ECOWAS Parliament wants more dialogue and supports sanctions