lomats , “ experts ” on Africa , and “ human rights ” activists outcompeted each other to tell the “ African ” story , was triumphalist . Liberal values , symbolized by free speech , adversarial politics , and elections , which were forced down our throats by vast amounts of money spent in media propaganda and the training of civil society leaders , prevailed .
But no such thing is happening in Mali following the second coup in 9 months led by Colonel Assimi Goita . Instead , the people of Mali have made it clear that they want substance over form . They are also adamant they won ’ t let anyone dictate their political choices . They are right on every point .
In response to the announcement by Malian authorities that elections would have to be postponed until 2025 , and in the midst of geostrategic calculations , the regional body , ECOWAS , recently imposed more drastic sanctions on the country . The sanctions include the closure of land and air borders between ECOWAS countries and Mali , the suspension of all commercial and financial transactions with Mali except for food , pharmaceutical and medical products , petroleum products and electricity , and the freezing of Mali ’ s assets in ECOWAS central and commercial banks . The decision was cheered by France which , acting in concert with the regional body , claims to fight for the return of the constitutional order . In addition , both the former colonial power and ECOWAS demand an immediate return to civilian rule through elections . Suffice to say that between France and its West African regional allies on the one hand , and Malian authorities on the other hand , it ’ s a dialogue of the deaf . This is not surprising considering that the preoccupations of each party are at odds with each other .
ECOWAS : Deaf to people ’ s demands
ECOWAS leaders are worried that the wave of military coups d ’ état that has shaken the region recently could reach their own presidential palaces . Hence , their stubborn reference to a constitutional order , which , from the perspective of Malians , is not a priority given the security situation across the country . In any case , what would be the purpose of having a constitution if the government fails to uphold its primary , constitutional duty to protect its people ? Clearly , the constitution and , by extension , democracy had been reduced to having different governments elected every five years without any meaningful change in people ’ s lives . Understandably , ordinary Malians , who are at the receiving end of violence from IS and Al-Qaida affiliated groups , as well as intercommunal fighting , want the substantive parts of the constitution to materialize in their lives . They trust their leaders to undertake the reforms needed to make this happen and consider the proposed five years of transition as reasonable . On the other hand , ECOWAS leaders , driven by their own calculations , insist on the form : democratic rituals . Ironically , the 23 January 2022 coup in Burkina Faso , a few days after their decision to sanction Mali , has not allayed their fears . Instead , it has further discredited the logic of sanctions , which were supposed to discourage military officers in the region from emulating their Malian counterparts .
Moreover , even as these leaders claim to be only concerned for the rights of Malians who are “ taken hostage by a military Junta ,” as they put it , their sanctions are designed to hurt the very people they pretend to fight for . French foreign minister , Jean-Yves Le Drian told AFP on 13 January 2022 that Mali risked being “ suffocated ” unless the Malian authorities yielded . The cynical calculation is that Malians will turn against their government when it is unable to pay civil servants and to provide basic services due to the freezing of its assets in ECOWAS banks . Obviously , sanctions are self-defeating if they discredit their designers , hurt the very people one is supposedly trying to save from the “ junta ” and rally support around their designated targets . This was made clear during a huge protest held in Bamako on the 14th January 2022 where the “ hostages ” denounced the sanctions , disavowed the regional body , and voiced their support for the coup leader and the transitional government . The anti-ECOWAS climate in the country is such that it begs the question : what democ-
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