Alassane Ouattara had the courage to say Guinea military junta should be sanctioned

A member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Godwin Edudzi Tamakloe has descended heavily on leaders of the Economic Community of West African State(ECOWAS), including the Ivorian President, Alassane Ouattara over what he described as their hypocritical attitude.

 According to him, the leaders, including Mr Ouattara who had also changed the constitution of his country to enable him stay in power for the third term do not have the moral right to impose sanctions on the military junta who ousted, the Guinean President, Alpha Conde’ over the same reasons.

He explained changing a country’s constitution was equal to a coup d’état as such if anyone should be sanctioned it should be the hypocrisy of the leaders including Mr Ouattara adding “Alassane Ouattara had the courage to even come and stand there and say we should sanction the military leaders in Guinea”.

Mr Edudzi Tamakloe made the comment on TV3 NewDay on Friday, September 17 monitored by GhanaPlus.com.

He was speaking about the two-day Extraordinary Summit held by ECOWAS in Accra and the subsequent sanctions imposed on the military leaders who lead the coup which saw the overthrow of the Guinean President early this month.

“First of all I think this level of hypocrisy exhibited by ECOWAS leaders should rather be sanction. It is their hypocrisy that must be sanction”.

” …These people have the temerity to say that they are sanctioning him, the hypocrisy, look at this graphic paper, the person standing by Akufo Addo is Alassane Ouattara , he change the constitution of Ivory Coast to allow him to do a third term and he had the courage to even come and stand there and say we should sanction the military leaders in Guinea. When your own colleague decides to change the constitution that is when these leaders should say, Prof Alpha Conde’ your decision to change the constitution of Guinea does not accord with the spirit of ECOWAS so we are isolating you,” he said.

“The fact that they are sovereign; there is also the question of inter-dependent so if there is group of people who should be sanctioned is the hypocrisy of these leaders”.

ECOWAS impose sanctions on Guinea military junta

Leaders of ECOWAS on Friday imposed sanctions on the military junta who lead the overthrow of Guinea’s President, Prof Alpha Condé on September 5 following a two-day Extraordinary Summit held in Accra.

A communiqué issued at the end of the summit attended by ECOWAS Heads of State and Government or their duly mandated representatives said Guinea must hold an election within six month to elect a president and return to constitutional rule and until then the country remain suspended from the community.

Members of the junta were also not permitted to contest in the presidential elections.

ECOWAS also froze the financial asset of the military junta and imposed travel ban on them and their families.

“After consideration of the Report and subsequent deliberations, the
Authority decides as follows:

1. to uphold the suspension of Guinea from all ECOWAS governing bodies
   until the restoration of constitutional order;
2. to ensure the conduct of presidential and legislative elections within six
   (6) months in order to restore constitutional rule in the Republic of
   Guinea;
3. to impose sanctions, in accordance with extant ECOWAS Protocols, of
   travel bans on the members of the CNRD and their family members and
   of freeze of their financial assets;
4. to call on the African Union, the European Union, the United Nations,
   and other multilateral and bilateral partners to support the
   implementation of these sanctions;
5. to ensure that no member of the CNRD is allowed to contest in the
   presidential election;
6. ECOWAS to accompany Guinea in the swift resolution of the crisis and
   in the preparations for the elections”, part of the communiqué reads.

Alpha Condé overthrown

Alpha Condé, an 83 year -old and a third term President of Guinea was on Sunday, September,5 ousted by  the country’s military forces to end rampant corruption, human rights abuses and mismanagement experienced under his administration.

Source: GhanaPlus.com