George Oji
13 October 2009
Abuja — President Umar Musa yar'Adua has summoned an extraordinary summit of Heads of States of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for Saturday, October 17, 2009 in Abuja. The meeting is to discuss the political unrest in the two countries brought about by the unconstitutional quest for political power by the two Presidents.
Minister of State, Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bagudu Hirse who disclosed this on the sidelines yesterday during the meeting of the International Contact Group on Guinea in Abuja said Yar'Adua summoned the meeting in his capacity as the current Chairman of ECOWAS. Hirse said among other things, the extra ordinary summit would deliberate on the recommendations of the International Contact Group (ICG-G) arrived at yesterday.
This is as the ICG-G yesterday recommended the setting up of International Commission of Inquiry to investigate the event of September 28, 2009, during which about 200 unarmed civilians were killed and dozens of women raped by the security forces of the CNDD Government headed by Captain Moussa Dadis Camara.
Members of the ICG-G include AU, ECOWAS, UN, European Union, Mano River Union, CEN-SAD, Libya (non-permanent member of the UN Security Council), Nigeria, Organisation of Islamic Conference, Germany, Spain, Japan and four of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (US, France, UK, Russia).
Alec Johnson/allAfrica.com
Ecowas headquarters in Abuja.
Commenting on some of the recommendations of the ICG-G yesterday, Hirse observed that even though the group did not recommend direct sanctions for Guinea, he was optimistic that the issue may be revisited by the Heads of States during their extra ordinary meeting on Saturday.
"Sanction is dangling, it is coming, I will rather leave that to the summit which Mr. President and current Chair of ECOWAS has approved this morning that a special, extra ordinary summit be convened on Saturday, the 17th of October, here in Abuja to discuss the issues of Guinea and Niger. But I can tell you that if the two countries would not comply with the provisions of the protocol setting up ECOWAS, the issue of sanctions cannot be avoided," the minister said.
Meanwhile the ICG-G in its twelve-point communiqué at the end of its meeting, which lasted late into the night yesterday recommended amongst other things that it strongly condemned the brutal acts, rapes and the massacre perpetrated by the armed troops under the authority of the CNDD against women and unarmed civilians during a gathering of members of the Forces Vives (civil society organizations, opposition political parties and trade unions) on September 28, 2009 in which about 200 people were killed.
The Group also demands that the de facto authorities of guinea free all those who have been detained since September 28, give back the bodies of the victims to their families, allow all wounded persons in hospitals and outside, in particular raped women to freely receive medical care, lift all obstacles to the freedom of expression, movement and assembly as well as ban the bearing of weapons of war by military personnel outside barracks not under active command.
In addition, the group called on the President of the CNDD to formalize not later than the deadline of October 17, 2009, fixed by the 204th meeting of the African Union Peace and Security Council, his commitment that neither himself nor members of the CNDD nor the Prime Minister would contest the Presidential election, failing which the Group called on the African Union and the relevant regional and international organizations to take appropriate measures.
Furthermore, the Group expressed serious concerns over information relating to the illicit trafficking and circulation of arms in Guinea and requested ECOWAS to implement the relevant provisions of the Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons, and recommended to the International Community to impose total embargo on arms meant for Guinea
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Active Discussions: Ecowas Summit on Guinea