Guinea refuses ECOWAS envoy
Guinea Military junta announce 36 months transition period
Former ECOWAS Commission president, Dr Mohamed Ibn Chambas, has announced his decision to step down as the special envoy of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to Guinea.
According to him, his decision to step down is because he feels his presence is impeding the process for Guinea to return to democracy, asaaseradio.com reports.
Dr Ibn Chambas, who made these remarks at the 1st Ordinary Session of the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government on Sunday, in Accra, added that the authorities in Guinea are still insisting that they do not need an ECOWAS envoy.
“In Guinea, the transitional authorities continue to insist that there is no political crisis, yet it is evident that once a military has overthrown a civilian government, there is obviously a political crisis in the country. This reason is what the Guinean authorities have used to refuse to accept an ECOWAS envoy in the country in the person of myself.
“At this point, I believe that I should not be the stumbling block to dialogue between ECOWAS and Guinea. In order to facilitate forward movement on this issue, I have decided to withdraw myself as envoy of ECOWAS to Guinea to allow the authority to come up with other names,” Dr Chambas said.
Dr. Chambas was appointed in November last year as a special envoy to Guinea by ECOWAS, to serve as a mediator with the Guinean military authority to help speed up the country’s transition to democracy.
However, the military leadership in Guinea, led by Colonel Mamady Doumbouya as interim president, has rejected the services of an ECOWAS mediator. It has instead announced a domestic transition team and a 36-month transition period for the country to return to democratic role.
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Former ECOWAS Commission president, Dr Mohamed Ibn Chambas