| ECOWAS speaker hails Mali's suspension from regional bloc |
| Last Updated(Beijing Time):2012-03-30 16:59 |
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Speaker of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) parliament Thursday commended the suspension of Mali from all decision-making bodies in the regional bloc, saying it was a crucial step toward arresting the affront to democracy in the West African nation.
Ike Ekweremadu, the ECOWAS parliament speaker who doubles as Nigeria's deputy senate president, said such drastic step, coming on the heels of Mali's suspension by the African Union (AU), was necessary to prevent a relapse to dictatorship and military rule on the continent.
"Zero tolerance to unconstitutional government subsists both at the AU and ECOWAS levels," he said.
According to him, Mali's suspension was in line with the supplementary protocol on democracy and good governance as provided by the African Charter on "Democracy, Elections and Governance."
"I hope that the military junta in Mali would read the stern handwriting on the wall and quit immediately," he added. |
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