afrol News, 15 September - The easy part for the army of Guinea-Bissau was ousting unpopular President Kumba Yala from power yesterday. Today, international pressure is increasing for a "return to constitutional order" as Guinea-Bissau's new military rulers are meeting a delegation of five foreign ministers.

Already yesterday, only hours after the Bissauan army had detained President Yala and announced their takeover in the media, Portugal, the former colonial power, "regretted" the coup and "appealed to those behind it to return constitutional legality to the country immediately."

Similar and stronger messages came from the UN and fellow African countries. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan yesterday condemned the coup d'état in Guinea-Bissau, urging measures to bring stability to the country. He further called for the restoration of constitutional order.

Several African leaders have condemned the coup, including Mozambique's President Joaquim Chissano, who is also the current leader of the African Union (AU). Mr Chissano urged the Bissauan military leaders to hold immediate talks with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) "to find the best solution to restore constitutional order".

Also fellow West African governments rapidly reacted to the coup. The Nigerian government said it was "determined to resist" this unconstitutional change of government in Guinea-Bissau. The ECOWAS countries decided to send a high profile delegation to Guinea-Bissau to put pressure on the country's new military leaders.

The Foreign Ministers of five West African countries - Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal - today are expected in Bissau, where they will try to persuade General and Interim President Verissimo Correia Seabra to hand power back to Mr Yala. The delegation also has expressed its desire to meet with Mr Yala, still kept in military house arrest.

Army chief of staff General Correia, on the other hand, is playing his cards well, quite contrary to the July coup makers in São Tomé and Príncipe. Immediately after the coup, he gave interviews to the local and international press, emphasising on his reluctance to take power.

Army leader Correia simply repeated earlier statements by the UN Secretary-General, the AU and the European Union on the "destabilisation" caused by President Yala. Also these institutions had observed Mr Yala's inability to organise elections, his increased oppression of the opposition and tendencies towards renewd civil war.

Only in May this year, General Correia had stated that the army had no plans to intervene again in Bissauan politics. Recent developments in Guinea-Bissau however had "not" left the army "another option", he stated yesterday. In particular, the repeated postponements of the legislative elections and President Yala's alleged plans to rig the poll, had caused the military intervention. President Yala further had been warned on several occasions.

When talking to the West African delegation, General Correia also can refer to that international media found a "popular support" for his coup in the streets of Bissau. Further, he has promised to install an interim unity government, including all political forces, and to step down after the organisation of free elections. An election data had however not yet been set.

Speaking to the Portuguese state radio 'RDP África', General Correia therefore was confident his coup would not suffer the same fate as the coup in São Tomé, where international pressure caused the putschists to hand power back to the civilian government after one week. "We were clearly aware that the international community would have never agreed to a coup d'état under any circumstance, but unfortunately we did not have another alternative," he told 'RDP África'.

Although most voices have condemned the coup in Guinea-Bissau, reactions actually have been different than after July the coup in São Tomé. The Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP) in a statement said it would analyse the situation, without yet condemning the coup.

In the UN, there was more relief than condemnation. Despite Mr Annan's clear words, the UN agency IRIN in a report presented a harsh critique against President Yala's "failures to deliver". The UN has been strongly involved in Guinea-Bissau since 1998 but has seen little progress. Even Mozambican President Chissano criticised President Yala for having failed to address the Guinea-Bissau's economy or promote democracy.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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