Guinea-Bissau
UN to Guinea-Bissau military: 'Leave politics!'

afrol.com, 7 October - Members of the UN Security Council have called on the former military junta in Guinea-Bissau to withdraw from politics. As Nana-Sinkam presented the Secretary-General's latest report on Guinea-Bissau to the Security Council, the Council President, Ambassador Martin Andjaba of Namibia, told reporters that the members called on the former military junta "to fully subordinate to the constitutional authorities" and "translate into reality" its promise to withdraw from the political process.

 

Kumba Yala. Copyright: Mundo Negro

During their consultations, Council members reviewed a report by Secretary-General Kofi Annan on developments in Guinea-Bissau, where he said the former military junta "at times appears to question decisions taken by the democratically elected government." The report by the Secretary-General stated that "I am pleased to inform the Council that, despite some serious internal challenges, Guinea-Bissau’s fledgling democratic institutions seemed to survive during the reporting period."

- When President Yala, in early September, dismissed five ministers belonging to the rival Guinea-Bissau Resistance Party (RGB) from the coalition Government, the RGB and the President’s Party of Social Renewal (PRS) engaged in a peaceful dialogue and were able to negotiate a solution that averted the collapse of the nine-month-old Government. Subsequently, the dismissed cabinet officials were reinstated.

In his press conference, the President of the Security Council emphasized the need to implement the country's demobilization programme. The World Bank is providing technical and financial assistance for a government programme under which about 10.000 soldiers would be demobilized and an additional 16.000 former combatants and veterans would be prepared for
reintegration.

Ambassador Andjaba told reporters that Council members reaffirmed their support for the democratic process unfolding in Guinea-Bissau. Referring to the country's border situation, which the Secretary-General described as "precarious," Council members commended the efforts of the leaders of Guinea-Bissau and Senegal to de-escalate border tensions and urged them to continue to do so with a view to ensuring lasting peace along their shared border.

Council members also called for preserving the prospects for peace, stability and prosperity of Guinea-Bissau and other countries in the sub-region, according to Ambassador Andjaba. "Members of the Council called on Member States and the international community as a whole to continue to provide financial and other support to the Government of Guinea-Bissau to meet the country's post-conflict peace-building challenges and economic reconstruction," he said.

Chronic poverty
The Secretary-General's report notes that Guinea-Bissau faces chronic poverty, and warns that the civilian Government has "neither the means nor the capacity" to address the country's formidable challenges on its own. Economic conditions in the country remain difficult, the report noted. "State revenues are disturbingly limited, the level of underemployment and unemployment extremely high and poverty rampant. The Government continues to experience difficulties in meeting the most immediate needs of the population. The responsibility of paying salaries to almost 26,000 members of the military establishment continues to pose an especially worrisome burden, not only because of the Government’s difficult financial situation but also because of high concerns over security, were the salaries not paid."

The Council had been briefed by the Secretary-General's Representative for Guinea-Bissau, Samuel Nana-Sinkam. He is also the Head of the UN Peace-building Support Office in Guinea-Bissau, which is working to help the Government consolidate democracy and stabilize its border situation.

Sources: Based on UN sources

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