Unluckiest Country? Coup d'Etat again!
Replies: 14 - Last Post: Apr 27, 2012 5:11 PM Last Post By: owadavid
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Unluckiest Country? Coup d'Etat again!
Poor old Guinea Bissau ... yet again & now it seems to be motivated by the Angolans what a mess :(http://globalvoicesonline.org/2012/04/13/guinea-bissau-coup-detat-military-angola/
Fingers crossed it stays relatively calm - anyone on here there at the moment?
Kira
1
President has been arrested just now; army says it launched a coup because it alleged, the govt had done a secret deal to allow Angolan troops into the countryKira
2
Seems to be a full-scale coup by Bissau standards.Their military is currently not participating in any UN peacekeeping operations like they usually do, so all their few hundred well-trained troops are currently at home, and not happy... sounds like bad feng-shui.
3
I was in Bissau until last Saturday....everything was totally calm, and just as languid and laid-back as it always is. I talked to a western diplomat who was in Bissau until yesterday....even he doesn't know much. No one seems to know who is behind it because they haven't yet declared themselves. Prime Minister Gomes in hiding, probably at the Portuguese embassy, which could be a sign of things because he could easily have gone to the Angolan embassy which is across the street from his house!Anyhow this never seems to affect anyone but the ruling class and I'm sure for the moment that the average person's life remains completely unaffected, particularly for those outside of the city of Bissau.
4
Wise words Tarhaqa.Just can not understand why the British FCO suddenly advise against all essential travel to the whole of the country. It seems from reports that Bissau is a little unpredicatable at the moment, but not like the whole country is imploding!
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Yeah, I suppose they're covering their asses.Still, US and Australia governments haven't yet changed their advice, curious why UK has (they changed from no restrictions to against all but essential travel overnight) The UK doesn't even have representation in the country, so not sure what they're basing their information on.
7
Hi Owadavid,The UK have a diplomatic representation in Guinea Bissau. It's the dutchman Mr. Jan van Maanen who's running the Mavegro supermarket in Bissau. Jan is Consul of UK and the Netherlands.
Check this link
http://www.embassypages.com/missions/embassy12289/
Grtz,
Jeroennl
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The UK's 'official' diplomatic representative to Bissau is in Dakar (as is the US). Only France, Spain, and Portugal among EU members have actual embassies in Bissau.The message I received from the US Embassy concerning Bissau just said to avoid all but essential travel, and particularly mentioned the city of Bissau as a concern, but it was not an overly panicky message of the type that they are capable of.
9
Good news (ish), borders appear to have been reopened if this article is to be believed:http://www.el-nacional.com/noticia/31352/11/La-junta-militar-de-Guinea-Bissau-ordena-reabrir-las-fronteras-del-pais.html
10
ye, the state don't seem to have too much reach in GB. ECOWAS don't seem to have been as strident about the coup as they were with Mali and (eventually) Cote D'Ivoire, which is a shame as was good to see their influence at last. a cynic might say that a small failed state has clandestine benefits for the powers that be.12
That BBC report is not entirely clear.It says that ECOWAS is ready to send in peacekeeping troops, but have given the junta a 72 hour deadline.
This can't be classified as a peacekeeping mission, as the country is not at war.......if anything, the ECOWAS force will actually fan the flames of the conflict in my opinion. If ECOWAS think 600 troops will work they've grossly underestimated the capability of the GB military. This could get very messy if an ECOWAS force does enter GB territory.
14
I eat my words....who'd have thought it, the military say they will accept an ECOWAS force and release Gomes!Fingers crossed for G Bissau and its people
http://af.reuters.com/article/guineaBissauNews/idAFL6E8FR9W820120427
