Africa-Press – Angola. The President of Guinea-Bissau, Umaro Embaló, was the target of an attempted coup on Tuesday (01), having been detained by the military, but ended up speaking to the country inside the Presidential Palace.
A diplomatic source in Bissau told , by telephone, that “serenity has returned to Bissau, at least for now”, admitting the possibility that, in the coming days, some developments may arise
. the outlines of this attempted coup d’état were not clear, nor who the protagonists are, and there is too much speculation to be able to draw absolute certainty.
Several shots were heard around lunchtime near the Government Palace of Guinea-Bissau, where there was a Council of Ministers, with the presence of the President of the Republic, Umaro Sissoco Embaló, and the Prime Minister, Nuno Nabiam.
According to a government source, soldiers entered the Government Palace at the end of the afternoon and ordered the government officials who were in the building to leave. According to international agencies, the military erected security barriers around the area to prevent the movement of civilians and vehicles.
According to witnesses contacted by Lusa, also close to the Palace of Justice was an intervention brigade and several soldiers and elements of the security forces. Relations between the Head of State and the Executive have been marked, in recent times, by a climate of tension, aggravated, in the last months of 2021, because of an Airbus A340 plane, which the Government ordered to be retained at Bissau Airport, where landed from The Gambia, with presidential authorization.
In the aftermath of that incident, President Umaro Embaló carried out a government overhaul. In a first phase, this remodeling was contested by the Prime Minister, Nuno Nabiam, who a day later came to contradict himself and affirm that he had been previously informed and given his agreement. On Friday, Umaro Embaló advised political parties in the ruling coalition to prepare for the legislative elections, scheduled for 2023. This warning was understood as a direct response to the criticism leveled at him with this reshuffle.
In a letter sent to the Prime Minister, the Movement for Democratic Alternation (Madem-G15), a partner of the coalition that supported Umaro Embaló, said that the aforementioned remodeling should not proceed without first convening a summit of leaders to analyze the proposals from the head of government.
Madem-G15 also said that all remodeling proposals must be made within the framework of the alliance, “because outside the sphere of this framework it will not be guaranteed” by the party and “consequently will not have the parliamentary support of this political formation in the National People’s Assembly”.
In addition to the APU-PDGB and Madem-G15, the alliance in the Government also includes the Social Renewal Party. The new structure of the Government of Guinea-Bissau now has 22 ministries and nine secretariats of state.
Angola condemns the action
Angola condemned , “as acting president of the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries”, the attempted coup d’état in Guinea Bissau. of the seizure of power by force in Guinea-Bissau, a Member State in full law of the Community”.
“The CPLP Presidency-in-Office welcomes the firm response of the national authorities, headed by President Umaro Sissoco Embaló, which led to the restoration of order and calls for calm and tranquility”, concludes the statement.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, yesterday called for an “immediate end” to the “violent fighting” in Bissau and for “full respect for the country’s democratic institutions”.
In a statement, Guterres said he was “deeply concerned about the news of violent fighting in Bissau”.
In the message, the former Portuguese Prime Minister also called for “an immediate end to the fighting and full respect for the country’s democratic institutions”.
ECOWAS
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) condemned, Tuesday (01), in In a statement, the “attempted coup d’état” in Guinea-Bissau and blames the “military responsible” for the “security of President Umaro Sissoco Embaló and members of his cabinet”.
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