Africa-Press – Cape verde. The transitional government of Guinea-Bissau today criticized the president of East Timor, José Ramos-Horta, the former Mozambican president Filipe Nyusi, and the Portuguese MEP Marta Temido for their analyses of the current situation in the country.
In a statement shared on social media, the Minister of Social Communication of the transitional government, Aduramane Turé, began by saying that “there are Timorese who are incorrigible” and that President Ramos-Horta is one of those cases.
“In the past, he and his comrades from Fretilin [Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor] stirred up the idea of founding a communist East Timorese state. This historical folly provoked the invasion of East Timor by Indonesia. Afterwards, Guinea-Bissau played a prominent role in the solidarity movement with Timor, then occupied,” the minister contextualized, referring to the historical relations between the two Portuguese-speaking communities.
“Guinea-Bissau’s diplomacy and Armed Forces were the most relevant institutions in articulating this Guinean solidarity with the people of Timor-Leste,” he added.
For the official, treating “the Guinean military and, by extension, the Guinean people themselves, in a frivolous and disrespectful manner reveals a clear departure from the objective truth of historical facts.”
“Ramos-Horta betrayed the moral responsibility demanded of him as a public figure, who was a symbol of peace,” he declared.
The Guinean executive thus responded to the statements made by Ramos-Horta to Lusa on Wednesday, in which he said it was impossible to remain indifferent to the arrogance of a military faction that prevents Guinea-Bissau from following a normal course and that it is obvious that Sissoco Embaló lost the elections.
The Guinean minister also said that Ramos-Horta should question former Mozambican president Filipe Nyusi – who led the African Union’s electoral observation mission to Guinea-Bissau – whose statements Bissau considers to have “clearly exceeded the limits of tolerance, common sense and diplomatic prudence”.
Filipe Nyusi had declared, on December 4th, that there was a winner in the November 23rd election and that this winner should be announced.
Finally, the representative of the Guinean executive also mentioned in today’s speech that “the Portuguese MEP Marta Temido joins the chorus of hasty positions in an equally worrying way”.
“She [Marta Temido] forgot, or she forgets, that Guinea-Bissau is not under the tutelage of anyone, not even the European Union, and even less so Portugal,” he added, also stating that the MEP “offended the dignity of the Guinean people with her pathetic statements, forgetting the historical relations of friendship and cooperation between the Guinean and Portuguese people.”
“How is it that this lady (…) still hasn’t realized that it would be better to remain silent than to ask for sanctions against Guinea-Bissau, a country friendly to Portugal?” he stressed.
For him, it is only up to the National Electoral Commission to “prepare, control and declare the election results.”
“Guinea-Bissau does not need hasty judgments, nor threats, much less moral lessons that it does not receive from anyone,” he concluded.
The MEP stated that Guinea-Bissau is experiencing a “breakdown of its rule of law” and “a campaign of terror” during her speech to the European Parliament (EP) on Wednesday.
Today, the EP approved a resolution condemning the unconstitutional change in Guinea-Bissau and urging the European Council to consider imposing restrictive measures on those responsible for the coup and human rights violations.
Timor-Leste assumed the presidency of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP) on Tuesday, a status revoked from Guinea-Bissau after a summit of heads of state and government.
The country had already been suspended from ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) and the African Union.
The opposition and international figures have stated that the coup was a staged event orchestrated by Umaro Sissoco Embaló, who allegedly lost the election, thus preventing the release of results and arbitrarily ordering the detention of several figures who supported the candidate claiming victory, Fernando Dias.
Among those detained is Domingos Simões Pereira, president of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), while Fernando Dias is taking refuge in the Nigerian embassy in Bissau.
A Semana with NM/Lusa
*** The Lusa news agency delegation in Guinea-Bissau has been suspended since August after the government expelled representatives of Portuguese media outlets. Coverage is being provided remotely. ***
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