The UN Security Council unanimously ordered sanctions on Friday against the leaders of last month’s military coup in Guinea-Bissau and warned it was ready to take new measures.
The 15-nation council ordered a travel ban against five top military officers in the West African nation, led by Bissau-Guinean Army Chief of Staff General Antonio Indjai.
The EU has also ordered sanctions over the April 12 coup and Guinea-Bissau has been suspended by the African Union.
“Coup d’etats against legitimate democratic authorities are simply unacceptable,” said Portuguese Permanent Representative to the UN Jose Filipe Moraes Cabral, whose country drew up the sanctions resolution.
“We are gravely concerned by increasing reports of recurrent human rights violations” by the military command, Cabral told the council.
The Security Council renewed its “strong condemnation” of the coup, which was carried out as the country prepared for the second round of a presidential election. It also expressed concern about reports on the theft of state funds.
The resolution demanded that “the military command takes immediate steps to respect constitutional order.”
It ordered a travel ban against Indjai, Bissau-Guinean Deputy Army Chief of Staff Major General Mamadu Ture and top officers General Estevao Na Mena, Brigadier General Ibraima Camara and Lieutenant Colonel Daba Naualna.
The council said it would be ready to order “the strengthening” of the sanctions including an arms embargo and financial measures, depending on the junta’s compliance with UN resolution 20.
The vote was held on the day that the first 70 soldiers from a West African force arrived in Guinea-Bissau on a mission to restore stability.
Soldiers from Burkina Faso arrived just after the Economic Community of West African states (ECOWAS) announced it was deploying 629 soldiers to Guinea-Bissau to relieve an Angolan stabilization force and help “the restoration of constitutional rule.”
ECOWAS leaders and UN officials were to meet in Abidjan yesterday to discuss the coups in Guinea-Bissau and Mali, where soldiers overthrew the government in March.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement it was “critical” for the meeting to “send a clear and principled message against unconstitutional seizures of power.”
The UN calls “for the military in both countries to return to their barracks, refrain from any political involvement and to respect civilian authority and the rule of law,” Ban said.
OPTIMISTIC: A Philippine Air Force spokeswoman said the military believed the crew were safe and were hopeful that they and the jet would be recovered A Philippine Air Force FA-50 jet and its two-person crew are missing after flying in support of ground forces fighting communist rebels in the southern Mindanao region, a military official said yesterday. Philippine Air Force spokeswoman Colonel Consuelo Castillo said the jet was flying “over land” on the way to its target area when it went missing during a “tactical night operation in support of our ground troops.” While she declined to provide mission specifics, Philippine Army spokesman Colonel Louie Dema-ala confirmed that the missing FA-50 was part of a squadron sent “to provide air support” to troops fighting communist rebels in
PROBE: Last week, Romanian prosecutors launched a criminal investigation against presidential candidate Calin Georgescu accusing him of supporting fascist groups Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Romania’s capital on Saturday in the latest anti-government demonstration by far-right groups after a top court canceled a presidential election in the EU country last year. Protesters converged in front of the government building in Bucharest, waving Romania’s tricolor flags and chanting slogans such as “down with the government” and “thieves.” Many expressed support for Calin Georgescu, who emerged as the frontrunner in December’s canceled election, and demanded they be resumed from the second round. George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), which organized the protest,
ECONOMIC DISTORTION? The US commerce secretary’s remarks echoed Elon Musk’s arguments that spending by the government does not create value for the economy US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Sunday said that government spending could be separated from GDP reports, in response to questions about whether the spending cuts pushed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency could possibly cause an economic downturn. “You know that governments historically have messed with GDP,” Lutnick said on Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures. “They count government spending as part of GDP. So I’m going to separate those two and make it transparent.” Doing so could potentially complicate or distort a fundamental measure of the US economy’s health. Government spending is traditionally included in the GDP because
Hundreds of people in rainbow colors gathered on Saturday in South Africa’s tourist magnet Cape Town to honor the world’s first openly gay imam, who was killed last month. Muhsin Hendricks, who ran a mosque for marginalized Muslims, was shot dead last month near the southern city of Gqeberha. “I was heartbroken. I think it’s sad especially how far we’ve come, considering how progressive South Africa has been,” attendee Keisha Jensen said. Led by motorcycle riders, the mostly young crowd walked through the streets of the coastal city, some waving placards emblazoned with Hendricks’s image and reading: “#JUSTICEFORMUHSIN.” No arrest
RSS