/ 12 May 1999

UN CHIEF CONDEMNS BISSAU COUP

UNITED Nations chief Kofi Annan on Tuesday condemned the military coup in Guinea-Bissau that led to the removal of President Joao Bernardo Vieira. In a statement issued here, Annan’s spokesman Fred Eckhard said the secretary-general ”firmly condemns any measure that seeks to transfer power by unconstitutional means tantamount to a coup d’etat.” He also condemned the killing of ”innocent civilians” in the West African nation, and attacks on foreign nationals and diplomats in last week’s fighting that led to Vieira’s ouster. Some 80 people were killed and 250 wounded in the fighting revived by rebels led by General Ansumane Mane, who spearheaded a revolt 11 months ago after being fired by Vieira for alleged arms smuggling to the separatist Senegalese region of Casamance. Mane heads the junta that took power after Friday’s overthrow of Vieira, who has taken refuge at the Portuguese embassy in Bissau, the capital.