Sao Tome crisis 'over soon'
2003-07-23 09:09
Sao Tome - The head of the junta that seized power in Sao Tome and Principé last week said on Tuesday ousted President Fradique de Menezes's hold on power was "not in question".
He said the crisis in the small west African island state would be resolved by the weekend.
"We will resolve things by the end of this week," Major Fernando Pereira told reporters on the third day of negotiations with international mediators in the capital.
He said ousted President de Menezes would be able to return from Nigeria, where he had been stranded since the bloodless coup last Wednesday, "at any time, as soon as the memorandum of agreement has been signed".
Pereira said: "It's not the president who is in question, nor the prime minister, nor anyone. It is a whole country, a nation that is in question.
De Menezes flew to the Gabonese capital, Libreville, late on Tuesday, joined later there by Gabonese foreign minister Jean Ping from Sao Tome where he had been taking part in negotiations with the coup leaders.
Seven ministers released
Tuesday's talks, which were interrupted at midday and began again in early evening, were to tackle the modalities for the president's return to Sao Tome as well as conditions for the restoration of constitutional order.
The negotiations were spurred by the release late on Sunday of seven ministers and a legal adviser who had been held since the power grab - a move hailed as a breakthrough by coup leaders and negotiators alike.
The officials were released after Pereira and the head mediator, Congolese foreign minister Rodolphe Adada, agreed they would be placed under military surveillance at their homes and stopped from trying to influence negotiations.
De Menezes also welcomed the move, but insisted the rebels return to barracks before he returned home to negotiate with them.
Calling on the population to remain calm, Pereira urged them to refrain from holding street demonstrations as "this could put people's lives in danger".
Pereira emphasised he would not set up a transitional government, saying: "That is not within our competence.
30-strong mediation team
"The return of democratic normalcy, this whole process will be started by others," and would begin with the signing of a memorandum of agreement following the negotiations, he said.
The 30-strong mediation team represents several Portuguese-speaking and African countries - Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Congo, Gabon, Mozambique, Nigeria and Portugal - as well as the United States.
The talks, taking place at the United Nations offices in Sao Tome, are being held under the auspices of the African Union, which has expressed its determination to end military takeovers and civil wars in Africa.
Despite de Menezes's week-long isolation in Nigeria, he was seen by several diplomats taking part in the Sao Tome talks as being the best choice for the leadership of the impoverished island nation.
But others in Sao Tome were sceptical, and one source scoffed at the talks, calling them a "masquerade".
Pereira, known by the nickname "Cobo", said last week that the coup was "an SOS to the international community" about rampant corruption on the tiny islands that are home to 140 000 people.
He repeated that stance during Tuesday's press conference, insisting that the coup had been a response to gruelling living conditions in Sao Tome.
"We were obliged, as responsible citizens, to act.
Pereira said: "We did so because we believed in democracy, we believed in the rule of the people, by the people and for the people."
Many residents of Sao Tome have voiced hope that the coup will result in an improvement in their quality of life.
The former Portuguese colony is burdened by one of the highest per capita debt ratios in the world and is heavily dependent on foreign aid, although it is banking on future revenues from substantial offshore oil reserves.
- AFX