Dakar — The President of ECOWAS Commission, H.E. James Victor Gbeho, and H.E. Jean Ping, the President of African Union Commission have condemned in no uncertain terms the attempted disruption of the chain of command in the military and the recent storming of the UN compound by a section of the Guinea Bissau army.

Furthermore, they disapproved of the illegal arrest of the Prime Minister and the open threat to his life. They equally deprecated the removal and illegal detention of the substantive Chief of Defence Staff and the general threat posed by that action to the population at large.

The two Presidents met in the margins of the 50th anniversary celebrations of the national Independence of the Republic of Senegal, in Dakar, to discuss recent developments in Guinea Bissau. They also expressed grave disappointment with the fact that military leaders in Guinea Bissau still act with impunity and that the Armed Forces of the country continue to pose a threat to the consolidation of democracy.

Ambassador James Victor Gbeho, and Mr. Jean Ping, strongly condemned the recent illegal actions of the military and called on them to respect the decisions of their political leadership and to restore legal military command and control.

After detailed exchanges, both Presidents agreed that the events perpetrated by the military leadership constitute a serious setback to the democratic process in that country and the pledge of the Guinean military to extend respect and loyalty to their institutions. They renewed their determination to implement the decisions of the AU and ECOWAS authorities, taken in Syrte and Abuja respectively.

While agreeing to continue to work closely together, the two Presidents decided to visit Bissau today, along with the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General in West Africa, to consult with the Guinean authorities and other stakeholders for the speedy restoration of democratic governance, peace and security to Guinea Bissau.