In
Guinea Bissau,
UN Says It
Works with De
Facto
Authorities,
PBC Says No
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
February 5 --
After the coup
d'etat in
Guinea Bissau,
the
country's
Permanent
Representative
at the UN in
New York was
never
changed.
Tuesday
outside
the Security
Council, a
diplomat from
the West
African groups
ECOWAS told
Inner City
Press about
the
credentials
fight.
Meanwhile,
a UN
Secretariat
staffer
confided, "we
work with the
de facto
authorities,
of course."
The
chair of the
Peacebuilding
Configuration
for Guinea
Bissau,
Brazil's
Maria Luiza
Ribeiro
Viotti, told
Inner City
Press it is
difficult to
work even on
security
sector reform
if it is not
known in which
direction the
military
leaders want
to take the
country. She
indicated that
a process
might be afoot
leading to
elections.
So
why did this
coup d'etat in
Guinea Bissau
get accepted,
or at least
not fought,
while forces
swept in to
defend Central
African
Republic
leader Bozize
from the
Seleka
Coalition, and
France
intervened in
Mali?
In the latter
case, the
extremism was,
well, extreme.
And the
Seleka rebels
moved fast,
but were still
some distance
from Bangui
when countries
started flying
their
nationals out,
and their
soldiers
in.
But
there's a
sense of
fatigue and
fatalism at
the UN about
Guinea
Bissau. This
is the size
country in
which the UN
could really
have an
impact.
Alongside the
split between
ECOWAS and the
CPLP, however,
there is
not the will.
It's too easy
to float from
periodic
briefing to
periodic
briefing,
buzzword to
buzzword, DDR
to SSR to coup
and back
again. At
least for now.
Footnote:
It
was confirmed
to Inner City
Press that
Maria Luiza
Ribeiro Viotti
will be
leaving
Brazil's UN
post to become
Ambassador to
Germany.
Tuesday
Inner City
Press
discussed with
her Brazil's
position on
principle on
UN Security
Council
resolution
1970, where
Brazil almost
abstained
because of the
"carve-out"
from the
International
Criminal Court
that the
United States
demanded. That
was a high
point. Maria
Luiza Ribeiro
Viotti will be
missed; we
wish her well.
, 
