Guinea
Bissau
Sanctions
Start, US Back
& Forth,
Mutaboba For
Gambari?
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
June 20 --
When Morocco
held its first
meeting
Wednesday
charing the
new Guinea
Bissau
sanctions
committee of
the UN
Security
Council, the
media interest
consisted of
four
reporters.
Perhaps
it was not
only that the
exports of
Guinea Bissau
are cashews
and bauxite
and
cocaine;
perhaps since
it was the
first meeting
of the
sanctions
committee, it
takes time to
drum up
interest. But
the stakes and
likelihood of
success seem
low.
The
committee is
thinking of
add more names
to its
sanctions
list, from a
European
Union list.
But many say
those named
don't travel
anyway, except
perhaps to
Senegal. Who
will stop
them? If they
have drug
money to
offer for
bribes?
The
overarching
question is
just how easy
will things be
for the
leaders of the
coup? One has
lived in
Morocco, which
now chairs the
committee.
As
to the rest,
the US at
first said it
could work
with them,
them rectified
and
clarified the
statement. But
now, it's
said, the US
ambassador to
Senegal who
covers Guinea
Bissau is
ready to work
with the coup
leaders,
contrary to
what Inner
City Press was
told on camera
at the
stakeout.
Another
question on
Africa put to
the US Mission
on Wednesday
morning was
still
unanswered
Wednesday
night.
And
so attention
turns to who
might replace
Joseph
Mutaboba, the
UN envoy who
first
sheltered a
drug kingpin
then missed
the signs of
the coup. A
strange
suggested
emerged on
Wednesday: why
not Ibrahim
Gambari?
As
Inner City
Press
exclusively
reported,
Gambari came
to New York
and resigned
from his
Darfur post.
But what's
next for him?
Guinea Bissau
might be
small,
but it seems
to be a place
Gambari could
erect a
$600,000
mansion for
himself and
his five
guards, like
he did in El
Fasher.
Gambari's
alread partied
with an ICC
indictee:
after that, a
coup leader is
a walk in the
park.
Gambari's with
the Angolans,
and thus the
Lusophone. It
would be a
step down,
sure.
But there's a
lot of
opportunity or
at least money
in Bissau.
Watch
this site.
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