On
Guinea-Bissau,
Portuguese
Link to
Counter Coup
Alleged,
Mutaboba in
Q
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
October 22 --
Post coup Guinea Bissau
has been
drifting in
the UN
Security
Council
unacted on,
given
disagreements
between the
Portuguese
speaking
countries and
the West
Africa
grouping
ECOWAS.
The
weak responses
on the ground
by the UN and
its envoy
Joseph
Mutaboba, who
earlier as
Inner City
Press pursued
housed a noted
drug
king pin in
the UN
compound, had
earlier this
month given
rise to
questions in
the Council,
including
about Mutaboba
continuing in
the
position.
Then
there was an
attempted
counter-coup,
which the
previous coup
leaders
blame on
Portugal and
perhaps CPLP.
Inner City
Press went to
the UN
noon briefing
on October 22
to ask for the
UN
Secretariat's
comment,
including on
Mutaboba.
But
UN Under
Secretary
General Herve
Ladsous
refuses to
answer any
Inner City
Press
question, and
Inner City
Press
had to re-ask
them to UN
spokesman
Martin
Nesirky.
These
peacekeeping
questions were
the only one
possible; as
Nesirky closed
the briefing
Inner City
Press asked,
no statement
on
Guinea-Bissau?
Later,
as promised,
the following
was issued:
Subject:
Note
to
correspondents
- in response
to questions
on
Guinea-Bissau
From: UN
Spokesperson -
Do Not Reply
[at]
un.org
Date: Mon, Oct
22, 2012 at
1:12 PM
Note
to
Correspondents,
in response to
questions on
the attack on
a
military base
in
Guinea-Bissau
on 21 October
The
United Nations
condemns this
attack, and we
regret the
loss of lives
as a result of
the incident.
We are
following the
situation
closely.
The
Secretary-General’s
Special
Representative
and head of
the United
Nations
Integrated
Peacebuilding
Office in
Guinea-Bissau
(UNIOGBIS),
Joseph
Mutaboba, has
been in
contact with
authorities
and the
international
community in
Guinea-Bissau
and has been
keeping UN
headquarters
closely
informed of
developments.
We
are appealing
for calm and
calling on all
in Guinea
Bissau to
resolve
differences by
peaceful
means,
including
through
inclusive
dialogue,
consistent
with Security
Council
Resolution
2048 of 18 May
2012.
The
United Nations
will continue
to work with
Bissau-Guineans
and
international
partners,
especially the
African Union,
the Economic
Community of
Western
African States
(ECOWAS), the
Community of
Portuguese
Speaking
Countries
(CPLP) and the
European
Union, to
implement
Security
Council
Resolution
2048, in which
the Council
demanded
immediate
steps to
restore and
respect
constitutional
order,
including a
democratic
electoral
process.
This
statement
seems to still
put full faith
and credit in
Mutaboba. But
might that
change? Watch
this site.
, 
