12 NOV 98 - 13:21

Guinea-Bissau: Portuguese Humanitarian Aid on Its Way

Lisbon, Nov. 12 (Lusa) - The Portuguese foreign ministry announced Wednesday it was sending an additional 137 tons of humanitarian aid to Guinea-Bissau.

Primarily composed of staple foods, but also including 11 tons of medicines, the aid package was already in Cape Verde and should arrive in Bissau by ship Nov. 21, the ministry said. - Lusa

12 NOV 98 - 13:18

Guinea-Bissau: Joint Commission Sets First Meeting for Friday

Bissau, Nov. 12 (Lusa) - The Joint Commission to oversee Guinea-Bissau's stymied peace accord will hold its first meeting Friday, a rebel armed forces spokesman announced Wednesday.

Comd. Zamora Induta said the meeting between insurgent and government representatives would take place at the European Union delegation in Bissau.

He did not disclose what issues would be discussed at the first meeting of the Joint Commission, which is composed by five-member teams from each side of the country's five-month-long conflict. Since a peace accord was signed Nov. 2, the only part of the agreement which has seen movement is the holding of the cease-fire.

Hopes were that the just-created Joint Commission would aid implementation of the accord's other major decisions:

- the exit of foreign troops and their replacement with West African peacekeepers;
- the full reopening of Bissau airport and harbor;
- the formation of a "national unity" government;
- and preparation of presidential and legislative elections to be held simultaneously by next March. - Lusa

12 NOV 98 - 09:34

Guinea-Bissau: Roman Catholic bishop complains about "stagnant" situation

Bissau, Nov. 12 (Lusa) - The Roman-Catholic Bishop of Bissau, Dom Settimio Ferrazzetta, told the Italian Missionary News Agency (MISNA) in Bissau on Wednesday the situation in Guina-Bissau was "stagnant." The bishop said the country needed to "god ahead."

The news agency report said the continued presence of Senegalese troops in Guinea-Bissau was detrimental to the distribution of humanitarian aid. The report also said that peace-keeping troops from Benin, The Gambia and Niger were expected to replace troops from Senegal and the Republic of Guinea-Conakry that have entered the country to back up the government of President "Nino" Vieira. Lusa/Fim

12 NOV 98 - 08:58

Guinea-Bissau/Portugal: Opposition movement plans to hold anti-Vieira rally in Lisbon

Lisbon, Nov 12 (Lusa) - Guinea-Bissauan citizens living in Portugal plan to hold a rally in Lisbon on Saturday to demand the resignation of their country's president, "Nino" Vieira.

"We demand the president's resignation before the elections," Afonso Gomes, member of the Movement of Solidarity with the People of Guinea-Bissau (MSPGB), said in Lisbon on Wednesday.

Gomes said the president's resignation would benefit the implementation of the Abuja peace accord, which was signed by Guinea-Bissau's government and insurgent "Military Junta" earlier this month. General and presidential elections are planned to be held by the end of next March.

The demonstration will coincide with the anniversary of the coup d'etat of November 14, 1980, which brought President Vieira to power. Lusa/Fim

12 NOV 98 - 08:34

Guinea-Bissau: Joint Committee to oversee Abuja Peace Accord

Bissau, Nov. 12 (Lusa) - Lieutenant-Colonel Emilio Costa of Guinea-Bissau's insurgent "Military Junta" and Government Cabinet Minister Malal Sane have been named as members of a joint committee that will oversee the implementation of the country's peace accord inked by the two sides in Abuja earlier this month.

The joint committee's membership was announced in Bissau on Wednesday.

Under the Abuja agreement, troops of Senegal and Guinea-Conakry currently in Guinea-Bissau are to be replaced by troops from several other western African states.

The agreement also calls for the formation of a government of national unity and presidential and general elections by the end of next March. Lusa/Fim

12 NOV 98 - 08:30

Guinea-Bissau: UN to urge international community to increase humanitarian aid

Bissau, Nov. 12 (Lusa) - The United Nations plans to urge the international community during a meeting in Geneva next month to come up with US $ 12 million in emergency aid for Guinea-Bissau.

Inusse Noormahomed, the UN co-ordinator in Guinea-Bissau, announced the planned emergency aid package in Bissau on Wednesday, saying the meeting was scheduled to be held in Geneva on December 4.

The UN official suggested the setting-up of a joint committee between the government and the insurgent "Military Junta" to co-ordinate the distruction of international humananitarian aid deliveries. Lusa/Fim

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