09 FEV 99 - 22:16

Guinea-Bissau: Swedish Diplomat Rebuked For Statements to French Radio

Bissau, Feb. 9 (Lusa) - Swedish diplomat Ulla Andren was summoned to the Guinea-Bissau presidency Tuesday to clarify statements made to a French radio station.

The Swedish embassy's charge d'affaires reportedly told Radio France International that President Nino Vieira asked Senegal to provide 200 soldiers for his personal protection.

A presidential spokesman told Guinea-Bissau's loyalist National Radio that the statements were not based on any "official information", adding that Andren should be "more prudent and responsible" as such behavior did not help the ongoing peace process.

On Friday an Italian priest was given 24 hours to leave the country for comments made to a foreign radio station. President Vieira later rescinded the expulsion order after the Bissau diocese issued a formal apology.

Meanwhile, West African peacekeepers continued to deploy Tuesday along lines separating Vieira loyalists and Military Junta rebels in Bissau.

09 FEV 99 - 21:44

Guinea-Bissau: German Minister Appeals for Funds to Pay Ecomog Peacekeepers

Dakar, Feb. 9 (Lusa) - A member of the European Union's rotating presidency has called on African and European countries to provide funds for the West African "Ecomog" peacekeeping force in Guinea-Bissau.

German Development Cooperation Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul told Lusa Tuesday in Dakar that "the sooner the entire Ecomog force is deployed in Guinea-Bissau, the sooner Senagalese troops will leave".

The Senegalese troops have backed Guinea-Bissau President Nino Vieira since a military mutiny against his role broke out in June. Under the terms of the Nov. 2 Abuja accord they are to be replaced by the 1,450-man Ecomog force.

A 600-man Togolese-led Ecomog contingent is already on the ground in Bissau but the despatch of the remaining peacekeepers has been blocked by lack of funds.

Earlier Tuesday Senegalese President Abdou Diouf ruled out the likelihood that his country's troops would withdraw from Guinea-Bissau until arrival of the full Ecomog force. Diouf confirmed that Senegal had maintained 2000 troops in Guinea-Bissau, 200 of whom have already been withdrawn.

The rebel Military Junta has insisted that all Senegalese troops leave the country before full implementation of the peace accord. Wieczorek-Zeul was in Senegal to take part in trade and aid negotiations between the EU and the ACP (Africa, Caribbean and Pacific) countries.

09 FEV 99 - 14:03

Guinea-Bissau: Senegalese Troop Withdrawal Not Immediate, President Diouf Reportedly Says

Dakar, Feb. 9 (Lusa) - President Abdou Diouf of Senegal reportedly told European diplomats Monday that the withdrawal of Senegalese troops from Guinea-Bissau would "not take place soon."

One diplomat, part of an European Union delegation which met with Diouf, told Lusa the president said the withdrawal would be gradual and would depend on the complete deployment of the West African Ecomog peacekeeping force.

Asking to remain unidentified, the diplomat said that such a scenario eliminated "the possibility of a (Senegalese) withdrawal in the short term" because financing had only been found for the 600-strong Ecomog force already in Bissau.

Under Guinea-Bissau's Nov. 2 peace accord, the Economic Community of West African States was to provide a 1,450-strong intervention force.

Then Senegal and Guinea-Conakry were to bring home some 3,000 troops they sent last June to back embattled President Nino Vieira against an armed forces mutiny.

The continued presence in Bissau of Vieira's allied foreign troops has been the main thorn in implementation of the peace accord, according to the rebel Military Junta.

The EU delegation met with Diouf in the context of EU trade and aid negotiations in Dakar with the ACP countries of Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific.

09 FEV 99 - 13:52

Guinea-Bissau: Spanish, Portuguese Airlift Medical Aid

Dakar, Feb. 9 (Lusa) - The Spanish chapter of Doctors Without Borders airlifted seven tons of vaccines and other medical supplies, along with first aid teams, to eastern Guinea-Bissau from Senegal Monday.

A spokesman said the emergency supplies were primarily destined to treat wounded people and fight two recent outbreaks of meningitis in areas around the town of Bafata.

Meanwhile, the organization's Portuguese chapter, known by the acronym AMI, announced in Lisbon that it was sending six tons of emergency food and medical supplies Tuesday to Gabu, also in the east of the country.

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