It has always been said that the problem of the politics of Africa is the
problem of the military in her political genre. We are all witnessed to the
crude and rude way in which the top military brass in a given country in
Africa, has at one time or the other confuse their ability to command the
support of their subordinates with the politics of the day.

The events unfolding in our sister country of Guinea Bissau, engineered by
our own compatriot, the General Mane, is no surprise to me, considering the
fact he has always assumed or rather imprinted the posture of the
all-powerful and indispensable military guy in the psyche of the innocent
people of Guinea Bissau. He had made it abundantly clear and clean at the
time of the truce and eventual kick-start of the recent democratisation
process of Bissau, that his council or culb of military bandits will not
inch away(not for a single second) from their self-appointed position of
being the defenders of the so-called rights and aspirations of the people of
Bissau.

It therefore goes without saying, that what has been reported to have taken
place in Bissau in the past few days are just an addition to what has
already been common knowledge to all and sundry. The General will spare no
efforts, whatsoever, to maintain his glamour in the ranks and files of the
Guinean military and no doubt could once again shoot his way back to the
mantle of state authority. The likes of General Mane have no iota of respect
for the fineries of democracy and rule of law. They make the likes of Thomas
Jefferson, the admirable American Statesman shiver/tremble in their graves.
Like all African dictators of military origin, they cannot hide their true
feelings for long. To them might is always right. Take for example his
assertion that he has no intention to "intervene in matters of civilian
authority" when in actual fact, he has so done in the name of wanting "to
restore serenity in the ranks of the military" this is uttered nonsense,
typical of the likes of the General.

As we look forward to getting more details on the almost seemingly nasty
drama of events playing out in Guinea Bissau, one thing which stand out
clear and tall is the desire of our brothers and sisters in the military to
reduce the democratic aspirations of our people to naught and their
ever-growing passion to draw Africa to the backwaters of the stone age and
uttered lack of civility.

While we sympathise with the people of Guinea Bissau in this moment of grave
military-engineered-chaotic-madness, we pray to God, the Almighty and the
most Compassionately merciful, to avert the situation in the name of all His
beautiful and bountiful names and also to arrest and subdue with the speed
of light the so-called powers of all dictators whatever the color of their
systems of government, Amen .

lONG LIVE THE ASPIRATIONS OF THE PEOPLE FOR JUST GOVERNMENT !

JARAMA !

SALLAH







>From: Sidi M Sanneh <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: FWD: "Armed groups" fight in Guinea-Bissau capital :  witness
>Date: Thu, 23 Nov 2000 11:47:44 -0000
>
>   DAKAR, Nov 23 (AFP) - Unidentified armed groups fought Thursday in
>Guinea-Bissau's capital Bissau, where gunfire broke out and residents began
>to
>flee amid a power struggle between troops and politicians, witnesses said.
>   "It seems like armed gangs are chasing each other across town," a
>diplomat
>speaking to AFP in Dakar said by telephone. "A lot of people have already
>fled, there are certainly going to be masses" on the roads leading inland.
>   Sporadic gunfire was first heard late on Wednesday night as troops loyal
>to
>former junta leader General Ansumane Mane held top army officers under
>house
>arrest and reportedly tried to disarm some of President Kumba Yala's
>military
>guards.
>   In the early hours, light automatic weapons and rocket-propelled
>grenades
>were being used in several parts of the west African city, witnesses said.
>Shellfire could also be heard from the direction of the airport, according
>to
>unconfirmed reports.
>   Mane on Monday declared himself army chief-of-staff and "sacked" several
>officers appointed by the head of state. On Wednesday, he made a series of
>military appointments himself.
>   Yala, who took office heading an elected civilian government in February
>when Mane's junta stepped down, had been attending a meeting at the offices
>of
>the United Nations in Bissau in the evening, several sources said.
>   According to unconfirmed reports, one of the officers placed under house
>arrest on Mane's orders escaped his guards and an exchange of fire followed
>in
>the night.
>   This caused panic and the start of an exodus of civilians from the
>tropical
>coastal city, which was battered by artillery fire between June 1998 and
>May
>1999 during a showdown between Mane and former president Joao Bernardo
>Vieira,
>who was ousted by the general.
>   Mane, who has defied both the president and a call from the United
>Nations
>to stay out of politics, said in a statement Wednesday that he had no
>intention of "intervening in matters of civilian authority" but was taking
>action to "restore serenity in the ranks of the military".
>   at-pvr/nb
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