Bissau Opposition Chide Yala Over Invasion Threats




The Independent (Banjul)

June 17, 2002
Posted to the web June 18, 2002

Banjul

As President Kumba Yala threw the diplomatic card out the window by his
allegation of a Gambian-backed coup against his regime and his subsequent
threat of a punitive invasion of The Gambia, the opposition in Guinea-Bissau
say they are far from convinced that Jammeh's government was involved in the
alleged putsch.

Opposition leaders in Guinea-Bissau Wednesday charged that their leader was
mentally unstable after his 'tirade' against President Jammeh, which was
punctuated with an open threat to invade The Gambia because she allegedly
supported a military coup against him, reports from the Associated Press
suggested. Yala had directly accused Gambian President Yahya Jammeh last
Tuesday of plotting the coup, claiming Guinea-Bissau's security forces
foiled the attempt last month, the Portuguese national news agency Lusa
reported.

Meanwhile Helder Vaz Lopes, leader of Guinea-Bissau Resistance party, called
Yala's threat to 'crush' Gambia an 'obsession' because it was 'the second
time in 24 hours he has threatened to invade Gambia' Lusa reported. 'Only
the president's state of mental health could explain his attitude,' Lusa
quoted her as saying. Francisco Benante, head of the African Party for the
Independence of Guinea- Bissau and Cape Verde, also condemned the threat as
'not the attitude of a statesman,' Lusa reported. She was quoted as
asserting that Guinea-Bissau does not have a common border with The Gambia
and that any invasion would require troops to traverse 100 kilometers (60
miles) of neighboring Senegal.

Between thirty to fifty people are still being detained in connection with
the alleged coup plot, despite President Yala's declaration of an amnesty
for them Tuesday. The Guinean leader had said the alleged coupists were
practically trained in The Gambia and had received the full backing of the
government. He also said the offenders had some close connection with Salif
Sadio and his break away MFDC fighters in Casamance. He said a campaign to
'smash' The Gambia was the only conceivable alternative to stop the alleged
training of enemies of Guinea-Bissau who if left unchecked would run the
country amok.

Meanwhile, an official response from Jammeh's government is yet to be made
over the allegation and the threat of an invasion from Guinea-Bissau.




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