Nigeria, others mobilise to rout Sao Tome junta

vanguardngr ^ | 07/22/03 | Charles Ozoemena

[Pikamax]

Nigeria, others mobilise to rout Sao Tome junta

By Charles Ozoemena Tuesday, July 22, 2003

ABUJA —TO make good its promises to reinstate democratic government in Sao Tome and Principe, President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday said that Nigeria had begun to mobilise forces in partnership with some African countries to chase out the military government which overthrew the government of President Menezes in a coup d’etat.

Menezes was in Nigeria attending the Leon Sullivan Summit in Abuja when the coupists struck, overthrowing his government. President Obasanjo spoke at a private meeting with the ousted president, Menezes, in Abuja. Special Assistant to the President (Media), Mrs. Remi Oyo, in a statement yesterday said President Obasanjo told Menezes that he was "working in concert with the leadership of the Africa Union (AU), heads of State of Gabon, Congo Brazzaville and Angola to ensure that national accord and constitutionality were restored to Sao Tome and Principe. The consultation also involves Portugal, the United Nations (UN) and key members of the international community."

Meanwhile, soldiers in Sao Tome and Principe have released half-a-dozen senior government officials who had been in detention since last week’s coup. The announcement came after several hours of talks with international mediators on Sunday. "This is an important sign of our credibility in negotiating a solution to the crisis," said coup leader, Major Fernando Pereira.

The released ministers including Oil Minister Joaquim Rafael Branco, shook hands with the mediators, as they emerged after five days in jail. There are now hopes that President Menezes, who was visiting Nigeria when the coup was staged, might be able to return. "It’s probably just a matter of days now, but these guys are going to want to take it one step at a time and this was a big enough step for the moment," one foreign official said. However, a memorandum issued late on Sunday said that the released ministers "cannot exert any pressure" on discussions about the country’s future, nor will they be "automatically returned to power."

The mediators include officials from Portuguese-speaking countries — Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde and Portugal —as well as Gabon, Nigeria, Congo, and the United States. The coup leaders said they wanted to fight poverty in the oil-rich archipelago, which has a population of only 170,000.

An army takeover in 1995 was ended after a week, when Angolan mediators convinced the military to return to barracks. Wednesday’s coup drew condemnation from the African Union, the United Nations and the United States.