The Council of Ministers of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP) this Friday (5) “vehemently condemned the interruption of the electoral process” in Guinea-Bissau, classifying the coup d’état of November 26 as a “serious violation of democratic principles”.
In an extraordinary meeting, the government officials also demanded the “immediate and unconditional release of all people detained in the context of the current political crisis”, according to a statement sent to newsrooms.
Meeting in virtual format under the presidency of São Tomé and Príncipe, this CPLP body expressed “deep concern” about the situation and rejected the “institutional rupture that occurred”, warning that it compromises the political stability and constitutional order of the country that is part of the organization itself.
Urgent mission and suspension recommendation
In the final communiqué, the Council of Ministers defends the “urgent resumption of constitutional order” as an indispensable condition for peace. In this sense, it was decided to establish a “High Level Good Offices Mission” that will be sent to Bissau “in the shortest possible time”.
As a political measure, the ministers recommended the “temporary suspension of Guinea-Bissau” – a decision that must be ratified at the Conference of Heads of State and Government – as well as the transfer of the organization’s rotating presidency to another Member State9.
The session was attended, among others, by the Minister of State and Foreign Affairs of Portugal, Paulo Rangel, and the heads of diplomacy from Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique and Timor-Leste.