Hopes rise for return of elected government

The soldiers who siezed power last week in the African island state of Sao Tome and Principe told foreign government representatives on Monday that they were ready in principle to hand back power to the elected government of President Fradique de Menezes. The news emerged after the military junta, which seized power in the twin-island state 240 km west of Gabon, held a second day of talks with the representatives from Portugal, the United States, Brazil and several African countries. Nelson Cosme, an Angolan diplomat, who formed part of the mission sent to negotiate a return to constitutional government, told the Portuguese news agency Lusa that the junta was considering proposals which would allow the orderly restoration of constitutional government. In Mozambique, President Joaquim Chissano, the chairman of the African Union, said President Fradique de Menezes, who was in Nigeria at the time of the coup, would probably fly home in the next day or two. "We expect the President of Sao Tome and Principe to return home shortly, it will be in less than 48 hours," Chissano told a management conference in Maputo. "I believe the situation will continue to improve. We have very positive signs that constitutional order will be restored." The prime minister of the Cape Verde islands, which like Sao Tome and Principe are a former Portuguese colony, gave a similarly upbeat assessment . "We can say that democracy is on the way to being restored," Jose Maria Neves told reporters during a visit to South Africa. He added that the coup leaders "are ready to return power to elected government." A group of military officers backed by the small Christian Democrat Front party seized power in a bloodless coup on July 16, accusing Menezes and his government of corruption and keeping the islands' 170,000 inhabitants in grinding poverty at a time when the country was on the verge of an oil boom. Menezes' government has negotiated a deal to share the proceeds of any oil found in offshore waters to the north of Sao Tome with nearby Nigeria. The forested and mountainous islands have until now depended on cocoa exports, but they should receive several million dollars next year from the sale exploration licences for nine offshore blocks. These are currently out to tender. If exploration drilling in deep water confirms encouraging data from seismic surveys, Sao Tome could become a major oil producer. It was not clear whether there was any foreign backing for the coup, which was led by Major Fernando Pereira, the head of the military training school of Sao Tome's 900-strong army. Diplomats have noted that several of the coup leaders, including Arlecio Costa, the leader of the Christian Democrat Front, previously served as mercenaries in the Buffalo Batallion of the South African army that was widely used to back rebel forces in Angola during the 1980s. Agence France Presse reported that Costa attended the talks with foreign mediators wearing military fatigues. The first sign that the foreign mediators' negotiations with the coup leaders were going well came on Sunday when seven ministers who had been detained since the coup were released and sent home on condition that they did not resume their official functions until authorised to do so. Sao Tome and Principe suffered a short-lived military takeover in 1995, when troops revolted over poor pay and conditions. Following mediation by Angola, the elected government was restored to power a week later. The leaders of the latest coup have cited poor conditions and pay arrears among their grievances. Diplomats quoted by Reuters said that an overall agreement for a return to civilian rule could involve a government pledge to hold fresh elections. President Menezes has run a turbulent government, appointing no less than four different prime ministers since he came to power in August 2001. Social tensions have been rising along with expectations of an oil boom round the corner. One man was shot dead when the security forces opened fire on anti-government demonstrators in April.