Portugal will guarantee Vieira's asylum

Portuguese Foreign Minister Antonio Guterres has said Lisbon will not be pressured into handing over Vieira to Guinea Bissau's new rulers for trial against his will. "If he wants to be tried, of course, that is his right," Guterres told Portuguese radio, RDP Antena 1. However, he said, Portugal will continue to protect Vieira so long as he remains in the Portuguese Embassy, where he took refuge following Friday's overthrow and was granted asylum by Lisbon. "The asylum is guaranteed," Guterres said. Portuguese Foreign Ministry officials in Lisbon told IRIN that the government was in contact with the new authorities in Bissau and that many possible ways out of the impasse were under discussion. The Military Junta wants Vieira tried, AFP reported on Thursday, despite seeming differences with other local political forces on this issue. The Junta has called on the judiciary to prepare the trial "with the requisite diligence and openness", while guaranteeing Vieira's rights under the law. Officials from the Organisation of African Unity, the United Nations and Amnesty International would be allowed to observe the trial, AFP said.