Opposition wants parliamentary debate on volatile situation

Leaders of opposition parties in Guinea-Bissau agreed on Tuesday to press for the holding of an extraordinary session of the National Assembly to discuss the situation in the West African country, a diplomatic source in the capital, Bissau, told IRIN. The decision came at a meeting the opposition leaders held after the speaker of the assembly indefinitely postponed the proposed session, which had been planned for this week, the source said. According to a Portuguese radio station, RDP, Tuesday's meeting was held at the initiative of the Guinea-Bissau Resistance/Bafata Movement (RGB/MB - Resistencia da Guine-Bissau/Movimento Bafata). RGB/MB had co-governed for one year with the ruling Social Renovation Party (PRS - Partido da Renovacao Social) until their coalition fell apart in January 2001. RDP reported RGB/MB spokesman Dauda Sau as saying that the meeting aimed to unite the opposition parties against what they see as a threat to democracy. This was an apparent reference to recent decisions by President Kumba Yala which have created a rift between him and various groups, including his own party, other political actors and the judiciary, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in his latest report on Guinea-Bissau to the UN Security Council. They include Yala's decision in August to suspend the activities of the Ahmadiyya Muslim group, which he accused of contributing to instability in Guinea-Bissau, and to expel its leaders. These moves were deemed unconstitutional by a Bissau court. Similarly, both the judiciary and parliament said that his subsequent decision to dismiss four judges of the Supreme Court, including its president, Emiliano Nossolini, ran counter to the constitution. Sources close to the judiciary told IRIN on Monday that Nossolini had reported receiving death threats. The country's judges launched a 30-day strike in protest against the dismissals on 25 September. They were joined on Monday by prosecutors, who have gone on a 10-day strike in solidarity with the judges. The diplomatic source said on Tuesday that former Attorney-General Amine Saad, whom Yala nominated on Tuesday as his legal adviser, was hesitating to take up the post given the current institutional crisis. Saad had served under the transitional government that ruled Guinea-Bissau from May 1999 - when the country's former president Nino Vieira was overthrown by a self-styled Military Junta - to early 2000, when Yala became president. He was dismissed by Yala in March 2000. In report, dated 27 September, the UN Secretary-General described as "volatile" the situation in Guinea-Bissau where, he said, a crisis has emerged between the various branches of the state over their constitutional responsibilities. He added that opposition calls for the resignation of Prime Minister Faustino Imbali's government had rendered the latter "practically non-functional", while delays in investigations into the disappearance of US $17 million from the treasury had eroded the government's credibility. On the positive side, Annan noted, the National Assembly has continued its efforts to assert its role as a check on the executive, including its responsibility to oversee the management of the national treasury. In this regard, it has completed a report on the disappearance of the US $17 million but has not yet rendered it public. However, a parallel investigation by the Attorney-General, commissioned by Imbali, appears to be suspended, reportedly for lack of funds, he noted. Another positive development, he said, was an agreement by all political parties that municipal elections should be held in early 2002. Electoral preparations continue but are being hampered by financial constraints. According to Annan, the UN Secretary-General's Representative in Guinea-Bissau, Samuel Nana Sinkam, has continued his efforts to promote dialogue and "mobilise civil society groups and individuals ... to lessen tensions at critical junctures in order to stabilise the situation".