Mane wants stronger military ties with Portugal

Guinea-Bissau’s Military Junta intends to return to the barracks after presidential and legislative elections to be held on 28 November, according to Junta leader Brigadier-General Ansumane Mane. But it has no intention of disbanding since its role is to maintain stability,‘Publico’ newspaper in Lisbon quotes Mane as saying on Friday while on a visit to Portugal. Mane said in an interview with ‘Publico’ that the aim of his visit was to “strengthen technical and military cooperation between Portugal and Guinea-Bissau”, the daily reported on Sunday. Renascenca, a Portugese radio station, quoted Portugal’s foreign and defence minister Jaime Gama as saying on Friday at a joint news conference with Mane that Portugal would allocate just under US $42.7 million in 1999-2001 to help Guinea-Bissau’s recovery and train soldiers from that country in Portugal. Military cooperation with Lisbon “will enable us to be in a better position to defend our country and avoid foreign invasions”, Mane said. Troops from Senegal and Guinea had supported the forces of former president Joao Bernardo Vieira against the Military Junta, which eventually ousted Vieira in May this year, 11 months after launching a rebellion against him.