Sustained support needed, UN says

Guinea-Bissau needs sustained support from the international community as it seeks lasting peace, stability and better living standards for its people, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a report released on Friday. The report covers developments over the past three months and gives an overview of the activities of the UN Peace-Building Support Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNOGBIS), set up to support the transition to democracy in the country, where a military rebellion that began in June 1998 led to the overthrow of an elected government in May 1999. A new civilian government came to power in February following elections in November 1999 and January 2000. However, relations between the new government and the military have been tense in recent months, according to various reports. In his report, the Secretary-General welcomed the military’s repeated commitment to withdraw from the political process and accept the authority of the democratically elected institutions. He urged that these commitments be translated into concrete action without further delay. Annan appealed to the international community to provide financial and material support for restructuring the armed forces which, he said, was crucial for the democratization process. He also called for assistance for Guinea-Bissau to implement its rehabilitation, reconstruction and development priorities, and said that endemic poverty remained its most debilitating social and economic problem.