23.11.16

Bissau: Tudo continua em crise

Se é verdade que a nomeação e posse do actual primeiro-ministro, Umaro Sissoko, na sexta-feira, em Bissau, acabou por marcar mais uma etapa no complexo xadrez político do país, também não deixa de ser verdade admitir que o acto em si não representou o fim da crise política que, faz tempo, fustiga a Guiné-Bissau.

Desentendimentos destapam falhas de Conacri

Na prática, a sociedade encara esta nomeação como “mais uma”, igualzinha a tantas outras que há cerca de dois anos e de forma sucessiva se vão multiplicando na Guiné-Bissau, sem, no entanto, surtirem os efeitos desejados, quando em causa está a estabilidade política.

De acordo com informações prestadas por fontes do Jornal de Angola em Bissau, essas representam a leitura mais fiel que os guineenses fazem em relação à situação actual, como consequência do acordo de Conacri, que, segundo defendem, está tacitamente relegado ao fracasso. Trata-se de opiniões colhidas a vários níveis. “São muito pouco convencionais as medidas adoptadas pelo Presidente José Mário Vaz para nomear o primeiro-ministro”, afirmam as fontes.

A nomeação, segundo as fontes, passou ao largo do consenso “que se pretende alcançar para trazer de volta a estabilidade política à Guiné Bissau.” Agindo ao mesmo tempo como árbitro e jogador, o Presidente guineense, José Mário Vaz, realizou um círculo de consultas com todos os intervenientes no processo, e ainda com o Conselho de Estado.

Mas qualquer um dos encontros realizados, acabaram por se tornar inconclusivos, por força da imposição interposta, segundo as nossas fontes, pelo Presidente da República que exigia que a personalidade a indicar “tinha que ser de sua inteira confiança, conforme previsto no número 1 do acordo de Conacri.

Fracasso nas negociações

Com o fracasso dessa ronda negocial, José Mário Vaz abandonou as consultas e atribuiu responsabilidades ao PAIGC e ao PRS para resolverem o assunto, numa batalha, até certo ponto, desleal, se tivermos em conta as envolvências que circulam à sua volta, as quais, a priori, descartavam a hipótese de vitória a qualquer um candidato sem passar pela sua decisão. O Partido de Renovação Social (PRS) é tido localmente como um apoiante incondicional das teses defendidas pelo Presidente José Mário Vaz, que contam igualmente com o apoio dos “15”. A parte, o apoio de dois ou três partidos políticos, que o apoiam, na sua luta, o PAIGC conta apenas com o suporte da constituição que na sua condição de partido vencedor das eleições legislativas lhe atribui plenos poderes para indicar o nome da figura que vai ocupar o cargo de primeiro-ministro, um procedimento legal que tem sido violado, de forma sistemática, pelo Presidente da República.

Acordo de Conacri

É disso exemplo a última nomeação que efectuou e cujo enredo tem tudo para conformar autênticas peças de teatro para “inglês ver”. Com o fracasso do encontro entre o PAIGC e o PRS, ofereceu ao Presidente José Mário Vaz a oportunidade para juntar as peças, devido às “desinteligência” que dividiam os dois oponentes, aos poderes que lhe atribui o ponto 1 do acordo de Conacri e fechar com “chaves de ouro” a disputa que suscitou a indicação do primeiro-ministro.

“Considerando que o ponto um do Acordo de Conacri estabelece o procedimento consensual na escolha de um primeiro-ministro e que, ao mesmo tempo. goze da confiança do Presidente da República; nos termos do alínea g) do artigo 70.˚ da Constituição da República, é nomeado como primeiro-ministro o Sr. Umaro El Mokhtar Sissoco”, lê-se no decreto presidencial, exarado no dia 18 de Novembro.

Reagindo à nomeação, o PAIGC demarcou-se da decisão do Presidente da República e responsabilizou-o por todas as consequências daí decorrentes, manifestando a sua “firme e inabalável determinação em continuar a luta pela afirmação do Estado de Direito e Democrático, ao lado de todas as forças progressistas do país”.

O PAIGC disse que ao nomear Umaru Sissoko ­Embaló para o cargo de primeiro-ministro, o Presidente da República assumiu inequivocamente a renúncia explicita do Acordo de Conacri, “optando pela continuidade da crise, o que infelizmente não surpreende o povo guineense, isso se tivermos em conta o que o Presidente José Mário Vaz, nos habitou a “dizer uma coisa hoje, e fazer outra amanhã”.

Com esta nomeação, José Mário Vaz conseguiu alcançar os seus objectivos, o de nomear uma pessoa de sua confiança, mas, diga-se, em abona da verdade, existem muitos outros problemas para se resolver em cujo êxito ou fracasso depende o futuro deste país do Oeste de África.
Estamos a referir, por exemplo, da questão de se saber como é que o Governo do actual primeiro-ministro, Umaru Sissoko Embaló, vai poder funcionar se, por qualquer eventualidade, não conseguir o apoio suficiente para fazer passar o seu projecto de governação no Parlamento.

Um outro assunto, tem a ver com o retorno da facção dos “15”, as fileiras do PAIGC, que segundo recomendação do acordo de Conacri, os mesmos devem regressar à procedência. A alínea f) do ponto dez do Acordo de Conacri, estabelece o princípio de uma reintegração efectiva e sem condições no PAIGC, dos 15 deputados dissidentes do partido majoritário, com base no respeito escrupuloso dos pressupostos legais que regem o funcionamento do PAIGC.

Fazer uma leitura correcta de como essa integração deve ser feita, já que até à nomeação e posse do primeiro-ministro, as partes não haviam chegado a consenso, parece constar entre os muitos pendentes do acordo de Conacri, cuja solução pode levar ainda algum tempo. Fontes do Jornal de Angola em Bissau, acreditam como muito pouco provável que os “15” venham a consentir um recuo nos seus posicionamentos, considerando que o máximo que pode acontecer é manterem a sua equidistância em relação ao PAIGC e facilitar, em associação ao PRS, a formação de um Governo de incidência parlamentar, como de resto aconteceu com o Governo de Baciro Dja.

No seu Governo, que teve uma duração efémera, não foi para além dos três meses, Baciro Djá não conseguiu fazer passar, no Parlamento, o seu programa de governação, o que tornou inviável o seu mandato. Mesmo a contar com o suporte do Governo de incidência parlamentar, o Governo de Bacilo Djá não conseguiu sequer colocar na agenda da Assembleia Nacional o seu projecto de governação. As propostas eram chumbadas pela mesa da Assembleia Nacional, antes de chegarem a agenda de trabalhos.

Reforma da constituição

A reforma da Constituição defendida a mais alto nível por alguns políticos locais e prevista no acordo de Conacri, pode já ser vista como uma “carta fora do baralho”, se tivermos em conta os objectivos que estas alterações prevêem e que, na opinião de uma boa franja de cidadãos guineenses, as mudanças apenas serviriam para beneficiar uma meia dúzia de políticos. Segundo fontes abalizadas na matéria, o problema da Guiné está no homem e não na Constituição.

O “day after”

As cautelas em relação ao “day after”, em português, “o dia seguinte”, de acordo com fontes do jornal de Angola, dominam actualmente as atenções na Guiné-Bissau, que sobreviveu as mexidas do fim de semana num clima de aparente acalmia e sem incidentes a registar.
A cerimónia de posse teve lugar algumas horas após nomeação do primeiro-ministro, num acto marcado pela ausência dos titulares dos órgãos de soberania, designadamente o presidente da Assembleia Nacional Popular, Cipriano Cassamá, o presidente do Tribunal Supremo de Justiça, Paulo Sanhá, o procurador-geral da República, António Sedja Mam, como também de líderes políticos.

Entre as presenças, ressalta à vista a dos representantes de organizações internacionais (os chamados Grupo dos Cinco), bem como a dos embaixadores residentes na Guiné-Bissau, o de Angola, da China, de Cuba, de Espanha, da Rússia, de Portugal e do Senegal. Após a cerimónia de investidura, o novo primeiro-ministro disse numa curta declaração que vai apresentar, as “linhas-mestras” da sua governação, por altura da posse dos membros do seu Governo.     ---   Jornal de Angola, reproduzido por António Aly Silva

Bissau: O porto de Buba

O Governo da Guiné-Bissau e a empresa Bauxite Angola definiram no início de Setembro de 2014 a calendarização de consultas mútuas com vista à materialização das obras de construção dum porto de águas profundas em Buba, no Sul, e à exploração dos jazigos de Bauxite em Boé, Leste da Guiné.
A revelação foi feita pelo ministro dos Recursos Naturais, Daniel Gomes, após um encontro, em Bissau com o presidente do Conselho de Administração da Empresa Bauxite Angola, Bernardo Campos.
“O Porto de Buba é uma infraestrutura sub-regional que vai catapultar a nossa economia e a exploração de jazigos de bauxite de Boé. Portanto, são dois projectos que fazem parte dos desejos do nosso líder imortal Amílcar Cabral”, explicou Daniel Gomes.
O governante guineense sublinhou que Bernardo Campos manifestou disponibilidade em cumprir (desta vez) o compromisso de realização dos referidos projectos.
Os projectos de exploração de Bauxite de Boé, da construção do Porto de Buba e de um caminho-de-ferro são estimados em mais de 500 milhões de dólares americanos.
Os referidos projectos foram abandonados devido ao golpe de Estado de Abril de 2012.
A mais dum ano Daniel Gomes anunciou que as autoridades de transição tinham comunicado à empresa Bauxite Angola que tinha de ir a Bissau para a renegociação das quotas, que o Estado guineense considera insatisfatórias.
O então governo de transição não concordava que a Guiné-Bissau tenha apenas 10 por cento de quota da exploração, enquanto a parte angolana detinha 90 por cento.
Na altura o governo guineense pretendia uma reformulação das quotas, passando a Guiné-Bissau a ter 85 por cento, ao invés dos 10 por cento, e passando a Bauxite Angola para 15 por cento.
GebaPres/ ANG/ Lusa

Bissau: E a bauxite, onde está?

By Richard Valdmanis

BISSAU, March 26 (Reuters) – Angola’s $500 million plan to build a bauxite mine and deepwater port in Guinea Bissau has stalled, with nearly no work done since the project was officially inaugurated in July 2011, officials said.
The project, first signalled by Angola in 2008 after it won rights to a mining concession in the southeastern Boe region, would be the single biggest foreign investment in Guinea Bissau, an impoverished country plagued by turmoil since independence and whose main export now is cashew nuts.
Guinea Bissau’s former prime minister, Carlos Gomes Junior, who stepped down to run for president in ongoing elections, told Reuters construction of the port and mine by Angola Bauxite, part-owned by the Angolan state, was being held up by the completion of an environmental impact study.
“(Construction) will start soon. Angola Bauxite already has an office in Bissau, the technicians are in place. The only thing missing is the environmental impact study, and I think we’ll have that soon,” he said.
But an adviser to Bissau’s Ministry of Industry and Planning said Angola was dragging its feet on the investment because of an uncertain political and security environment in the country, which has had a history of coups.
President Joao Bernardo Vieira was assassinated in 2009, and there have been several outbursts since by the country’s notoriously unruly military, including a coup within the armed forces in 2010 and a shoot-out in the capital last December.
“Maybe once security reform makes some headway and the election resolves smoothly, the project will start moving forward,” he said, asking not to be named.
An Angola Bauxite official was not immediately available to comment on the status of the project.
EMPTY OFFICES
A Reuters reporter visited Angola Bauxite’s offices in Bissau last week, but found them empty. A security guard said the director had been out of the country since before Christmas and that local workers were taking half days.
The project, publicised in 2008 and inaugurated with an official ceremony in July last year, would create a deepwater port at Buba with a capacity of three 70-tonne vessels simultaneously, and a 3-million tonne per year mine in Boe.
Guinea-Bissau officials say the Boe deposits are a continuation across the thickly forested border of huge bauxite reserves in neighbouring Guinea, the world’s leading exporter of bauxite – the ore from which aluminium is made.
Gomes Junior won 49 percent in Guinea Bissau’s March 18 first round vote, well-ahead of his closest rival Kumba Yala with 23 percent but not enough to avoid a run-off vote loosely scheduled for late April. Gomes Junior, running on the ruling party ticket, is seen as favourite to win the run-off.
His rival Yala has said he is unfamiliar with the Angola Bauxite contract and would have to review it if he wins to see if it is fair for the country. (Editing by James Jukwey)
© Thomson Reuters 2012 All rights reserved            Há mais de seis anos que prometem aos guineenses ouro, bauxite e outras riquezas. Mas, vai-se a ver e nada aparece; fica tudo nas gavetas. Projectos, só projectos, que ninguém é capaz de levar a cabo.

Bissau: Há ouro no Norte da Guiné

No meio de toda a crise político-militar que então se vivia, surgiu em 2010 a notícia de que a West Africa Mining, com sede na Suíça, anunciara terem resultado positivas as suas prospecções de ouro no Norte do país, com o qual estabelecera uma parceria em Junho de 2009.
A licença que o Governo de Carlos Gomes Júnior concedeu ao grupo, seu parceiro no projecto Westafrica Mineral Mining Ltd, "cobre a exploração de todos os recursos minerais do país", excepção feita às áreas que anteriormente já tinham sido concessionadas a terceiros.

Interrogado agora sobre se não temia este investimento num Estado onde ainda no ano passado foi assassinado o Presidente João Bernardo Nino Vieira, Peter Sommer foi categórico: “Nós ajudamos a Guiné-Bissau, o que é completamente diferente (dos problemas que ela tem tido). E quando conseguirmos fazer dinheiro, no futuro, O.K., será bom”.
Para além do ouro, o projecto que a empresa da Suíça tem com o Governo do PAIGC inclui a bauxite, o lítio, o irídio, os diamantes e quartzos de grande valor.
De acordo com um texto do primeiro-ministro Carlos Gomes Júnior distribuído pelo grupo de investidores, a Guiné-Bissau tem as melhores condições para aceitar investimentos e continuará a reafirmá-las, “de modo a dar a garantia de um bom nível de lucros e uma transferência dos mesmos sem obstáculos”.
Ainda segundo essa mensagem, que os acontecimentos mais recentes poderão colocar em dúvida, “a Guiné-Bissau é um Estado democrático que promove e defende os princípios constitucionais. As instituições estão a ficar cada vez mais fortes...”.

Que é feito da Africa Mining?

14.4.10

Figo na direcção de uma grande holding mineira

As already previously announced, at the upcoming general meeting of West
Africa Mining Holding AG, the former Portuguese international football star
Luis Figo will be recommended for election to the board of directors. As a member of the board of directors, Luis Figo will not only provide the company with valuable contacts, but he
will also take an 11% share in the company through his private investment
holding company, Damafh S.G.P.S. Lda., in Lisbon.

Alongside Luis Figo, well-known expert in capital markets Swen Lorenz is
also standing for election to the board of directors of West Africa Mining
Holding AG.

Mr Lorenz is a renowned expert in locating investment opportunities in
newly industrialised countries and pioneer markets. He was instrumental in
the founding and creation of Speymill Macau Property Company, a property
company listed in London which has been able to increase its equity to
around $150m in two rounds of financing and therefore became one of the
first large foreign investors into Macau’s property market. Mr Lorenz was a
member of the board of this company between November 2006 and July 2009.
Through his work as a private investor, writer, columnist and regular
television guest, he is able to provide an extensive and close-nit network
for the company. Amongst other things, he will help the company by opening
up sources of finance on the international capital market.

‘In West Africa, there are still under-developed markets in the traditional
sense. Any type of operative business creation in this area represents an
enormous challenge. However, this type of pioneer market offers the chance,
if successful, to achieve extraordinarily high returns,’ says Lorenz. ‘West
Africa Mining Holding AG finds itself at an early stage of development into
which I would like to bring my experience from other similar projects and
support the company management in strategic measures and capital market
issues’.

Subject to the vote of the general meeting, the newly-formed board of
directors will consist of Mr Swen Lorenz (chairman of the board of
directors), Luis Figo (board of directors) and Peter Sommer (board of
directors).

The general meeting is scheduled for the end of April.

19.11.16

O caso Madeleine Mccan

Followers of the Madeleine McCann mystery have debated back and forth wondering why the British Establishment stepped in to assist the Tapas 9 in a way never seen before. There have been many missing British children. There have been missing British children abroad. Many Brits have found themselves in legal pickles abroad but they have never had the red carpet treatment. Not, that is, until the McCann Roadshow came along.A vast array of former policemen spoke of the McCanns’ innocence without having full knowledge of the circumstances. Murdoch owned newspapers like the Sun and the News of the World fawned over Kate and Gerry. Private planes were brought in to ferry the McCanns around like they were superstars. Gerry was nominated for “Scot of the Year” and both he and his wife were on first name terms with two successive British Prime Ministers.
None of it made sense.
When the police file became public in the summer of 2008 we learned that the Portuguese Police were far from the bungling Keystone Cops they were made out to be. They were diligent, thorough, and they were hampered because of an interfering British Government. Evidence was withheld from the Portuguese. A semen sample suddenly turned into a saliva sample after the British Forensic Science Service looked at it. The samples were, in turn, destroyed by the FSS so the investigators have no chance of a second opinion. The McCanns’ financial and medical details were withheld by British government intervention. Bombshell testimony implicating Gerry McCann and David Payne as potential paedophiles was deliberately withheld from Portugal for about five months.
The investigation was never botched by Portugal. Moreover, it was an investigation that was controlled and steered in one direction from day one by the British Establishment. This has never been in doubt as the Portuguese confirmed the presence of MI6 throughout their enquiries in 2007 and 2008.
Forum debaters and amateur sleuths spent hours trying to figure out what was so special about the McCanns. McCann benefactors were scrutinized and their backgrounds explored in an effort to find out why these child-neglecting parents were being let off the hook so easily. There were obvious Freemason connections, pharmaceutical connections, paedophilia connections and hundreds of other possible reasons why the McCanns and their friends were not being investigated properly.
Despite all this, one thing was certain: Gerry McCann had the British Establishment over a barrel. He had some kind of explosive information that was ensuring freedom for him and his wife Kate. This information was so damning that it was to create a gross miscarriage of justice.
Poor little Madeleine was forgotten. The case became a battle against prosecution for Kate and Gerry.
The information received here at TFM is damning but credible. It explains a lot about the case but it requires more study. I can’t reveal the name or contact details of the source and the reader will have to take it for what it is.
The gist of the bombshell information received here is this: Gerry McCann is privy to information implicating the Royal Family in the murder of Princess Diana. This was his leverage.
Let’s look at this chronologically:
Madeleine dies in the first week of May 2007. Reputations and careers would be in tatters, not to mention jail terms for child abuse and possibly murder.
Frantic phone calls and text messages are made back to England and Gerry has his famous “tunnel vision” incident in the church in Praia da Luz. Disclosed later in an interview with Catholic Magazine “The Tablet”, the “tunnel” was his cryptic reference to the Pont de l’Alma tunnel in Paris. Gerry said “I had this mental image of being in a tunnel and instead of the light at the end of the tunnel being extremely narrow and a distant spot, the light opened up…That is when I really felt I had a clear path.
Gerry did have a clear path. A path that resulted in the British Government assigning Clarence Mitchell to the case on Monday, May 7, 2007.
Sir Tim Bell (now Lord Bell) offered one of his lackeys to assist the McCanns for two weeks until Mitchell was ready to go out to Portugal. This was a pressure time for the McCanns. Daily interviews were taking place and Praia da Luz had become an overnight media circus. In addition, the police were conducting interviews with those present at the time of the disappearance.
Assurances that the Establishment were taking the McCann threat seriously were already coming in. British diplomats in Portugal were being manipulated. Pro-Royal, Murdoch started to spin pro-McCann stories on Sky and in his newspapers. Former cops were drafted in as pro-McCann spin-doctors who blindly asserted that Madeleine’s parents were innocent of anything.
By the time Mitchell arrived in Portugal three weeks after Madeleine’s disappearance, Gerry needed assurances from the Establishment that he was being taken seriously. To this end, Prince Charles and Camilla made a press release that came out of Clarence House on May 27, 2007. They were giving their full support. The single sentence press release said
The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall said they had been following the case of missing Madeleine McCann “closely and with deep concern” and “fervently hoped” she would be reunited with her family.” Another indication of Royal influence came from McCann in his blog when he wrote “The rest of us attended mass which was very emotional as a priest from RAF Lossiemouth was visiting and further prayers were said for Madeleine.”
RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland is a significant location for Prince Charles having been flown there as a boy when he attended school at Gordonstoun which is just a mile from the military base.
June was when the McCanns did the bulk of their Grand European Tour and a plethora of Sirs and Lords appeared on the scene. Sir Richard Branson, Sir Philip Green, Sir Tom Hunter, Sir Christopher Meyer, Lord Stevens and not forgetting that Lord Tim Bell had already given his support the previous month. The connection between these people is that they were all endorsed by the Royal Family. They were knighted by the Queen. While the credentials of these people were discussed on the Internet, everyone overlooked the fact that the benefactors had all been honoured by the Royal Family.

Gerry McCann making his speech at the Police Bravery Awards attended by Prince Charles and Gordon Brown.
July proved a difficult month for the McCanns. Three of their Tapas friends were reinterviewed in Portimão on Wednesday July 11, 2007. Gerry McCann returned to London the same day as a guest of Gordon Brown and Prince Charles at the Police Bravery Awards sponsored by the Sun Newspaper. Gerry tried to disguise this because in his blog he didn’t mention who had invited him and he entered the blog entry on Thursday July 12, 2007. Gerry’s presence there was to meet with Brown and Prince Charles.
In early August, the British police took the cadaver dogs to Portugal and arranged to search properties occupied by the McCanns. This resulted in some incriminating finds that were subsequently disclosed in the media in the first week of September. This was a time of maximum heat for the McCanns. Press coverage was at fever pitch and the case had turned on its head. Now the McCanns were public enemy #1 and the Establishment spin looked like it wasn’t working. Upon fleeing Portugal on Sunday September 9, 2007, we saw signs of the Establishment’s influence on British soil. Special Branch escorted the McCanns home from East Midlands Airport and the Masonic big gun lawyers enter the scene. Kingsley Napley had represented General Pinochet and HRH Princess Michael of Kent. The press speculated that Kingsley Napley’s Michael Caplan QC was helping the McCanns because he was successful in defending Pinochet against extradition to Spain although the real reason was that they were ordered by the Establishment.
The heat didn’t die down in September. The McCanns feared prosecution and they were looking for some monumental change in direction. For all the power plays shown in the previous four months, the Portuguese police were diligently carrying out their homicide investigation. The damning witness statements from the Gaspars had been deliberately delayed [after ‘internal’ directives] and Portugal was still unaware that McCann and Payne had been described as possible sexual perverts by their doctor friends from Birmingham. The main problem with the case from the McCanns’ point of view was their adversary: Inspector Gonçalo Amaral.
While the McCanns were sweating out the summer of 2007, something was developing in England: the Inquest on the death of Princess Diana. The spotlight was about to turn on the British Royal Family once again. Al Fayed and the Daily Express was adamant that Diana had been murdered by the Royal Family. The Inquest was set to start and the Royals could not have Gerry McCann upset the apple cart. On October 1, Prince Charles entered the fray once again. A press release claimed:
AN anonymous tip-off to the Prince of Wales has sent UK police on an urgent hunt for a new suspect in the Madeleine McCann case.
The email – sent via Prince Charles’ website – claimed a disgruntled former employee of the Portuguese resort where the toddler went missing, could be behind her disappearance. It claimed Madeleine was abducted from the Praia da Luz apartment in revenge against the complex’s owners.
It is understood police have confirmed the woman named in the email did work at the resort when Madeleine was last seen 150 days ago. Royal aides have passed the email on to Scotland Yard, which is now trying to trace the author.
A police source told London newspaper The News of the World: “There have been hundreds of Madeleine theories, sightings and tips sent into UK cops from members of the public. But this one is different. “It’s incredibly detailed and so far, from the inquiries being made in Portugal, it appears to be based on factual events.”
Police believe that the tipster entrusted the information to Prince Charles because he and wife Camilla came out in support of Maddie’s parents Kate and Gerry.
In the biggest power play of the Establishment so far, their next move demonstrated to Gerry just how far they could operate. The British Establishment arranged for Gonçalo Amaral to be sacked on the day the Inquest on the death of Princess Diana commenced.
Unknown at the time, the public waited for months in expectation of a result from the Forensic Science Service. It never came. It was buried and destroyed. Once the investigation was on British soil there was no way the Establishment would allow the incriminating evidence to see the light of day. Not until the public could see the police file in the summer of 2008 would we realize that the FSS participated in a monumental cover up. But then this was par for the course. The same forces that manipulated the Princess Diana evidence were at work here.
The McCanns were all smiles come April 2008. They were not part of the rogatory interviews and instead of staying close to home and Leicester, they set off for the European Parliament on their pretendy Amber Alert campaign. The key date here is April 7, 2008. This is the day that the Princess Diana Inquest returned a verdict:
Diana and Dodi were unlawfully killed by the “grossly negligent driving of the following vehicles and of the Mercedes” adding that additional factors were “the impairment of the judgment of the driver of the Mercedes through alcohol” and “the death of the deceased was caused or contributed to by the fact that the deceased was not wearing a seat-belt, the fact that the Mercedes struck the pillar in the Alma Tunnel, rather than colliding with something else.
Beyond April 2008, the Royals were under no more significant threat from Gerry. They had played their part in helping to keep the McCanns from prosecution and the threat hanging over their heads vanished once the Inquest returned that famous verdict. It is sad but true that the power of the British Establishment can cover up death as easy as it can take a life.
Today, the dead girl found on the Sandringham Estate was finally identified as 17-year old. Sadly, there will be little help from the Royals. USA Today reported
Buckingham Palace has declined to comment saying it is a matter for the police.

Bissau: Sissoko Embalo


Inconnu du grand public mais reconnu par ses proches pour ses qualités. Telle pourrait être la description de Umaro El Mokhtar Sissoco Embalo, le tout frais Premier ministre de Guinée-Bissau. Ce technocrate de 44 ans a été nommé lundi à la tête du gouvernement par le président José Mario Vaz, quatre jours après le départ de Baciro Dja, limogé du poste.
Impasse politique
Rien d’étonnant à ce que Umaro El Mokhtar Sissoco Embalo soit nommé à ce poste, tant il a la confiance du chef de l’État dont il a été le proche conseiller. Il aura désormais une lourde tâche, celle de sortir le pays de la crise politique dans laquelle il se trouve actuellement.
À l’origine du chaos actuel, la destitution en août 2015 par le président Vaz de son Premier ministre, Domingos Simoes Pereira, chef du Parti africain pour l’indépendance de la Guinée-Bissau et du Cap-Vert (PAIGC), auquel tous deux appartiennent. Le PAIGC n’a pas apprécié la nomination de Baciro Dja. Ses députés refusaient de siéger, empêchant le Parlement de fonctionner. Plusieurs missions et médiations, y compris internationales, ont été menées pour lever le blocage.
Et la dernière initiative en date, sous l’égide du président guinéen Alpha Condé, a conduit à la signature d’un accord le 14 octobre à Conakry par les protagonistes. Depuis jeudi soir, des informations circulaient à Bissau sur la possible désignation de Umaro El Mokhtar Sissoco Embalo, un des trois noms évoqués lors de la réunion de Conakry.
Un riche carnet d’adresses
Quelques heures avant l’officialisation de ce choix, il s’était déclaré confiant dans un entretien avec un journaliste, mais conscient de l’ampleur de sa mission : « J’ai occupé différentes fonctions dans les précédents gouvernements, dont celles de conseiller du président, du Premier ministre, du président de l’Assemblée nationale et j’ai été élevé au rang de ministre d’État et général de brigade en 2012 », avait-il affirmé. « Je sais que la tâche qui m’attend ne sera pas de tout repos car le pays est exsangue », avait-il ajouté.
Son entourage le dit fort d’un carnet d’adresses très riche et de solides relations, aussi bien en Afrique qu’au Moyen-Orient. D’après sa biographie officielle, il est né le 23 septembre 1972 à Bissau. Il a obtenu plusieurs diplômes à l’étranger, notamment une licence en relations internationales à l’Université de Lisbonne, une maîtrise en sciences sociales et politiques à l’Institut d’Etudes Internationales de l’Université Complutense de Madrid.
Selon un de ses proches, il a été conseiller, quelquefois avec rang de ministre ou de ministre d’État, auprès de tous les présidents depuis le dernier régime de Joao Bernardo Vieira dit Nino, assassiné en 2009 par des militaires.    Jeune Afrique

15.11.16

Bissau: A demissão de mais um Governo

Bissau, 14 Nov 16 (ANG) – O Presidente da República prometeu hoje assumir as suas responsabilidades, nos termos da Constituição da República, de demitir o atual governo e nomear, sem mais delongas, um primeiro-ministro de consenso e da sua confiança, que irá formar um governo inclusivo em concordância com o Acordo de Conacri.

Em mensagem à Nação, José Mário Vaz disse que a situação política atual configura, claramente, uma “grave crise política” que põe em causa o normal funcionamento das instituições da República que conduziu ao bloqueio do parlamento, tendo como consequência a não aprovação do programa do governo e Orçamento Geral do Estado.

 O chefe de Estado acrescentou que chegou o tempo da verdade e do virar da página, para dar início a uma nova fase na história da Guiné-Bissau, “porque a sua missão é cumprir e fazer cumprir à lei magna do país, servindo com fidelidade ao povo”.

Disse que o seu dever é servir a Guiné-Bissau e para isso conta com o apoio de todos, mulheres, homens guineenses, em particular os jovens, para que juntos possam com seriedade, vontade, dedicação e empenho, utilizando as suas capacidades e inteligências, dar volta às dificuldades do presente e fazer nascer no coração dos guineenses a esperança no futuro.

“Chegou a hora de “vivermos “o tempo das necessidades do povo. A hora da mudança pela dedicação ao trabalho e criação de riqueza e emprego para os nossos filhos e colocar o país no rumo certo”, rematou.
ANG/JD/SG     ----    Neste último ano e meio, é o quarto governo que cai: um de Domingos Simões Pereira, um de Carlos Correia e dois de Baciro Djá.

8.11.16

Bissau: A grande bagunça

Os principais partidos no Parlamento da Guiné-Bissau mantêm-se irredutíveis nas suas posições sobre a figura que deve ser escolhida pelo chefe de Estado guineense para o cargo de primeiro-ministro.

O Presidente guineense, José Mário Vaz, auscultou hoje as cinco formações políticas representadas no Parlamento, mas, à saída, os dois mais votados, PAIGC e PRS, declaram-se irredutíveis naquilo que cada um defende.

O Partido Africano da Independência da Guiné e Cabo Verde (PAIGC), vencedor das últimas eleições legislativas, pela voz do seu primeiro vice-presidente, Carlos Correia, disse ter comunicado a José Mário Vaz que só aceita como primeiro-ministro o seu dirigente Augusto Olivais.

O partido fez notar que o nome de Olivais teria sido aquele que mereceu o consenso entre as partes desavindas e que se deslocaram em outubro à vizinha Guiné-Conacri onde o chefe de Estado, Alpha Condé, tentou mediar a crise guineense.

O Partido da Renovação Social (PRS), segunda maior força no Parlamento guineense, através do secretário-geral, Florentino Pereira, diz que de forma alguma poderá admitir o nome de Augusto Olivais para o cargo de primeiro-ministro.

O PRS observa que nunca houve qualquer consenso à volta daquele nome nos encontros tidos em Conacri, como diz o PAIGC.

O Partido da Convergência Democrática (PCD), a terceira força mais votada, entende que o Presidente guineense "apenas deve respeitar o acordo de Conacri", segundo o qual o primeiro-ministro deve ser nomeado por consenso dos partidos representados no Parlamento e deve merecer a confiança do chefe de Estado.

Para Vicente Fernandes, líder do PCD, Augusto Olivais "é a tal figura de consenso" por ter sido um elemento indicado pelo Presidente guineense e aceite pelo PAIGC enquanto partido vencedor das eleições.

Augusto Olivais faz parte de uma lista de três personalidades guineenses propostas por José Mário Vaz para que uma seja escolhida para primeiro-ministro.

As outras personalidades são Umaro Cissoko, general na reserva, e João Fadiá, diretor do Banco Central de Estados da África Ocidental (BCEAO) na Guiné-Bissau.

Nas audiências separadas de hoje, o Presidente guineense, José Mário Vaz, pediu a cada uma das entidades que lhe remetam, por escrito, a posição que defendem como proposta para a saída da crise política e, se possível, com o nome de candidato a primeiro-ministro.

Além dos partidos, José Mário Vaz recebeu a direção da Assembleia Nacional Popular, o parlamento guineense.

Inácio Correia, primeiro vice-presidente da ANP disse ter informado o chefe de Estado que não é da competência do hemiciclo indicar a figura para chefiar o Governo.

O primeiro-ministro do Governo em exercício, Baciro Djá, também devia ser auscultado pelo Presidente guineense, mas fontes da presidência indicaram que aquele não compareceu à audiência, nem justificou o motivo da ausência. Lusa

6.11.16

Bissau: A população desamparada

Après le président guinéen Alpha Condé, médiateur de la crise, et son homologue de Sierra Leone, fin septembre, c’est la présidente de la conférence des chefs d’Etat de la Cedeao, et présidente du Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, qui est arrivée samedi à son tour à Bissau. Sa visite s’inscrit dans le cadre des négociations visant à trouver une solution de sortie de la crise politico-institutionnelle que traverse la Guinée-Bissau depuis plus d’un an.

La venue d’Ellen Johnson Sirleaf n’a pas permis de voir encore le bout du tunnel, même si le président de la Commission de la Cedeao, Marcel Alain da Sousa, croit dur comme fer que les signataires de l’accord respecteront leurs engagements. « Le président a pris la décision historique de nommer rapidement un Premier ministre. Il doit pouvoir le faire. A propos des divergences d’interprétation, nous nous sommes entendus. Nous avons rencontré les différentes parties et l’accord doit être intégralement appliqué. Nous partons donc confiants », a-t-il déclaré à RFI.
Aucun des trois noms sortis du chapeau lors de la rencontre de Conakry le 15 octobre dernier n’émerge encore pour occuper le poste de Premier ministre. Aucun consensus n’a jusqu’ici pu être obtenu, rappelant que le futur Premier ministre doit être consensuel et avoir la confiance du président José Mário Vaz.
Face à cette impasse, un groupe de manifestants a exprimé bruyamment devant le Palais où se tenait la concertation, le ras-le-bol d’une population désemparée. Les manifestants réclamaient également la dissolution de l’Assemblée nationale et l’organisation des législatives anticipées.  RFI Afrique

5.11.16

Bissau: À espera de um primeiro-ministro

The following Security Council press statement was issued 20 October by Council President Vitaly Churkin (Russian Federation):
The Members of the Security Council heard a briefing from Modibo Ibrahim Touré, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNIOGBIS), on the inclusive dialogue among political leaders, civil society and religious communities of Guinea-Bissau convened by Alpha Conde, President of Guinea and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Mediator for Guinea-Bissau, on 11-14 October 2016, in Conakry, Guinea.
The Members of the Security Council welcomed this initiative which is part of the implementation of the six-point ECOWAS road map to end the political crisis in Guinea-Bissau, agreed by political leaders on 10 September 2016, in Bissau.
The Members of the Security Council further welcomed the Conakry agreement on the implementation of the ECOWAS road map and invited all stakeholders to spare no effort for its full and timely implementation.
The Members of the Security Council expressed support to the consensus reached on the process for the nomination of a new Prime Minister and for the formation of an inclusive Government in accordance the agreement.  They also encouraged President Vaz to proceed to the nomination of the consensual Prime Minister as soon as possible.
The Members of the Security Council reminded that the implementation of the agreement could restore the confidence of partners and enable the international community to fulfil the pledges made during the Brussels Conference in March 2015 of the partners for development of Guinea-Bissau.
The Members of the Security Council expressed their support to Special Representative Touré, and requested him to continue to work closely with all stakeholders for the resolution of the political crisis in Guinea-Bissau.