Folks, the battle of ideas is on. Now the generals want their nominee in. We'll see what the people of Bissau will agree to. Please read on. Army Insists On PM Nominee September 25, 2003 Posted to the web September 25, 2003 Isichei Osamgbi And Paul Ohia With Agency Report Lagos Barely 24 hours after the adhoc committee consisting of political leadders, rejected Guinea-Bissau military junta's candidate for the position of prime minister, the coup leaders have insisted that Antonio Artur Sanha should head a transitional government charged with organising fresh elections. It over-rode objections to his appointment by most of the country's political leaders. Sanha is the secretary general of the Social Renovation Party (PRS) which produced deposed President Kumba Yala. Yala lost power in a bloodless coup on September 14. Some critics said the position of prime minister should go to a politically independent person, while others recalled suspicions that Sanha may have killed Florinda Baptista, a woman that he was alleged to have had an affair with, shortly before he was sacked from the cabinet . Murder charges raised against him were eventually dropped for lack of evidence He fell out with Kumba Yala in 2001 when he was sacked as interior minister. However Sanha's appointment as prime minister by the coupists was opposed by 15 of the 17 political parties which have been holding talks with the country's military leaders. The country's political and military leaders who are also saddled with the job now thrash out a timetable for holding elections and returning this former Portuguese colony of 1.3 million people to constitutional rule. An ad-hoc commission of political leaders and military officers chaired by Jose Camnate Na Bissign, the Roman Catholic bishop of Bissau, proposed last Friday that parliamentary elections be held in six months' time and presidential elections a year later. It also recommended that the interim government be held accountable to a Transitional National Council, a broad-based council of civilian and military representatives which would act as a nominated legislature and consultative body until the holding of parliamentary elections. The presidents of Nigeria, Ghana and Senegal visited Guinea-Bissau last week to press the military junta, led by General Verissimo Correia Seabra, for a rapid return to civilian rule. Portugal's secretary of state for foreign affairs and overseas development, Antonio Lourenco dos Santos, arrived on Tuesday to hold talks with local leaders on the country's future. Although Yala was elected with a strong majority in free and fair elections in early 2000, he soon alienated most of his former supporters. His government became increasingly erratic and his overthrow was greeted with widespread relief at home. Yala dissolved parliament in November last year after it passed a vote of no confidence in his rule and then delayed four times the holding of fresh legislative elections. He also engaged in endless cabinet reshuffles and his bankrupt government owed soldiers, civil servants, teachers and hospital workers several months of pay arrears. _________________________________________________________________ Get MSN 8 Dial-up Internet Service FREE for one month. Limited time offer-- sign up now! http://join.msn.com/?page=dept/dialup ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~