SECRETARY-GENERAL 'GRAVELY CONCERNED' THAT PLANS BY GUINEA-BISSAU COUP LEADERS TO ESTABLISH NATIONAL TRANSITIONAL GOVERNMENT WILL DEEPEN POLITICAL CRISIS

NEW YORK, April 17, 2012/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- The following statement was issued on 16 April by the Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:

The Secretary-General is gravely concerned that despite calls by the international community for the immediate restoration of constitutional order in Guinea-Bissau, the leaders of the 12 April 2012 coup d'état are instead deepening the political crisis in the country by announcing plans to establish a national transitional Government. This is particularly disturbing as it comes at a time when the people of Guinea-Bissau should be preparing, through multi-party democratic elections, to elect a new President. The Secretary-General remains concerned about the continued detention of Guinea-Bissau's interim President, the Prime Minister and other national officials, and reiterates his call for their immediate release.

The Secretary-General has spoken with Alassane Ouattara, President of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, Chairperson of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS); Jean Ping, Chairperson of the African Union Commission; and Paulo Portas, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Portugal, to intensify cooperation with regional and other leaders towards finding a speedy and lasting solution to the political crisis in Guinea-Bissau.

The Secretary-General welcomes the efforts undertaken by ECOWAS, the African Union and other partners of Guinea-Bissau to facilitate the restoration of constitutional order in the country, and reaffirms the continued support of the United Nations to these efforts, including through the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNIOGBIS).