ECOWAS Contact Group on Guinea-Bissau meets in Banjul

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - The seven-member ECOWAS Contact Group on Guinea-Bissau is meeting in Banjul, capital of The Gambia, Sunday to discuss the next steps in the resolution of the current crisis in the country (Guinea-Bissau).

According to an ECOWAS Commission statement made available to PANA here Sunday, the ministerial level meeting is being attended by 30 representatives of the stakeholders, including the military junta that seized power in the country 12 April, political parties and the other stakeholders.

Tbe Gambia convened the meeting on behalf of the contact group that consists of Nigeria (Chair) Benin, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Guinea Conakry, Senegal and Togo.

The group was set up by the 26 April 2012 Extra Ordinary ECOWAS Summit held in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, to coordinate the follow up actions regarding the implementation of the decisions of the summit in relation to Guinea-Bissau.

The meeting, being attended by foreign ministers of the contact group's member countries, will be followed by that of the Heads of State and Government on 3 May also in Banjul.

A communique issued after the Abidjan summit said the regional bloc threatened to impose sanctions on the Military Command and their associates if they fail to accede to all its demands within 72 hours.

The demands include the immediate and unconditional release of Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Junior, Interim President Raimundo Pereira, and any other persons illegally detained by the Junta, and the immediate restoration of constitutional order to allow for the completion of the
electoral process, which was truncated by the coup.

The Junta released the Prime Minister and the Interim President on Friday.
-0- PANA SEG 29April2012