quote:African powers push Sao Tome coup leaders to quit
SAO TOME, July 17 (Reuters) - African powers piled pressure on coup leaders in Sao Tome and Principe on Thursday to reinstate the toppled government of the twin-island state, which lies near potentially rich offshore oilfields.
The crisis in Sao Tome raised the possibility of military intervention by other African states including Nigeria, a big oil producer and major regional power with interests in the islands' potential riches.
The United States, increasingly keen to exploit West African crude, kept its distance from African talk of force to restore the government on the mountainous archipelago of 170,000 people.
It is understandable that African leaders support democratic rule in the continent, even though some of them are illegitimate, therefore would find it difficult to advocate democracy in other countries. But the problem of double standards should be dealt with immediately. The elected President of Republic of Central Africa has been overthrown not long ago by France. France sent soldiers to help the coup plotters and African leaders said nothing.
How come they decided to say or do something? Because of the oil potentials in Sao Tome? Or did they receive phone calls from their masters?
Mbeki is yet to implement land reform in South Africa to help blacks who had been chased out of their land and who live in abject poverty. We have not read of Mbeki proposing to sent soldiers to liberia. Is Liberia not in Africa like Sao Tome?
Full story below:
quote:African powers push Sao Tome coup leaders to quit
SAO TOME, July 17 (Reuters) - African powers piled pressure on coup leaders in Sao Tome and Principe on Thursday to reinstate the toppled government of the twin-island state, which lies near potentially rich offshore oilfields.
The crisis in Sao Tome raised the possibility of military intervention by other African states including Nigeria, a big oil producer and major regional power with interests in the islands' potential riches.
The United States, increasingly keen to exploit West African crude, kept its distance from African talk of force to restore the government on the mountainous archipelago of 170,000 people.
"Our emphasis right now is trying to achieve a peaceful restoration of democratic government," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told a daily briefing.
Mozambique's President Joaquim Chissano, chairman of the 53-member African Union, flew to Nigeria on Thursday for talks with Obasanjo on possible military action.
"We must do something to ensure that democracy is restored in that country," Chissano said in a speech at a summit of African-American and African leaders.
South Africa, which has cast itself in a lead role in efforts to promote good governance in Africa, said it was also working with Nigeria to reverse Wednesday's military coup.
"I'm hoping that we can all of us apply enough pressure on these soldiers to make sure that we reverse this and re-establish the democratically-elected government of Sao Tome," South African President Thabo Mbeki said on Thursday.
Mbeki told a news conference in Pretoria he had discussed the situation with Nigeria's President Olusegun Obasanjo, who he said had invited the coup leaders to Nigeria for talks. It was not clear whether the soldiers had accepted.
Sao Tome's toppled government had a deal with Nigeria to jointly exploit potentially big oil reserves along their maritime border, which lies in an oil-producing area the United States hopes will reduce its reliance on Middle Eastern crude.
In an apparent softening of his position, coup leader Fernando Pereira told reporters in Sao Tome that he had not ruled out negotiating the return of the toppled president, Fradique de Menezes, who was in Nigeria during the putsch.
OIL AND POWER
The ousted president accused the coup plotters late on Wednesday of grabbing power to gain control of the archipelago's future oil potential, which has yet to be proved.
"I want the international community to put democratic order back in the country without bloodshed and to make the military understand that they are there to defend the institution of democratically elected government," Menezes told Reuters Television in an interview in the Nigerian capital, Abuja.
Mbeki said oil-producing Angola had sent "people" to Sao Tome on Wednesday, but did not specify who. The World Bank said it had put its projects on the islands on hold.
The United States, the United Nations, former colonial power Portugal and the African Union have all condemned the coup on Sao Tome, which lies about 550 km (340 miles) south of Nigeria.
Pereira has promised to set up a governing council to usher the country to elections, though he has given no details.
Diplomats from the U.S. and Portuguese missions were trying to negotiate the release of ministers detained by coup leaders, including Prime Minister Maria das Neves and Public Works Minister Joaquim Rafael Branco, responsible for oil reserves.
___________________ 1) Everything you can imagine is real->Picasso
2) They taught you the praises of their God, and these hosannas, when tuned into your sorrows, gave you the hope of a better world to come-->Patrice Lumumba Posts: 379 | Registered: Apr 2003
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