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Use peaceful means to return country
to normalcy-AU Chairman Urges Guineans
From Kwaku Osei Bonsu, GNA Special Correspondent, Cannes,
France
Cannes, Feb. 17, GNA- The African Union (AU) Chairman,
President John Agyekum Kufuor, has called on the Guinean
Government to use all peaceful means to quickly return the
country to normalcy.
The West African nation, with a population of about 10
million, has been plunged into turmoil over the demand by
the country's powerful labour union that President Lansana
Conte, who it says, "is too old and sick to govern" should
resign.
President Kufuor was addressing a joint press conference
with French President Jacque Chirac and President Amadou
Toumane Toure of Mali, to bring the curtains down on the
24th Franco-African Summit in Cannes, France.
He said the situation in Guinea, gave cause for serious
concern and that every effort should be made to defuse it.
The AU and the sub-regional body, ECOWAS, he said, were
taking the initiative to respond to the crisis and prevent
it from exploding into a major humanitarian disaster.
Consequently, a delegation, is to be dispatched as soon as
possible to the country to assist the parties to find a
common ground.
Meanwhile, France has put in place an evacuation plan for
its 2,000 nationals and 4,000 Lebanese in Guinea, should the
crisis worsen.
President Chirac however, said it was his hope that things
would not come to that as he was confident the AU and ECOWAS
could help to end what he termed, "the threatening political
stalemate."
Turning to the summit, he said it was a huge success and
demonstrated the vibrancy of the relations between his
country and Africa.
Forty (40) African Heads of State and Government attended
the two days conference held under the theme "Africa and the
World Balance."
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and former Japanese Prime
Minister Yoshiro Mori also joined.
President Chirac said France was determined to continue with
its campaign to dismantle and tear down international trade
barriers to enable Africa derive maximum benefit from its
raw materials.
The Continent must be supported with the resources and means
to become active part of globalisation, he added.
France has been championing the case of Africa for increased
development assistance and is raising its level of Overseas
Development Assistance to 0.7 per cent of its Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) by the year 2012.
Two-thirds of this would come to the Continent.
GNA
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