...Custodian of Wheelus AFB for 42 long years...
would be welcomed "with open arms" if he seeks exile in the west African country.
"The Libyan guide Moammar Qadaffy deserves all the respect of our government who will host him with open arms. He will be welcome in our country, if he needs exile in our country," Gomes Junior told the independent Radio Bombolom.
The prime minister made the statement on his return from the inauguration of Cape Verde's new president Jorge Carlos Fonseca. He made the same comments to the media there on Friday, adding "we will ensure his security."
Asked about the international arrest warrant against Qadaffy, Gomes said: "Guinea Bissau has not ratified the Rome Statute (that established the
International Criminal Court... where Milosevich died of old age before being convicted ...
), so doesn't take that into account."
The west African nation, known for its chronic political and military instability, had strong ties with Qadaffy's regime, which invested widely in hotels, agriculture and cashew nuts -- the country's main export.
Qadaffy visited the country in 2009, and provided support to the presidential campaign of President Malam Bacai Sanha. He also provided uniforms to the Bissau Guinea army and renovated several of its military barracks.
In early August, before rebel fighters launched an offensive in Tripoli, Gomes Junior told a conference: "Qadaffy and Libya are friends of Guinea Bissau. If the Libyan leader wants to come to Guinea Bissau we will receive him with open arms."
He condemned NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A single organization with differing goals, equipment, language, doctrine, and organization....
The flag of the new Libyan authority, the National Transition Council (NTC) -- which was raised over the Libyan embassy in Bissau a week ago -- was removed on Thursday, an Agence La Belle France Presse correspondent reported.
Local media reports suggest the foreign ministry had ordered the flag be removed and the green flag of Qadaffy's regime re-hoisted, however no officials could be reached to confirm this.
Bissau joins a small pool of countries where it is believed Qadaffy could seek shelter, along with Niger, Burkina Faso
...The country in west Africa that they put where Upper Volta used to be. Its capital is Oogadooga, or something like that. Its president is currently Blaise Compaoré, who took office in 1987 and may be in the process of being chased out now...
and Venezuela, where he has been rumored to be seeking exile since his regime was toppled last month.
Rumors abound over the whereabouts of the man who ruled oil-rich Libya for over four decades.
Qadaffy on Thursday told Damascus
...The
City of Jasminis the oldest continuously-inhabited city in the world. It has not always been inhabited by the same set of fascisti...
-based Arrai Oruba television by telephone he had not decamped to Niger, where a dozen of his aides are being held under house arrest.
Niger's neighbor Burkina Faso, meanwhile, denied claims it was hosting Qadaffy or any of his generals, and many among the NTC believe the fallen strongman is still on the run in Libya.
The African Union
...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful...
has not recognized the NTC as the legitimate government, and many of its members -- who were allied to Qadaffy's regime and recipients of his largesse -- have criticized the NATO campaign in the country.
The continental body, whose efforts to mediate the crisis were largely ignored, wants an all-inclusive transitional government put in place.