On Monday 9 February, the government of Guinea-Bissau apologised to the European Union ambassador, Federico Bianchi, after a dozen armed men burst into the seat of the Guinea-Bissau League for Human Rights two days earlier. The European diplomat was visiting the site when he was ordered to leave, according to RFI.
“The de facto prime minister and the foreign affairs minister of the transitional government apologised in person to the EU ambassador”, said Anouar El Anouni, spokesperson for the European External Action Service (EEAS), on Friday 13 February, when interviewed by Agence Europe.
“The Ambassador (...) visited the ‘Casa dos Direitos’ - the House of Rights (...), as part of the Human Rights Days celebrated by the EU in Guinea-Bissau. At the end of the visit, men from the police intervention force entered the premises and asked those present to leave the building immediately. No one was injured and the incident only lasted a few minutes”, said the EEAS spokesperson.
In a press release, the House of Rights condemned a “new act of armed intimidation” which, according to the House, “also constitutes a serious and unacceptable lack of respect towards the country’s main multilateral partner, the European Union”. (Original version in French by Bernard Denuit)