20120721
AFP
European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso said Friday the EU would not allow another military takeover in coup-prone Guinea-Bissau, after a junta seized power there on April 12.

"The European Union's position is clear: we will not tolerate more coups, constitutional order must be respected," Barroso said at a summit of Portuguese-speaking countries in the Mozambican capital Maputo.

"We cannot fail to register our great concern over the situation in Guinea-Bissau, where instability caused by some continues to impede the progress and prosperity for all.

"The Bissau-Guinean people have suffered a lot and deserve the opportunity to live in peace and stability," he said.

The EU has blacklisted 21 people accused of leading the coup in the small west African country.

The Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP) wrapped up their summit by agreeing on steps to take against unconstitutional rulers in countries such as Guinea Bissau.

"We proposed and accepted to apply measures to take action against states, which may involve suspension from participation in the CPLP or other measures," the President of Cape Verde, Jorge Carlos Fonseca told reporters.

In May the country's junta, parliament and a group of political parties signed a roadmap aimed at ending the crisis.

But the new transitional leaders were excluded from the CPLP summit, and Guinea-Bissau was instead represented by the deposed president, Raimundo Pereira.

Murade Isaac Miguigy Murargy, a Mozambican elected the new executive secretary of the CPLP pledged to end the crisis and achieve stability in Guinea Bissau through dialogue.

"In Mozambique we had war but it was through dialogue that we solved the problem. Not through force. We need to find a way for the Bissau-Guineans to talk," he said.

Since independence from Portugal in 1974, the country's army and state have remained in constant conflict. No president has ever completed a full term in office.