USA: CONGOLESE PRESIDENT LISSOUBA BLAMES COUP ON LIBYA & ANGOLA
French/Nat
Former Congolese President Pascal Lissouba has blamed Libya and Angola on Friday for helping the coup which ended his leadership.
He claims that both countries supplied arms to the rebel force led by General Denis Sassou--Nguesso, who seized power in October.
He also had harsh words for France, which he believes showed tacit support for the rebels to protect their business interests in the country.
Speaking while on a visit to the United States, he singled out French oil giant Elf Aquitaine as a company which may have reached an agreement with Sassou-Nguesso before the coup.
Former President of the Republic of Congo, Pascal Lissouba, has been visiting the U-S in an attempt to win support for his efforts to regain power.
He was ousted last month following a five-month civil war fought against rebel troops led by General Sassou-Nguesso.
Sassou-Nguesso is himself a former ruler of the country, who lost power to Lissouba in free elections held in 1992.
He says that the help of Angola and Libya was instrumental to the success of the coup.
Diplomatic statements and press reports had established the Angolan link, but the implication of Libyan involvement is new.
Lissouba claims that the two nations gave as much as 10 million (m) U-S dollars to Sassou-Nguesso.
SOUNDBITE: (French)
"I have no real hard evidence, this has been reported by the press, but the weapons which came from the north would have had to have come from Gadhafi."
SUPER CAPTION: Pascal Lissouba, recently deposed President of the Congo
He called for help from the international community to restore democracy to Congo.
During the civil war he received little in the way of support, especially from the west.
France in particular has been accused of being soft on Sassou-Ngeusso.
He repeated his claim, which he couldn't support with hard evidence, that Elf Aquitane - one of France's largest oil firms - may have reached an agreement with Denis Sassou-Nguesso.
Elf has a long and broad involvement in Francophone Africa.
SOUNDBITE: (French)
"This could mean that Elf and oil are at the center of this."
SUPER CAPTION: Pascal Lissouba, recently deposed President of the Congo
Lissouba says he was surprised and disappointed that his plea to the French for help in keeping Sassou-Nguesso's forces at bay went unanswered.
SOUNDBITE: (French)
"I wrote to the French authorities, to ask if they would keep in the Congo the forces who had come to evacuate the French from Kinshasa but I was denied that."
SUPER CAPTION: Pascal Lissouba, recently deposed President of the Congo
Far from supporting Lissouba, France, the former colonial power in the Republic of Congo, is widely perceived to have backed Sassou-Nguesso.
Asked about the French role in not backing him, Lissouba called it "shameful".
SOUNDBITE: (French)
Maybe in this instance France made a choice - other interests over democracy.
SUPER CAPTION: Pascal Lissouba, recently deposed President of the Congo
Lissouba is in Washington seeking support from the Clinton administration and Congress.
At the time of Lissouba's ousting, the U-S State Department condemned Angola's involvement and said it would support any process leading to the reinstatement of elected civilian government.
You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/03e968c0aa0f4082693b3c2b9e1077e4
Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
French/Nat
Former Congolese President Pascal Lissouba has blamed Libya and Angola on Friday for helping the coup which ended his leadership.
He claims that both countries supplied arms to the rebel force led by General Denis Sassou–Nguesso, who seized power in October.
He also had harsh words for France, which he believes showed tacit support for the rebels to protect their business interests in the country.
Speaking while on a visit to the United States, he singled out French oil giant Elf Aquitaine as a company which may have reached an agreement with Sassou-Nguesso before the coup.
Former President of the Republic of Congo, Pascal Lissouba, has been visiting the U-S in an attempt to win support for his efforts to regain power.
He was ousted last month following a five-month civil war fought against rebel troops led by General Sassou-Nguesso.
Sassou-Nguesso is himself a former ruler of the country, who lost power to Lissouba in free elections held in 1992.
He says that the help of Angola and Libya was instrumental to the success of the coup.
Diplomatic statements and press reports had established the Angolan link, but the implication of Libyan involvement is new.
Lissouba claims that the two nations gave as much as 10 million (m) U-S dollars to Sassou-Nguesso.
SOUNDBITE: (French)
“I have no real hard evidence, this has been reported by the press, but the weapons which came from the north would have had to have come from Gadhafi.”
SUPER CAPTION: Pascal Lissouba, recently deposed President of the Congo
He called for help from the international community to restore democracy to Congo.
During the civil war he received little in the way of support, especially from the west.
France in particular has been accused of being soft on Sassou-Ngeusso.
He repeated his claim, which he couldn’t support with hard evidence, that Elf Aquitane – one of France’s largest oil firms – may have reached an agreement with Denis Sassou-Nguesso.
Elf has a long and broad involvement in Francophone Africa.
SOUNDBITE: (French)
“This could mean that Elf and oil are at the center of this.”
SUPER CAPTION: Pascal Lissouba, recently deposed President of the Congo
Lissouba says he was surprised and disappointed that his plea to the French for help in keeping Sassou-Nguesso’s forces at bay went unanswered.
SOUNDBITE: (French)
“I wrote to the French authorities, to ask if they would keep in the Congo the forces who had come to evacuate the French from Kinshasa but I was denied that.”
SUPER CAPTION: Pascal Lissouba, recently deposed President of the Congo
Far from supporting Lissouba, France, the former colonial power in the Republic of Congo, is widely perceived to have backed Sassou-Nguesso.
Asked about the French role in not backing him, Lissouba called it “shameful”.
SOUNDBITE: (French)
Maybe in this instance France made a choice – other interests over democracy.
SUPER CAPTION: Pascal Lissouba, recently deposed President of the Congo
Lissouba is in Washington seeking support from the Clinton administration and Congress.
At the time of Lissouba’s ousting, the U-S State Department condemned Angola’s involvement and said it would support any process leading to the reinstatement of elected civilian government.
You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/03e968c0aa0f4082693b3c2b9e1077e4
Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
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