The Guinea-Bissau authorities now have a solid legal framework to start implementing the national SSR strategy, restructure the Armed Forces and establish new police bodies. ... Although the mission has achieved significant results, political instability and the lack of respect for the rule of law in the country make it impossible for the EU to deploy a follow up mission, as originally foreseen, without compromising its own principles. ... [T]he EU is convinced that its support to Guinea Bissau must be matched by an unequivocal commitment on the part of the national authorities to a real respect of democratic principles, human rights and the rule of law.

In April, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon [official profile] called on leaders in Guinea-Bissau to respect the rule of law and maintain constitutional order [JURIST report] in the wake of a confrontation between the military and government in which the prime minister was detained and later released. Guinea-Bissau's military has officially denied [Reuters report] any attempt at a coup, but armed forces chief of staff Admiral Jose Zamora Induta was removed from office, and Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Junior was taken into military custody. The conflict between military and government highlights continuing tensions over the assassination of president Joao Bernardo Vieira [Times Online report] in 2009.