This Monday, March 23, the National Transitional Council (CNT) accused the Portuguese Government of harassing the authorities in power in Guinea-Bissau and of practicing “corridor collusion” diplomacy.
The position is contained in a “note of repudiation and final warning to the Government of Portugal” released by the Council that has replaced the Guinean parliament since the military coup in November 2025.
The military’s reaction follows statements by Portuguese Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel, who said, on Friday in Paris, that Portugal has spoken “with some modesty” with Portuguese-speaking partners, especially Angola and Brazil, to seek to return Guinea-Bissau to democracy.
In the note released in Bissau and sent to Lusa, the National Transition Council begins by “warning Minister Paulo Rangel” that “when he intends to speak about Guinea-Bissau, he must address the Guineans and their legitimate authorities”.
“The coup d’état is a reality that the CNT and the Military High Command are managing to save the nation and we will not accept Portugal acting as judge of a house that is no longer its own”stands out in the note.
The military in power in Guinea-Bissau warn that “this will be the last time” that they tolerate “Paulo Rangel’s interference in the internal affairs” of the country, adding that neither the Portuguese minister nor Portugal “have any legitimacy to dictate rules to Guinea-Bissau”.
“Since coming to power, the current Portuguese Government has pursued a deliberately hostile policy towards Guinea-Bissau and its people, thus breaking with the excellent relationship and healthy cooperation that we had maintained with the previous governments of Portugal”, continues.
The CNT considers that the Portuguese Government’s stance “reveals a profound lack of wisdom and political maturity”, while “other European powers, such as France, demonstrate maturity in receiving the transitional President of Madagascar, recognizing the political reality on the ground in the name of national interest and stability”.
“On the contrary, the Government of Portugal prefers the sterile hostility of Bissau. This difference in stance is proof of the diplomatic decadence of the current leadership of Necessidades (headquarters of the Portuguese MNE)”, says the statement.
The military in power in Guinea-Bissau add that “diplomacy is carried out openly, with dignity and not in corridor collusion that aims to rehabilitate people, whose roots of hatred, revenge and fierce dictatorship” are known to the Guinean people.
The CNT makes it clear that “Guinea-Bissau will never recognize Timor-Leste’s presidency of the CPLP (Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries) and that it will not admit “interference from Portugal under the cloak of diplomacy of modesty and confidentiality”.
In the military statement there is also reference to the Portuguese minister’s statements about Portugal’s continued cooperation with Guinea-Bissau in health and education, to state that “cooperation is not alms”.
“Thousands of Guineans live, work and are fundamental pillars of Portugal’s economic growth”, it says in the statement, arguing that “this silent contribution” gives Guinea-Bissau the right to demand “healthy cooperation, on an equal basis, devoid of colonialist complexes and suffocating paternalism”.
Since the military coup of November 2025, Guinea-Bissau has been suspended from several organizations, namely the CPLP, the only one that has not yet sent a mission to the country to mediate the political situation.
Scheduled for February, it was canceled after an exchange of accusations at the highest level between Guinea-Bissau and Timor-Leste.
Bissau held the presidency of the organization, which was temporarily handed over to Timor-Leste, after the suspension.
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