Urgent reforms needed in Guinea-Bissau

BRUSSELS, July 3 (UPI) -- Without support from the international community Guinea-Bissau could become a haven for terrorism, a report from the International Crisis Group says.

The report, released Wednesday by the independent non-governmental organization, says Guinea-Bissau risks becoming a potentially violent narco-state without international support for urgently need democratic reforms, the Crisis Group reported.

The reported, titled "Guinea-Bissau: In Need of a State," calls on the international community to push leaders in Guinea-Bissau to enact reforms and end the country's political crises. Crisis Group analysts say that without a democratic state in Guinea-Bissau, the increasing cocaine traffic from Latin America, among other illicit activities, threatens to bring terrorists operations to the country.

The report calls for fundamental changes in the way the country is run including a much needed reform of the army and a political system free from military interference.

"Only a serious institution-building process and a legal framework that can regulate political life and free it from the guerrilla mentality of pre-independence can allow Guinea-Bissau to escape its crisis once and for all," Francois Grignon, Crisis Group Africa program director, said in a statement.

"The country must start building a real democratic state."