The putschists who overthrew the Guinean President Alpha Condé released on Tuesday a first group of dozens of opponents of the ousted regime, on the eve of a summit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on the Guinea.
The soldiers led by the Chief of Special Forces, Lieutenant-Colonel Mamady Doumbouya also insisted on the forthcoming opening of a « concertation » national government to define the terms of the political transition led by a future government of national unity in this poor West African country with significant mineral resources.
The ECOWAS, which condemned the lightning takeover and the arrest of Mr. Condé on Sunday, is due to meet at a virtual extraordinary summit on Wednesday from 2 p.m. GMT to discuss the situation in Guinea.
Following a similar putsch in neighboring Mali in August 2020, ECOWAS took sanctions, mainly economic, until the military embarked on the path of a transition of up to 18 months to return to power. to civilian leaders resulting from elections.
A delegation in Mali, led by the ECOWAS mediator in this crisis, the former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, also expressed on Tuesday its concern about the respect of the deadlines, saying to itself “Concerned about the insufficiency of concrete actions in the effective preparation of the electoral process”.
The epilogue of more than ten years of Alpha Condé’s regime in Guinea has aroused broad international condemnation, in particular from the African Union (AU) which called for the “Immediate release” by M. Condé and “Return to constitutional order”.
Assessment of the putsch still unknown
No deaths linked to the putsch have been officially reported. But Guinean media have reported ten to twenty dead in the ranks of the presidential guard, information unverifiable due to lack of access to hospitals. The photos and names of at least ten victims, accompanied by messages of condolence, circulated on social networks.
Special forces say they acted to end “Financial mismanagement” and “trampling on citizens’ rights”.
They dissolved the government and the institutions and abolished the Constitution that Mr. Condé had adopted in 2020, invoking this change in fundamental law to stand for re-election after two terms, despite months of blood-suppressed protest.
A first group of dozens of people, arrested in particular during this dispute, began to be released Tuesday evening.
An AFP correspondent saw about twenty of them leave the civil prison of Conakry, including opponents Abdoulaye Bah and Étienne Soropogui, or a defector from the ruling party, Ismaël Condé, sentenced to three years and four months prison for comments suggesting that only weapons could drive Alpha Condé from power.
A list of 79 detainees released on Tuesday was approved after consultations between the new authorities, the prison administration and the detainees’ lawyers, according to the latter.
The National Front for the Defense of the Constitution (FNDC), a coalition of political movements and civil society which led the protest against the third term, initially hoped on Monday for the release of its imprisoned members.
The coup, after months of political and socio-economic crisis worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic, sparked outbursts of joy in Conakry.
“We are behind Doumbouya”, told AFP Abdoul Gadiri Diallo, in Bambéto, a suburb known to be favorable to the opposition, regularly shaken by clashes between demonstrators and security forces, “He is going to straighten out that country very well, we are counting on him”.
For another inhabitant of Bambéto, Kaba Kemoko Lamine, “The people had been waiting for this for a very long time and the opportunity was there”.
“Guaranteed interest”
The soldiers also began Tuesday to dismantle the mixed army / gendarmerie / police stations installed on the main axes of the capital, especially in the suburbs, which allowed the Condé regime, according to its detractors, to curb the demonstrations.
They instituted a curfew and closed the borders, before announcing its reopening on Monday.
An opposition coalition led by Mr. Condé’s main opponent, former Prime Minister Cellou Dalein Diallo, has expressed support for the new military power, urging it to work as a priority for “The establishment of capable legitimate institutions” from “ quickly lead the country to national reconciliation and the establishment of the rule of law ”.
Russia, economically present with the aluminum giant Rusal in Guinea, one of the world’s leading producers of bauxite, the main ore needed for aluminum production, called for the restoration of legality ” as soon as possible “ and respect for its interests.
“We expect in any case that the interests of our businessmen, of our companies, will not be affected, that their interests will be guaranteed”Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
The South African mining giant AngloGold Ashanti, which owns a gold mine in Siguiri (North East) via a subsidiary, for its part indicated that it continued to “Operate normally”.
Lieutenant-Colonel Doumbouya pledged Monday to respect all economic and mining contracts and to “Promote foreign investment”.
– .
