By Le Figaro with AFP
Published
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The junta that has ruled Guinea since a coup in 2021 took it badly that the US embassy there posted a countdown on its website of the number of days remaining until a return of civilians to power . The home page of the U.S. diplomatic mission in Conakry offers a tab titled “on the way to democracyand leading to this countdown in days, hours, minutes and even seconds. The counter showed 670 days on Sunday, while the junta undertook under international and West African pressure to give way to elected civilians after two years.
The 670-day count corresponds to a return of civilians to power on January 31, 2025. Under an agreement between the junta and the Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the 24-month transitional period began on December 4 2022. Guinean officials have said publicly that it begins in January 2023.
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The junta led by Colonel Mamady Doumbouya has let it be known that it disapproves of the embassy’s process, through the voice of Foreign Minister Morissanda Kouyaté. “This countdown gives the image of a class supervisor watching over students in exams, which is obviously unacceptable for a country jealous of its sovereignty and independence like the Republic of Guinea.he said on state television Saturday night.
The junta recalls its commitment
He has not “no binding value and moreover should not exist“, did he declare. He added that he spoke with embassy officials and obtained assurances that it was not a question of exercising “any pressure“. He recalled the junta’s commitment to withdraw after a so-called transition period of 24 months.
Colonel Doumbouya, who was sworn in as president, “on each occasion insists that not only will these commitments be respected but that neither he nor any person in charge of the transition will be candidates in the next elections“, said the minister. However, he assures that relations between Guinea and the United States are “looking good».
The United States has condemned the 2021 putsch and is pushing for a rapid return of freely elected civilians to lead the country. They took restrictive measures after the coup, notably stopping a system of trade preferences.
The United States Embassy did not initially respond to questions from AFP about the reasons for this countdown and the calculation of the time supposed to remain with the junta.
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