| Submit your comments on this article |
| Africa Subsaharan |
| Guinea's leader fears for his own safety |
| 2009-10-02 |
| Guinea's military leader has expressed fears for his own safety, days after the killing by the army of dozens of people protesting against his rule. At first I dismissed this as self-serving bullcrap, but read on and he may actually be saying something. Does seem as if he has a healthy survival wish, doesn't it ... Speaking to Radio France Internationale Capt Moussa Dadis Camara described himself as a "hostage" -- both to the people and to the "unstructured" army. Yeah, I'm not surprised he doesn't control the whole army. Depends on tribes and ethnic groups, like any African country. He had promised to step down before an election next year, but has since suggested he would stand for president. On Monday troops opened fire on crowds protesting against his candidacy. Some other rival trying to sabotage Camara by letting his troops loose for an atrocity that Camara gets blamed for. "I have been taken hostage by the people, a part of the people, with some saying that President Dadis cannot be a candidate and others saying President Dadis has to be a candidate," he said in the interview. He said that if he announced he was not standing for election, another military officer would take over the country. Yeah, that's pretty much what I figured. Rights groups say 157 people died when soldiers fired live rounds at the protesters on Monday. They say eyewitnesses told them of soldiers raping women in the streets during the crackdown. Of course, it's the BBC so there is no mention of the tribes of the soldiers and protestors. The junta says far fewer people died, and claims most of them were trampled to death. Elephant's foot and a 7.62, what's the difference except diameter anyway? Capt Dadis, whose leadership has been described as erratic since he seized power in a bloodless coup last year, called for a UN team to investigate the deaths. He claimed that the protesters -- who included members of the army -- had been trying to overthrow him. "The protesters had planned to remove me because that was their plan -- the whole city had to rise, with soldiers taking part in this movement," he told the radio station. Sounds like every coup. He also urged opposition activists to join a government of national unity. "I need additional allies! Who's with me?" But leaders of the main opposition blocs rejected his offer immediately. Sidya Toure, of the Union of Republic Forces, told the BBC: "This does not interest me in the slightest. We have days of mourning here. Our population is very shocked. "We want all of the power, not a part of a sharing government." "The first thing for us is to know who has given the order to kill people here, who is responsible for that." There has been widespread condemnation of the violence, with the head of the West African Regional grouping, Ecowas, telling the BBC that what happened was "unacceptable" and could not be left unpunished. On Wednesday, France announced it had suspended military co-operation with its former colony and said it was considering freezing aid to the country. But analysts say international bodies have little leverage as Guinea is a resource-rich, wealthy nation enjoying heavy investment from foreign mining firms. |
| Posted by:gromky |