Below is video of a January 20, 2012, Africa 24 interview featuring Bah Oury. The interview begins at the 5:30 minute mark.
A Tiny Drop in a Big Military Bucket: Guinea Retires 4,600 Soldiers in Army “Reform” Drive
. . . and still, there are at least 40,000 soldiers left.
Guinea retires 4,600 soldiers in army reform drive
By Saliou Samb
CONAKRY (Reuters)- Guinea has forced about 4,600 soldiers into retirement, the government said on Saturday, as part of a drive to tame the West African state’s notoriously oversized and unruly army.
Analysts have long called on Guinea to shrink and control its military to help stabilise the world’s top supplier of the aluminum ore bauxite. But the move could anger an army that has overthrown the government twice since 1984.
The forced retirements were the first measures President Alpha Conde has taken to reform his armed forces since he was elected last year in the state’s first free poll since independence from France in 1960.
Conde is also Guinea’s defence minister.
The retired soldiers, some of whom joined as early as the 1950s, will get three months severance pay with the U.N. financing two-thirds of the overall cost, Defence Minister Delegate Abdoul Kabele Camara said on state television.
The retirements would be effective from December 31, he added without giving details on the cost.
Guinea is believed to have as many as 45,000 troops after a decade of casual recruitment more than quadrupled the ranks. The army was blamed for deadly crackdowns on civilians in 2007 and 2009.
Conde said earlier this month he hoped the army reforms would “revive the tradition of the Guinean army, which was once the pride of Africa”.
Conde’s election ended two years of military junta rule, but he has already been the target of an assassination attempt. His critics have accused him of bringing in no significant changes.
Guinea Opposition Leader, Faya Millimouno, Gives the 411 on Conde’s First Year — “Catastrophic”
Below is an interview of Faya Millimouno, a prominent leader of the Guinean opposition, conducted by Guinee 58. Guinea Oye! used Google to translate the interview from French to English.
While the translation is rough in parts, I think you will find that Mr. Millimouno’s assessment of Alpha Conde’s job performance, after one year in office, is extremely comprehensive. Mr. Millimouno is particularly concerned about the potential of Conde and the CENI to commit fraud in the legislative elections. He maintains that it is critical to hold the elections so that Guinea will have a standing parliament to serve as a counterweight to Conde’s “absolute power.”
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| Thursday, December 22, 2011 2:45 p.m. |
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Guinee58: Hello Mr. Millimouno On December 21, 2011 will be a year that Mr. Conde was inaugurated as President of the Republic. The majority of Guineans are disappointed with the actions of Mr. Conde. What is your assessment of this year? Faya L. Millimouno: Hello Mr. Diallo. Before answering your question, I would like to thank you and through you, your employees Guinée58 site for the opportunity you offer me, again, to give my views on matters of national. The results of the first year of the term of President Alpha Conde is an opportunity for all Guineans to ask questions about the health of our country with many economic, political, social and cultural development. For reasons of methodology, I will try to take stock of one year of President Alpha Conde in relation to its own promises and in light of expectations that Guinea had to get out of the 2010 presidential. Indeed, with regard to its own promises, we recall that President Alpha Conde had promised to set up an administration consisting of twenty five percent for each natural region. Today we have an administration rather composed of about sixty percent of a region and only forty percent for others. He promised electricity and drinking water in Conakry in six months. Today, a year later, Conakry has less water and electricity that he had a year ago. He promised to devote five percent of the national budget to the judicial system to strengthen the rule of law. His first budget spent only two percent. He promised the bag of rice fifty kilograms twenty miles GNF. The bag of rice now sells fifty kilograms to over two hundred thousand GNF. He promised national unity. Guinea is now more disunited than a year ago. He promised jobs for young Guineans. The unemployment rate has actually increased during the first year of office of President Alpha Conde. In short, no promise has been kept. In view of the expectations of the people of Guinea, it must be said that out of the presidential election of 2010, which left the torn social fabric, expectations were to see the new authorities to act, among other things, on the following fronts: 1) reconstruction of unity and peace by holding a discourse of appeasement and the implementation of the provisions for the establishment of truth and justice about the numerous cases of crimes for to open the way for genuine national reconciliation, 2) the fight against impunity at all levels and the promotion of democracy and the rule of law, 3) the organization of elections to end the transition, and 4) the commitment of the battle for economic development to improve the welfare of the people, and 5) reform of the defense forces and security to promote the safety of all Guineans and their property . On all these fronts, it is clear that the efforts and results are expected. And ethnocentric hate speech of the President and some members of his government have exacerbated the division and ethnic tension. Tribalism in appointments and promotions to public employment has widened the gap in the division. The political spectacle has replaced political dialogue. Repression of peaceful demonstrators were taken the life of nearly a dozen people, injured dozens, arrested – tortured and arbitrarily condemned and exiled hundreds of some political leaders including Vice-President of the UFDG, Mr. Oury Bah. The social, political, economic and even religious society – usually beyond the control of the state – are about to be deliberately weakened, subordinated or even replaced by new institutions subservient to the state or the ruling party to to control the company. The union is now obliged to take great ways to avoid the destabilization and state control. The newly elected to the largest union has actually escaped the assassination attempt. The labor exchange has been destroyed in broad daylight without any consequences. Villagers in Saoro have seen some of their killed, others raped, others arrested – tortured and sentenced. They also saw their fields and plantations destroyed by the bulldozers of SOGUIPAH. Populations Lola buried some of their son killed for demanding greater justice and fairness in hiring procedures. Guéckédou populations have become more poor because of the restrictive measures of international trade and inter-prefectural. Lola and farmers have lost Beyla 2722 heads of their wild cattle slaughtered on funding of ethnic discrimination. The ethnic conflict has killed more than 30 of our compatriots Galapaye, in the Prefecture of Yomou. Mismanagement of the economy pushed up prices in the market doubled. She also pushed inflation from 20.8% to 22.1%, unemployment and the poverty of the people. Cancellations of contracts without regard to legal and nationalization have several slow potential investors. The list is very long. So here we limit ourselves by saying that the results of the first year of President Alpha Conde is generally negative. Guinee58: Why do you think Mr. Conde can not present an acceptable balance? Otherwise, what are the reasons for its failure? Faya L. Millimouno: The abysmal record of President Alpha Conde after a year of absolute power makes it clear that he was not prepared to take positive and effective as President of the Republic. In one year, he showed enough to Guinean he does not know what to do to meet the legitimate aspirations of the people. However, President Alpha Condé and his government have shown their capacity for harm. They are more interested in dividing the Guinean to stay at the challenges faced by Guinea. President Alpha Conde was that the power to conquer it certainly needs all the world, but not necessarily all methods. It was more especially to understand that the management of power and its maintenance requires skills safer. These may not necessarily be the activists who led you to power. One reason for the abysmal record of the first year of President Alpha Conde is an amateur, I would say the incompetence at the top of the state. Managing a country is not a matter of cousins, brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews. Even to define a simple program that shows you where to run the country, it is not capable. The predictable failure by abysmal in the first year of the presidency of Mr. Alpha Condé is partly explained by the fact that he is overtaken by the crimes he has committed or is committing to gain power at any cost . Therefore, it can calmly deal with issues of justice, unity and reconciliation necessary or even indispensable for peace and development in Guinea. To reconcile the Guinean and thus lay the groundwork for necessary cohesion to the development of the country, it must be strict compliance with human rights, the total end to impunity, the abolition of the exclusion in all its forms in all areas of national life, the establishment of truth and justice, mutual recognition and objective of the crimes and errors of each other in an appropriate forum through the truth about our history, rehabilitation and compensation for victims of the various political violence in Guinea, full restitution of looted assets of families affected by violence and injustice of state reforms of the army – the police and current information for make them truly national institutions in which all ethnic imbalances – Regional – genres will be corrected, etc.. Guinee58 Mr. Conde has met with some political parties on November 15. Some observers believe that Mr. Conde pretended to a political opening and they even called a “meeting show.” What is your reading of this apparent outstretched hand of Conde? Faya L. Millimouno: As I said before, the political spectacle has replaced political dialogue since President Alpha Conde is in power. For the President Alpha Condé and his entourage, everything is reduced to believe that something is about to be done when he is not. That’s why he organized a show after another. Each time the opposition has called for a direct and constructive dialogue, the power of Alpha Condé hid behind the argument of wanting to include all political and social actors in the debate and it has always resulted in the organization of the meeting that have enabled a plethora no dialogue to speak of and did not produce any positive result. We remember the challenge and excitement for four months of debate on the electoral register inappropriate based on false claims to the effect that the file contains duplicates, strangers and children without giving any evidence. On the basis of these false claims that the President of the Republic, the Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralization, and the Chairman of INEC took the decision to attempt a recovery of the full census Instead of a review as provided by Article 19 of the Election Code. We remember the address to the nation the President of the Republic, July 18, 2011, in which he pretends to end the debate on the electoral register by stating that he will be subject to review by law . On this occasion, he instructed the Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralization to meet the collective political parties to finalize the transition to find a consensus on issues of discord to open the way for transparent and credible elections in a peaceful climate. This address, though naively hailed by political observers and the opposition as a sign of openness on the part of the President, has been followed by any concrete action and appropriate. We remember the meeting of the Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralization with the Collective, August 17, 2011. This event occurs more than four months after the collective had applied for a direct dialogue with the government to discuss issues of national interest. Despite the passage of time, once again, this act was naively hailed by political observers and the opposition as a sign of openness on the part of government. A memorandum with five points of concern was submitted to the Minister by the Collective. On the field, the Minister expressed the desire to get back to the Collective, in a relatively short time, to begin in-depth discussions on various points raised in the memorandum. He stressed the need to move quickly to organize the elections in the last quarter of 2011. But a month after this meeting, it is by a collective letter to the Minister has closed all doors to dialogue as claimed by the opposition. This was the origin of the decision of the Collective exercise the constitutional right to demonstrate peacefully September 27, 2011. We also recall that, from the march of September 27, 2011, the Prime Minister and his government waited until the day before, September 26, to meet with all political and social actors, within a framework that had nothing different from a general meeting. On this occasion the Prime Minister asked the Collective suspend or cancel the event. After examining the request by the parties of the Collective, it was proposed to the Prime Minister to issue a statement on a political decision to freeze all activities of INEC pending the outcome of the political dialogue. The Prime Minister appeared to be happy with the proposal promised the Collective him back in the minutes that followed. Since then, the Prime Minister has never contacted the Collective. We remember also that as a result of violence against peaceful demonstrators on September 27, 2011, the Collective and ADP signed a joint declaration in which they, among others, asked prior to their participation in the dialogue. In order to facilitate the initiation of this dialogue, a facilitation committee headed by Bishop Albert Gomez was established with the agreement of both sides. While the efforts of this committee have begun to bear fruit, a cascading action of invitations leaders of some parties to a meeting with the President of the Republic, November 15, 2011, the palace Sékoutouréa, was heard on the radio and national television. The other match, no less spectacular than the previous ones, was still time, naively hailed by some actors and political observers as an opening act by the President of the Republic. But, again, it is not followed by concrete actions. This is how politics is conducted and show the President Alpha Condé and his government Read more… |
To mark the one year of the inauguration of Mr. Alpha Condé at the head of the supreme magistracy, writing www.guinee58.com tended the microphone to Dr. Faya Millimouno Vice-President of the NGR for that ‘we read to the socio-economic and political observer of our country entant policy warned. It is without cannot or complacency that Faya Millimouno honor us answer our questions concocted by your writing. The awful situation in Conakry and the interior has grown to screens. We invite you to read this interview is full of lessons and this is no moderation.GUINEA: HRW Letter to Msgr. Coulibaly and El Haj Camara re: Truth -Telling and Reconciliation Commission
Funeral-Burial of unarmed opposition protesters murdered by Guinean state security forces on September 27, 2011
Throughout the presidential campaign of 2010, Human Rights Watch stayed on top of events in Guinea and, unlike many other international human rights organizations, “called them as they saw them.” The prickly task now is for HRW to support the treacherous Truth and Reconciliation process, knowing that it has all the potential to finish burying the potential prosecutions in the 9/28/09 case that the International Criminal Court killed, at the behest of the international community.
But, three cheers for HRW! After commenting constructively on the make-up and process for choosing T&R commissioners, this letter clearly states that Guinea should prosecute crimes associated with past abuses, and ensure, in particular, that international crimes are tried. HRW warns that any amnesty approved by the Commission must not extend to those who have committed international crimes.
Finally, HRW is firm that ethnic-based crimes must be part of the Truth and Reconciliation process.
All of this is a tall order for a government for which impunity is the primary modus operandi. Luckily, HRW will be watching closely.
At the bottom, there is a link to this letter in French.
Letter to Monseigneur Coulibaly and El Haj Camara on Truth-Telling and Reconciliation
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© 2011 Human Rights Watch
Monseigneur Vincent Coulibaly
El Hadj Mamadou Saliou Camara
Dear Monseigneur Coulibaly and El Hadj Camara,
Human Rights Watch welcomes the Guinean government’s efforts to establish a truth-telling and reconciliation mechanism and is honored to have participated in the December 15th workshop in Conakry in support of the provisional commission, which the two of you lead.
Human Rights Watch has long supported a truth-telling and reconciliation mechanism for several key reasons. First, it could help illuminate under-exposed atrocities committed since independence, notably during the reign of Sékou Touré. Second, it could explore some of the dynamics leading to communal and ethnic tensions, which we believe have worsened in recent months and as such make the work of the proposed commission all the more urgent. Third, this mechanism could explore the dynamics that gave rise to and sustained successive authoritarian and abusive regimes. Fourth, it could make recommendations aimed at ensuring better governance and preventing a repetition of past violations.
As you preside over the current consultative phase of the commission’s establishment, we urge you to carefully consider the delicate task of selecting permanent commissioners. Human Rights Watch believes the nomination and confirmation of commissioners must be the result of a comprehensive consultative process with key relevant actors including members of civil society, women’s groups, political parties, labor unions, victims groups, the diaspora, religious leaders, and the security services.
The commissioners must be highly-respected, politically independent, and representative along regional, religious, gender, ethnic, and age lines. To bolster the actual and perceived impartiality, some commissions, like those in El Salvador and Sierra Leone, have included international members. We also support the introduction of appointment procedures, such as public confirmation hearings of the commissioners, to ensure the independence and impartiality of the commission.
As you consider the commission’s mandate, Human Rights Watch wishes to emphasize that while truth commissions can be a meaningful process for reconciliation, they are not a substitute for the pursuit of justice, which many Guineans will suggest is fundamental to recovery from the country’s long history of violence. Prosecutions of those responsible for gross abuses of the past, including the mass killings by the security forces of demonstrators in 2007 and 2009, is crucial to end the cycle of violence and impunity. Many ordinary Guineans continue to grieve over the loss of loved ones and feel strongly that they deserve some means of redress, which only a judicial process can provide. It is critical that at the same time as setting up this commission, time and resources are devoted to ensuring a speedy creation of a functioning independent justice system able to provide criminal accountability for those responsible for current and historic crimes.
Furthermore, as a matter of both treaty and customary international law, Guinea has a duty to prosecute serious international crimes and pursue individual criminal responsibility. As such, any amnesty provisions of the eventual truth and reconciliation commission must be consistent with Guinea’s obligations under international law. The commission should not be empowered to grant amnesty for violations of international criminal law such as crimes against humanity, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and torture.
In closing, we include for your consideration an observation from a well-respected human rights defender. This quotation, taken from Human Rights Watch’s recent report on Guinea’s human rights agenda, “We Have Lived in Darkness,” very eloquently supports why Human Rights Watch so firmly believes in the need for a truth and reconciliation mechanism:
Guineans need to critically evaluate the behavior and abuses committed by each and every regime, and explore why history is repeating itself. A truth commission would help arrest the gangrene; it would help us put to one side what divides us, and reflect on what unites us. We must also take a closer look at the issue of ethnicity, which for decades has been used to control, divide, and sow mistrust and hatred among Guineans. We must also look at the role economic crimes and profiteers, who have operated throughout every regime, have played in benefitting from Guinea’s resources at the expense of the population.
We heartily endorse this view and look forward to supporting your efforts to ensuring truth, reconciliation, and justice at this crucial point in Guinea’s history. In the interest of generating public discussion of the issues presented above, this letter will be made publicly available on our website. We look forward to further discussion with you on these crucial issues.
Sincerely,
Daniel Bekele
Executive Director, Africa Division
Corinne Dufka
West Africa Regional Director
Cc:
Professor Alpha Condé, President of the Republic of Guinea
Mr. Christian Sow, Minister of Justice
Philippe Van Damme, EU Head of Delegation
Mr. Jean-Michel Berrit, French Ambassador to Guinea
Patricia Moller, United States Ambassador to Guinea
Dr. Aisha Laraba Abdullahi, Nigerian Ambassador to Guinea
Mr. Said Djinnit, Special Representative, United Nations Office for West Africa (UNOWA)
Mr. Louis-Marie Bouaka, Head of Office, United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Guinea
GUINEA – Opposition March 9/27-28: Video Evidence of Vicious 48-Hour Attack on Unarmed Guineans by Military, Police, and Donzos
Many are aware that, during the September 27, 2011, opposition march in Guinea, Alpha Conde’s security forces shot, stabbed, and beat unarmed protesters, murdering at least five. But, many may not be aware that the vicious attacks continued through the evening of the next day, September 28. Below is a video that includes scenes from the march and interviews with numerous victims. After the march, state security forces continued their rampage into the Peuhl neighborhoods of Conakry, attacking men, women and children.
Note that this 19 minute video is interrupted, at least three times by an advertisement, but the video resumes immediately thereafter. Please note that the video is partly in French and partly in Foulah with subtitles in French.
GUINEA: Tony Blair and Alpha Conde — What a Pair!
If you are looking for a former head of state to dig around in the economies and resources of African countries, you cannot do better than Tony Blair. Under the guise of the African Governance Initiative, Blair just finished a short trip to Guinea and, among other things, delved into discussions about the Guinean economy, promised to bring in more investors, and announced he is all about helping the poor of Guinea. And, oh yes, he visited with his old friend, Alpha Conde.
In his post-prime minister life,Blair is known as a war criminal with a mounting number of countries he cannot travel to because of possible arrest. A newly published Downing Street letter from September 2002, five months before the Iraq invasion, confirms Blair planned to ignore the advice of his legal advisors and go to war knowing it was illegal. From the beginning, it was clear that Bush and Blair would work as a tag team, fabricating reasons to go into Iraq, and then commanding military troops to illegally invade the country. The cost? Over 5,000 allied military (or “Coalition of the Willing”) dead and at least 1 million civilian Iraqi deaths.
In fact, as late as this past November 21, Blair and Bush were convicted at a mock trial in Kuala Lumpur of “crimes against peace.” A primary sponsor of the mock trial was Malaysia’s former premier, Muhatir Mohamad,a long time critic of the war and the role played by the US and Britain.
So, if you combine Blair’s criminal resume with Alpha Conde’s commanding Guinean troops to fire upon unarmed opposition members on April 3, commanding military, police, and Donzos to attack unarmed opposition protesters on September 27, and his official practice of ethnic hatred to “re-make” the country, you have two deadly peas in a pod. And, for those who think that Blair’s involvement in Guinea is a good thing because he could influence Conde to operate within democratic standards, think again. Before Blair left, he gave Conde an “at-a-boy” pat on the back for promoting good governance.
CONAKRY – Former British prime minister Tony Blair ended his day-long visit in Guinea to seek closer cooperation with the West African country, the presidency said on Tuesday .
Speaking at a conference jointly organized on Monday with President Alpha Conde, Blair said he was in Guinea to help promote the country’s economy.
Accompanied by some other members of his institution, the Africa Governance Initiative, Blair said he will lobby the international community and other investors to come and invest in Guinea.
He said Guinea has the potentials which will attract investors. The visiting former British prime minister pledged his institution will help improve the daily life of the ordinary Guinean and to redress completely the Guinea’s economy.
Blair praised President Conde for his commitment to curb poverty in Guinea. He said he is very much impressed by President Conde’s zero tolerance against corruption and his move towards promoting good governance in Guinea.
President Conde, for his part, commended Blair for promising to help improve Guinea’s economy, saying he has no doubt that his aim will go through.
It was the second time Blair had visited Guinea this year. In July, he briefly visited Guinea in a bid to introduce his institution to his long-time friend Conde.
The Tony Blair Africa Governance Initiative was founded in 2008 and is now operational in Sierra Leone, Angola, Liberia and Guinea.
Fatou Bensouda to be ICC Top Prosecutor: Let’s Hope Indictments of Those Responsible for Sept. 28 Massacre are on Her “To Do” List
Sept. 28 — Lining up the dead
Fatou Bensouda, as the ICC ‘s Deputy Prosecutor, was the primary investigator on the Sept. 28, 2009 state-sponsored massacre of unarmed Guinean opposition members. Over 150 people were killed, over 1,000 were injured, and over 100 women were brutally raped. While investigating the incident, Bensouda stated that crimes against humanity had been committed.
But, suddenly, by mid-2010, the case went cold. Unfortunately, the international community, frantic to have Guinea hold a presidential election in 2010, used the threat of ICC indictments to make sure the junta leader, Dadis Camara, would not be inclined to return to Guinea to lead the military. Actually, it was circumstances independent of the ICC (getting shot in the head, recuperation in Morocco, and a trip to Burkina Faso which became permanent) that keep Camara out of Guinea to this day. But, an equally big concern for the international community loomed — Guinea’s 50,000 soldier military. ICC indictments against soldiers responsible for the criminal acts of Sept. 28, could easily spin the military into a nation-wide revolt. Such a turn of events could delay the 2010 election or cause it not to be held at all. With Guinea’s legislative elections still ahead, the ICC investigation is likely to remain dormant for a while longer.
As a woman, as an African, as an investigator of Sept. 28, and now as the world’s top prosecutor, Ms. Bensouda knows that the hell visited upon the people of Guinea on Sept. 28 can only be addressed in a court proceeding. Hopefully, she will move the Guinean massacre higher up on her list, that is, if the international community doesn’t intervene yet again.
If interested in reading more about the international community’s interference in the ICC investigation of Sept. 28, please go to: Preventive Diplomacy: The International Community’s Betrayal of the People of Guinea
Gambia’s Bensouda slated to be ICC prosecutor: envoy
By Patrick Worsnip
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Fatou Bensouda of Gambia has emerged as the consensus candidate for the high-profile job of chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, a diplomat at the center of the selection process said on Wednesday.
Bensouda, 50, is deputy to the current chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo of Argentina, whose term ends next year.
An informal meeting of ICC members will be held in New York on Thursday to discuss the appointment, said Liechtenstein’s U.N. Ambassador Christian Wenaweser, president of the Assembly of States Parties (ASP) to the Rome Statute that set up the court.
“I will recommend to the meeting that, based on my consultations, we go forward with a single candidate, Fatou Bensouda,” Wenaweser told Reuters by telephone.
The appointment will be made at a formal session of the 118-nation ASP in New York on December 12, Wenaweser said.
Bensouda was named deputy prosecutor of the Hague-based ICC in 2004 and previously worked as a legal adviser and trial attorney at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha, Tanzania.
She has long been regarded as the favorite to take over from Moreno-Ocampo, particularly at a time when the ICC’s cases are largely focused on Africa.
She was one of four candidates short-listed by a search committee last month to replace Moreno-Ocampo as chief prosecutor of the world’s top war crimes court.
AFRICAN SOUGHT
The others were Britain’s Andrew Cayley, international co-prosecutor in the U.N.-backed court trying former Khmer Rouge leaders in Cambodia, Mohamed Chande Othman, Chief Justice of Tanzania, and Robert Petit, a war crimes counsel in Canada’s Department of Justice.
Wenaweser told an ASP working group last week there was a “pervasive sentiment” among ICC members that the next chief prosecutor should be an African and that Cayley and Petit had been told they were no longer being considered.
A U.N. diplomat who asked not to be identified said he understood Othman had subsequently withdrawn his candidacy.
The tough-talking Moreno-Ocampo has won praise for his role in promoting the work of the ICC. He has launched seven formal investigations, issued an arrest warrant for Sudan’s president Omar al-Bashir and begun three trials.
The ICC earlier this year indicted then Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi — since killed — as well as his son Saif al-Islam and intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi. Moreno-Ocampo said last week, however, that he would not demand that the captured Saif al-Islam be handed over to The Hague.
In the latest development involving the ICC, former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo was flown on Tuesday night to The Hague to face charges of crimes against humanity.
Some African politicians have accused Moreno-Ocampo of pursuing only Africans. He has also been criticized over the ICC’s slow progress and for failing to bring a larger number of senior government officials to trial for various atrocities.
Alpha Conde’s Abu Ghraib: “Torture in Guinea, Force Replaces Law”
“Torture of detainees remains a practice of security forces in the era of Alpha Condé, “according to the Guinean Organization for the Defence of Human Rights. One year after the election of Alpha Condé as Guinean president, “Torture remains a common practice, even ordinary in this country”, the organizations of human rights said in a report on Tuesday in Paris.
“Torture in Guinea: Force replaces law”
Posted on Thursday 17 November 2011 – 08:29
Mamadou Dian Donghol Diallo, AfricaNews reporter in Conakry, Guinea“The Guinean security forces still use regularly torture and abuse against criminal suspects, prisoners, persons identified as supporters of political opposition and military personnel accused of wanting to overthrow the government in place “, the NGOs said.In the report “Torture in Guinea: Force replaces Law,” Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture (ACAT-France) and three NGOs of Guinean human rights, emphasized that these practices, common during the previous 52 years of dictatorship, “persist with impunity” from “democratic election” of Alpha Condé.”Despite the willingness of the authorities to reform the justice, defence and security sectors, none of the accused for acts of torture has yet been punished or prosecuted while many of them are well known, “the report said.During a survey conducted in June 2011, teams of investigators of these NGOs were able to visit several prisons and collect the testimony of 36 people “victims of torture, cruel or degrading treatment.”The report describes in particular how the police took advantage of the context of tensions and the suppression of post-election violence in November 2010 for extorting money from people, raping women and imprisoning men, often from different ethnic groups to that of President-elect.NGOs estimate that “no response to victims of political violence that have regularly hit the Guinea since 2006″ and the victims have received no “assistance” of the Guinean authorities.NGOs call the Guinean authorities to establish an independent monitoring of detention facilities, to respect the rights of defence during an arrest and punish perpetrators of violence.The three Guinean NGOs involved in this report are the Guinean Organization for the Defence of Human Rights (OGDH), The Same Rights for All (MDT) and the Association of Victims, Relatives and Friends of September 28, 2009 (AVIPA).
[The full report can be found here in French]
Meeting with Conde: More Like Kumbaya Mea Culpa
The presidential “mea culpa” covers these guys, eh?
Alpha Conde stacked the deck yesterday by inviting a boatload of political party leaders allied with him to join a meeting meant to “re-connect” with opposition leaders. Participants related that Conde said all the right things: he intends to re-establish a dialogue with the opposition and he wants the decision about the date for legislative elections to be done in a consensual manner (the election will take place sometime during the first quarter of 2012.)
But, the ringer came when Conde told his guests that he accepts responsibility for mistakes committed by both the Guinean military and the police. He explained that since he is the Defense Minister, he is also head of the military. Further, as the President of Guinea, he heads the police as well. If you interpret “mistakes” broadly, Conde made a stunning admission of guilt on many fronts. Did he mean to say this? Absolutely. But what he means by it is, “In case anyone is thinking about going after me for those ‘mistakes,’ they will have to go through the military and police first. Alternatively, if anyone is going after soldiers and the police, they will have to go through me.” Conde’s willingness to do a mea culpa on behalf of soldiers and police deepens their loyalty to him. In addition, it signals that soldiers and police can continue to make “mistakes” and Conde will cover for them.
Normally, a head of state’s admission of responsibility in this regard, would be music to the ears of the International Criminal Court. But, wait a minute, didn’t the ICC come to Guinea one time before to investigate crimes against humanity committed on September 28, 2009? Yes. Wasn’t the investigation dropped like a hot potato by the ICC? Yes, again. Then, why was it dropped? The threat of an ICC indictment against Junta Chief, Dadis Camara, was a tool used by the West to get him out of Guinea so he could no longer command the 50,000 soldier army. When he was shot by a colleague in December 2009 and forced to leave Guinea for recovery in Morocco and exile in Burkina Faso, the objective was met and the ICC investigation was no longer needed. The ICC never intended to prosecute Dadis Camara or anyone in the military for its actions on September 28, 2009, because it and the West thought indictments of soldiers would cause a country-wide rebellion and interfere with the 2010 presidential elections. Conde must figure that if the ICC didn’t prosecute Camara, he can do mea culpas forever and it will never prosecute him.
And now that Alpha Conde is the head of the military and the police, it’s doubtful the ICC will come calling. After all, the West is pushing for legislative elections in the first quarter of 2012 and is likely to ignore all kinds of “mistakes,” including those made by the guy who stole the 2010 election for Conde, Lounceny Camara, who is the current president of Guinea’s electoral commission. Of course, it’s possible that Conde could announce on State TV tomorrow that he is the head of the commission.
The Kumbaya from Hell: At Last Minute, Conde Adds a Boatload of Political Leaders to Meeting
According to an announcement read on state TV and radio, Conde has extended the initial invitation he made to Cellou Dalein Diallo, Sidya Toure, and Moussa Solano, to several other leaders of Guinean political parties.
Below is the official statement translated into English using Google. You will see many familiar names, Jean Marie Dore, Ibrahima Fofana Kassory, and Lonseny Fall. Most of this list consists of parties who garnered less than one percent of the vote in the presidential election in 2010 and most of the leaders have already declared allegiance to Alpha Conde. Conde pulled off a classic bait and switch.
This is not a meeting, this is a photo-op. Yet, this works just fine for Western diplomats. They will share the photo of all the Guinean leaders gathered under the tent of Alpha Conde, with their corporate contacts as proof that Guinea is ready. Grossly fraudulent legislative elections to seal the deal on Guinea’s transition to destruction cannot be too far away.
A kumbayah straight from hell, indeed.
THE PRESS OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENCY
As part of periodic consultations with the social and political actors, the Head of State, Professor Alpha Condé, will receive Tuesday, November 15th at 3:00 p.m. at the Palais Sékhoutouréya, leaders of the Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea, UFDG , Elhadj Mamadou Diallo, the Union of Republican Forces, UFR, Mr Sidi Touré, the Party of Unity and Progress, PUP, Elhadj Moussa Solano.
This invitation is extended to leaders of the Union for Progress of Guinea, UPG, Jean Marie Dore, Guinea for All, GPT, Mr. Ibrahima Fofana Kassory, of the Democratic Union of Guinea, UDG, Elhadj Mamadou Sylla , the United Front for Democracy and Change, FUDEC, François Lonsény Fall, New Generation for the Republic, NGR, Mr. Abe Sylla, the Party for Union and Development, PUD, Elhadj Mamadou Ditinn Diallo, Union of Democratic Forces, UDF, Mr. Mamadou Bah Baadiko.
The invitation of the President of the Republic also falls within the National Dialogue, everything dear to the people of Guinea.
The Press Office of the Presidency informs the national and international press as part of periodic consultations with the social and political actors, the Head of State, Professor Alpha Condé, will receive Tuesday, November 15 at 3:00 p.m. at the Palais Sékhoutouréya the leaders of the Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea, UFDG, Elhadj Mamadou Diallo, the Union of Republican Forces, UFR, Mr Sidi Touré, the Party of Unity and Progress, PUP, Elhadj Moussa Solano .
The press will gather out of traditional statements of political leaders invited audience.
To this end, the Press Office of the President invites interested bodies, by reason of a journalist by organ, to be present at Sékhoutouréya Tuesday, November 15 to 14 hours.
Please bring an identification badge.
Conakry, November 14, 2011
