Guinea coup chiefs announce interim government

Coup leaders announced a 32-member interim government for Guinea hours after they said were in control of the mineral-rich West African country following the death of its dictator.

In a takeover announcement, the group calling itself the National Council for Democracy said presidential elections would be held within 60 days and that an interim president and prime minister would be appointed.

Its spokesman, Captain Moussa Camara, later said the interim government would be made up of 26 military members and six civilians. Military music played on state-run radio today.

The group began announcing its takeover shortly after the death of long-time dictator Lansana Conte was made public.

However, Prime Minister Ahmed Tidiane Souare said in a state broadcast yesterday that he was inside his office and his government had not been dissolved.

Mr Conte, who was believed to be in his 70s, had ruled for more than a quarter of a century. He was only Guinea’s second president since it gained independence from France 50 years ago.

While Guinea has managed to avoid the catastrophic wars which ravaged its West African neighbours, regional experts have warned for years that Mr Conte’s death or ousting could send it into turmoil.

Jean-Herve Jezequel, a West Africa scholar in France, warned yesterday of a “real risk of violence in Conakry”.

“Much will depend on whether another strongman emerges or not in the coming days,” said Mr Jezequel, who works for the MSF Foundation, linked to the aid group Doctors Without Borders.

Richard Moncrieff, West Africa project director for International Crisis Group, said no successor to Mr Conte was being groomed and no-one could legitimately step up without elections.

“If a constitutional transition of power is not effected, then it will be bad news for Guinea,” he said.

In a statement, the African Union said “this seizure of power constitutes a flagrant violation of the Guinean constitution”, which calls for the National Assembly speaker to take interim power.

Guinea is the world’s largest producer of bauxite, used to produce aluminium, and also has gold, diamonds and iron ore deposits.

The nation, located at the confluence of several West African rivers, could generate enough electricity to power the region, some analysts say.

But Guinea’s economy has rapidly deteriorated and its 10 million people are among the world’s poorest. A food exporter at independence, Guinea started importing food as it became crippled by corruption, inflation and high unemployment.

Mr Conte first took power in a 1984 military coup after the death of his predecessor. As a post-Cold War wave of democracy swept the continent, he formed a political party and won elections in 1993. He was re-elected in 1998 and 2003, but all the elections were viewed as fraudulent. He also changed the country’s constitution to eliminate term limits.

Guineans complained but saw stability as preferable to the bloody civil wars in neighbouring Sierra Leone and Liberia, or the fighting in Ivory Coast. But Mr Conte’s unpopularity grew in his final years as the economy deteriorated.

The most serious recent challenge to his rule came two years ago as demonstrators called for him to step down and Guinea descended into chaos. Mr Conte responded by declaring martial law and sent tanks into the streets of the capital. Security forces killed dozens of demonstrators.

During the 2003 election, rumours of Mr Conte’s failing health circulated in the predominantly Muslim country, with reports that he was so ill he did not get out of his car to cast his ballot. That winter, he went on TV to put a stop to the rumours of his death.

“Everybody dies,” he told the nation. “Even the Prophet died. I will die when Allah wants me to.”

A similar wave of rumours began gathering force two weeks ago, when Mr Conte failed to make his usual televised appearance on the occasion of a major Muslim holiday.