L'Union des forces républicaines, in an official release dated October 1st, 2009, attests to the planned nature of the brutal killings:

Comment peut-on expliquer que les forces de l’ordre aient laissé les gens entrer dans le stade sans aucune résistance, attendre que le stade soit rempli [et] des milliers se disperser tout autour du stade avant de lancer l’assaut …. Cela relève bien de la plus macabre des stratégies militaires.

In the wake of the massacre, Guinean journalists have been subject to harrassment and intimidation; many have received death threats.  Guineenews.org, a popular blog opened by a Guinean living in Canada, describes the situation of journalists:

…journalistes de Guineenews et d’autres organes de presse de Guinée continuent de recevoir des menaces de la part des autorités militaires. Leur faute c’est de rapporter les évènements minute par minute.

And cite several recent examples.

Hamidou Sow, one of their correspondents in Conakry describes what happened after he participated in a forum on a local radio station:

Après l’émission je n’ai cessé de recevoir des coups de fil anonyme me menaçant de mort « vous êtes des apatrides parce qu’au lieu de soutenir le CNND, vous soutenez les opposants…..Vous etes contre Dadis, mais toi tu vas partir avant lui, toi le traitre. On vous a dit que c’est lui ou la mort. »

Sow says that after the press conference held by Blaise Compaoré, the African Union and ECOWAS’ facilitator, a soldier threatened to kill Sow if the met on the road.

In a third case, after he wrote a post for Guineenews website ” En Guinée la vie des journalistes est en danger depuis le 28 Septembre” :

…C’est vous qui salissez l’image de la Guinée. Vous voulez saper les actions du CNDD ? On ne vous laissera pas faire. Sache que je te tiens à l’œil.

Guineenews website gives names of journalists from various media who were beaten and their work equipment as well as vehicles, mobile phone and their money stolen. The post informs that:

Selon plusieurs sources concordantes, la junte aurait établi une liste de journalistes et de personnalités politiques à abattre.

Rape: “A Weapon of War”

Tu as aidé ce malade frustré, qui a déclaré avoir été mis au monde par une femme de plus de 60 ans, à devenir plus fou et ivre de pouvoir. voici comment tes filles, tes femmes, tes sœurs, tes mamans et tantes ont été violées, souillées et tuées en pleine journée et en public par cette bande.

Elle a eu beaucoup de chance : celle d’être “simplement” violée !

Il s'agit là des preuves qui enfonceront Dadis, Pivi, Sékouba, Thieboro, Toumba, Moussa Keita, Korka et leurs nervis et complices (notamment le félon Komara) devant une juridiction internationale.

In his post “Rape, a new weapon of war,” [Fr] Thierno from Guineelibre.com writes:

Des photos prises à l’aide de téléphone portables circulent dans le pays. Terribles, difficiles à démentir, ces images suscitent la colère. Elles montrent que les femmes ont été spécifiquement prises pour cible par les soldats guinéens, qui, il y a deux semaines, ont réprimé une manifestation qui a eu lieu dans un stade de la capitale. Victimes et témoins parlent de viols, de passages à tabac et d’humiliations intentionnelles. « Après ce que j’ai vu, je ne peux plus dormir la nuit » reconnaît une femme d’âge moyen issue d’une famille aisée. » Elle raconte qu’elle a été frappée et violentée. « J’ai peur, j’ai vu beaucoup de femmes violées et beaucoup d’autres tuées. »

Abdoulaye Condé, Advisor in Communication and NTIC in the office of the President was among the first to resign. In his resignation letter addressed to Capitaine Camara, published by online radio Radio-Kankan on October,16th, he wrote:

en acceptant ma nomination, j’étais particulièrement heureux de contribuer à vos côtés à la réalisation de certaines valeurs explicitement contenues dans l’acte de prise du pouvoir par le CNDD et souvent réitérées dans vos discours : L’instauration d’un Etat de droit, la promotion et la défense de la démocratie, des libertés et des droits humains, la culture de la bonne gouvernance, la fin de l’impunité, la lutte contre la corruption, l’organisation d’élections transparentes et crédibles…

Hélas, les derniers événements du 28 septembre 2009, constituent, à mon humble avis, au nom du patriotisme, de l’honnêteté et de la sincérité toujours prônées dans vos déclarations, une autre raison de me démettre d’une fonction dont les apparences exposent son occupant aux fâcheuses conséquences des dégâts provoqués par l’improvisation, l’amateurisme et la fuite en avant.

Expectations were high among Guineans after the bloodless coup that brought Camara and the CNDD to power. Contrary to his predecessors, Camara was educated in Europe, and so had been exposed to concepts of democracy and the respect of human rights abroad.  He was heralded all over the country. His promises of change convinced many that after two dictators, living conditions would improve and, in particular, that corruption would end, or at least could be reduced.  Even if he was sincere in his willingness to fight corruption and drug trafficking, in his authoritarian ways, he has shown his weakness and inability to rule the country.

This soldier testified under condition of anonymity, but his identity and occupation is known and vouched for by the RFI network of correspondents in West Africa. Since then, the magnitude of the repression and the mass rapes have been confirmed by multiple sources and testimonies. However, this testimony still contains first hand information about the state of the Guinean army, the presence of foreign soldiers within its ranks, and also forecasted the unrest and fight for power within the Guinean Army that has very recently surfaced on October 7 [fr].

Radio France Internationale agreed for Global Voices to translate and publish this copyrighted interview for human rights documentation purposes and will publish the English translation on its website.

Olivier Rogez (Radio France Internationale): Sir, you are a soldier, you belong to BATA, the Autonomous batallion of [Guinea] paratroopers, and you were amongst the soldiers who suppressed the demonstration on September 28th.

Soldier : Indeed, I took part in the bloody repression around the 28 September Stadium; yes!

RFI : I'd like to ask you first if, according to the information broadcast during the past days, you saw with your own eyes real bullets being shot at the population and the women being raped as described in all the testimonies? Did your colleagues from BATA take part in these actions?

I confirm that there have been rapes and shooting with real bullets.

On the morning of that day [Sept. 28], when you were sent to stop the opposition demonstration at the stadium, did you have precise orders?

The gendarmerie [police] were involved at first but since the police did not agree with the demonstrators, we received orders to curb this opposition, called “unruly” by our chiefs. We went there. I was among the soldiers. We could not disobey orders, that is to say, to go and curb the demonstrators, to make them understand that there is only one authority in Guinea, and to teach them a lesson. There were so many deaths, it was not even possible to count them. I felt faint, honestly, I felt faint. There were 160, 180 deads… I cannot even tell you how many corpses. And I know that during the night, on Monday [Sept. 28], they told us to retrieve the bodies. We retrieved 47, that have been buried, but I cannot tell you where exactly.

Did you personally take part in the retrieval of the bodies in the morgues?

I am a fonctionnaire [civil servant].

You were forced to go and retrieve the bodies?

We cannot say no. If you say no, you are dead.

If you say no, you are dead?

That’s right.

So, you were given weapons and ammunition?

We had weapons and ammunition and for nearly a week beforehand, we were on standby.

For a week, you were on standby?

Yes.

When you were told to curb and to give a lesson to the opposition, were you ordered to kill opponents, political leaders?

No, not ordered to kill the opponents. But a lesson had to be taught. When I say “to teach a lesson”, in military language, you know what that means!

Could you be more specific?

It means punish them, usually, without killing them, but to show them that the country is under control. That's what we were told.

Many testimonies we have gathered mention mass and collective rapes, exactions, like raping women with weapons. Were you able to identify the soldiers - or the units they belong to - who took part in these exactions?

They were people from the presidential guard, since the police were a little behind. There were not only weapons, there were sticks of wood too. We used all sorts of things. We even kicked with our feet!

You said you could not refuse to go and curb the opposition. How do you feel today [Oct. 1st]?

Since Monday, I cannot sleep. I cannot go to sleep. I only see again those horrible images, those living people, those people killed by real bullets at point blank… at the level… I cannot sleep. I have nightmares. I cannot sleep. (sighs).

Everybody killed?

There were orders, sir : to kill or to be killed.

Yourself, were you forced to kill?

(silence) It is very difficult for me to answer this question. I told you. Either you killed or were killed.

So the orders came from the higher up?

Honestly, there is no hierarchy right now in the army. You can receive orders from everyone. Everybody gives orders here, everybody gives orders. There is not one hierarchy in the Guinean army. It's a mess. It looks like organized militias. It's been a while since we have been in the army and now, honestly, it's a mess. The International community must come to the rescue, otherwise, I am really afraid for this country.

There has been lots of talk about the mess in the army. Could you tell us about this mess? How is the BATA functioning, nowadays, where you are? Have there been recruitments lately? Are there militias within the BATA?

Yes, I confirm that there are militias within the BATA. People have arrived. There are even militiamen who came from Liberia, who are currently incorporated within the Guinean army, in the BATA, with no military education, no training whatsoever. They are really murderers who are currently being recruited. Honestly, I am a soldier, but I am afraid for this country. It was not in this spirit that we seized power. We seized power to guarantee the integrity of our country, to really make our country into a great democracy. But that is not what is happening now in the Guinean army. It is truly sickening, we are scared, honestly. Even us, the military, we are scared. Currently, there are more than 600 persons incorporated in the army, elements who came out of the forest, elements who came from Liberia. We even fear retribution.

Since when are you in the military?

Since 2002.

And since you joined in the army, since you have belonged to BATA, have you seen the situation worsen?

The situation is worsening from day to day.

Are the new recruits equipped with weapons? Did you get new weapons? Are there many weapons delivered nowadays in the army barracks?

Every day, weapons circulate in our barracks. Those who are recruited and incorporated today have weapons. They are given everything: grenades, weapons, ammunition. No importance is given to the date of integration (in the army). All that is needed is to train people and show them the way to the fighting, that's all. There are young volunteers that have been recruited, and honestly, they are here solely to maintain the power in place. She does not want to give up the power. Those people are like President Conté. Now we see, even us, the true face of this leader. Even us, we are marginalized in the army. We are scared, we cannot talk. I am telling you, currently, in the army, it's total anarchy, total anarchy, total anarchy! We do not know who is who in the army today. Nobody knows today who is a captain or a corporal. They beat up General Toto, the people from the presidential guard. Corporals. There is no discipline in the Guinean army. In this army, if no intervention forces come in, I can assure you that Guinea will sink very soon into anarchy, and it will come from the very same Alpha Yaya camp (Captain Camara's barrack). All the ingredients are there for a clash, very soon, in the midst of camp Alpha Yaya. Honestly, I am afraid for this country.

Copyright : Interview by Olivier Rogez, Radio France Internationale

Footage of  Guinean soldiers shooting demonstrators in Conakry on Monday (ANSA, on YouTube)

On the very same day, Guinean blogger Konngol Afirik wrote with cold rage [fr], from Europe :

Les responsables du carnage de cette journée noire ont pour nom Capitaine Moussa Dadis Camara, chef de la junte et président de la République autoproclamé, Capitaine Tiegboro Camara secrétaire d’État chargé de la lutte anti-drogue et du grand banditisme, Général Sékouba Konaté ministre de la Défense, Jean Claude Pivi ministre chargé de la sécurité présidentielle. Encore une fois, l'Union Africaine et la CÉDÉAO et les partenaires internationaux se sont révélés ineffectifs devant un officier putschiste prêt à marcher sur des cadavres pour conserver le pouvoir.

Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, who seized power after a bloodless coup exactly nine month ago, a day or so after dictator Lansana Conté's passing, had first raised great expectations in Guineans. Because he was young, trained abroad (in Germany), and not involved with the previous dictatorship. As Noël Etienne Gnimassou, a technician in an aluminium factory in Conakry, recalls on the “Les observateurs” website of France24 tv channel [fr], that hope lasted three months:

Le capitaine Camara est incompétent pour le poste. Il s'est contenté de travailler pendant les trois mois qui ont suivi sa prise de pouvoir : il a lutté contre la corruption, il a mis à la retraite les vieux généraux fidèles au président Conté et il s'est attaqué au trafic de drogue. Mais passé cette période, il a commencé à se sentir à l'aise dans le fauteuil de président.

On YouTube, the anonymous account “Dadis Show” has documented his fast-forward slide into dictatorial brutality with a selection of  ranting  speeches that early on cast doubts on a leader nicknamed by magazine Jeune Afrique Captain Dadis and Mister Camara [fr].

News then slowly seeped on private chat-group from residents, doctors, and foreign correspondents of savage rapes, of soldiers attempting to camouflage the magnitude of the massacre by stealing corpses from hospital mortuaries or burying them hastily on the spot.

Anonymous :J'ai une collègue qui a perdu son neveu, mais d'apres les militaires qui ont répondu a son téléphone portable, la famille ne récupérera  pas le corps. On est confine dans les maisons. C'est vraiment terrifiant.

On Thursday, the hearsay was confirmed by the chilling public testimony on French radio RFI of a soldier who took part in the blodshed “under orders.”

Captain Dadis Camara, In an official communiqué [fr], denies any responsability, accusing, alternately, the opposition and his soldiers : “Even the head of state cannot curb this movement“. It remains to be seen who is actualy leading the army, who gave orders to hunt down two correspondents of foreign media, who “threw a bad light on Guinea.”  The vast majority of commenters on diaspora newssites and Guinean forums are appaled by his “crocodile tears” and see yet another plot unfolding in his call for “international investigation” and “a coalition government”:

Oumar, a Guinean expatriate, urges Guinean, out of fear or thirst for peace, not to fall in this traps :

Son dernier subterfuge est le gouvernement d’union nationale. Le dictateur sait que si l’opposition accepte de faire partie d’un pareil gouvernement, la communauté internationale serait embarrassée dans l’application des sanctions. Comment punir des bourreaux si leurs victimes collaborent avec eux dans un même gouvernement ?Autre idée du chef de la junte pour échapper à la justice internationale : une commission d’enquête internationale avec à sa tête un « sage africain ». À qui pense t-il quand il parle de ce fameux « sage africain » ? Certainement à son mentor Abdoulaye Wade président du Sénégal voisin qui l’appelle affectueusement « mon fils » et qui est avec Kadhafi le seul Chef d’État africain à l’avoir ouvertement soutenu depuis le début.

When will it end ? In an analysis on the BBC website, analyst Paul Melly, states one of the reasons Guinea has spent fifty years now in the grip of successive dictators :

Guinea is naturally quite wealthy. It's not easy to just force down a regime through external pressure. The [previous] Conte regime survived years of the suspension of European aid without ever caving in to the EU's demands for political reform.

Uproar in Germany

Meanwhile, Guinea's plight has raised another controversy.  When it became known in Germany, where Dadis Camara received military training, that he spoke German and always sported the German paratrooper badge on his red army beret, the German department of defence stated that training for foreign officers in Germany was promoted by the German government in order to further democracy abroad and that “Berlin was not to blame if the officers embarked on a different course when they returned home.” Outrage erupted over ten pages of comments on newsites Die Welt [german]:

Angelina: Diesem Schwein sollten alle Titel und Ränge der Deutschen Bundeswehr aberkannt werden,das Fallschirmspringerabzeichen müßte ihm Frau Merkel persönlich vom Barrett reißen!

Jennifer Brea contributed editing and translation.

What is Boiro Camp?

Camp Boiro is the former barracks of the Republican guards in Donka, a suburb of Conakry, Guinea, it became a political prison and torture block from 1958 to 1984. All people accused by the revolutionary regime of Ahmed Sekou Touré, rightly or wrongly, of misdeeds, counter-revolutionary activities, middle-class attitude etc, were locked up and more often than not, executed, after all kinds of humiliation and tortures [Fr] including fatal privation of food and water (a torture called “diète noire” black fast),electroshocks, sexual violences, etc. According to international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, over 50.000 [Fr] lost their lives in Camp Boiro and similar places in Guinea. Mass graves are still being found all around Guinea.

Could you please state in which context this took place?
In 1958, the former colonial power, France, held a referendum offering African people a choice between staying within the frame of a French-African Community, or opting for independence. Guinea alone decided for independence at that time, which it got. France retaliated by severing all ties and investments, destroying buildings, and isolating Guinea. The leader of the Guinean splinter group of Rassemblement Démocratique Africain (“African Democratic Rally”), Ahmed Sékou Touré, a former trade unionist, embodied the African intellectuals and youth's ideals. A national union government was set up. Left wing intellectuals, Guineans from abroad, flocked home, wishing to help the young nation. But very soon the dream became a nightmare.

Sekou Touré set up a pyramidal political system, with a party cell in every village, city area, military barracks, school. Everywhere Guineans were to be found, they had to create one, even abroad. Each and every Guinean citizen was a «party member from birth to death». The whole country turned into a giant prison, called by some media a “Tropical goulag” [Fr]. To get out of Guinea, you needed an exit visa signed by the dictator himself, individually. A militia was created [Fr] and denouncement took hold, even within families.

On which grounds were people arrested and jailed in Camp Boiro ?

Any pretext was good enough to arrest and torture : an identity check while exiting a movie theatre, student protests, having a wife or a villa that appealed to a lord of the regime, etc. Most of the time, you were arrested without reason. In her memoir, «Grain de Sable” , Ms Nadine Barry recalls how she tried with her husband (who died in jail) to hide a bottle-opener whose handle sported an effigy of General de Gaulle, by burying it in their garden. Unfortunately, the heavy rains of Conakry unearthed it.

Has what went on in Camp Boiro been documented?

Global view of Camp Boiro - the arrow points to the location of the political prison block. Photo campboiro.org

A few books describe the conditions of detention in the camp [Fr]. The new prisoners were « conditionned », left for a few days without food and drink, then tried by the investigation committee. Without knowing for what the committee reproached them, they were asked to give away their accomplices, beaten, tortured with mechanical devices, forced to keep painful positions, cigarette butts were extinguished on their body, etc, until fainting or death. For days, they were asked to confess imaginary crimes : spying for the CIA or the French, receiving bribes, being a “fifth column agent”. As long as the victim did not confess, tortures did not stop. The confessions were then read by the victim on the radio, and were used to give a semblance of rationality for other arrests.

In 1976, Sekou Touré declared war on the Peul ethnic group [Fr], 40% of the nation's population. A brutal repression brought into prisons and graves thousands of innocent people, including the archbishop of Conakry, Mgr Raymond-Marie Tchidimbo [Fr].
An estimated third of the population had left the country when Sékou Touré died in 1984.

You are yourself Peul. How was your family affected by the repression?

One morning, in April 1971, in Rome, I told my wife that I had dreamt of my father being arrested. I didn't attach any importance to this. He never went to school and did not nurture any political ambition. But I had not been living in Guinea under the revolution for ten years. I believed more than ever in our revolution. It was simply unconceivable for me to think that it could arrest and jail any innocent person. I woke up one day, at the Guinean embassy in Rome, when the ambassador harassed me, calling me “a son of fifth column”.

Only later did I learn that my father had been arrested the very night of my dream, during the compulsory weekly party meeting - if a citizen didn't attend, he was not entitled his food ration.
My father was killed at Camp Boiro, but we do not exactly know when. Most probably during the night of October 17, 1971. He may have been tortured until his spine got broken, and “sacrificed” the same day. Sekou Touré's sorcerer is rumored to have advised the dictator to sacrifice a number of people with light complexion that day. Unfortunately, in Guinea, we Peul people are considered light-skinned.

What became of you and your family ?

My family was ordered to abandon our properties, and left only with what they were wearing. My mama, wanting to take her prayer-mat, was violently hurled in the staircase. Before independence, my father was a wealthy businessman. He had sent his father on a pilgrimage to Mecca and bought his first car (a Citroën sedan) in 1949. He started off by selling salt, which he carried on foot from the coast in the beginning, and traded it for kinkeliba, a local tea much liked in Guinea. His money and possessions were “nationalized”, by the same people who murdered him. After my father disappeared in Camp Boiro, friends kept clear from our family, for fear of being arrested as accomplices. Only one of my uncle gave the family shelter in his home.

The militia arrested my mama too, charging her with knowing my brother's whereabouts. She was released and she crossed the border with Sierra Leone on foot, risking her life, to be with him. From there, they had to flee again, to Ivory Coast, as the Sierra Leone regime supported Sekou Touré. We elder children fled the country. That is why today, my sisters and brothers are Canadian, French, American, Austrian, Italian and Senegalese citizens.

Are Guineans aware today of what was going on in Camp Boiro?

Unfortunately, in Guinea, the rightful « duty of memory » is hampered by an information gap. The country lacks education, training facilities. Cyber activism is also very limited, due to poor Internet connexion, electric power shortages, low incomes. Guinean history was falsified by the torturers and nostalgics of the so-called revolution. They praise the dictator's memory, Sekou Touré, who died in 1984 (in Cleveland, USA). His successor, military Chief of staff Lansana Conté, followed his tracks. Up to the death of Lansana Comté, last Christmas Eve, Sekou Touré's memory was celebrated every year by the government senior officials. The country’s presidential palace is named after him. Sékoutoureya means Sékou Touré's house.

This why the Association des victimes, set up by survivors and children of the victims, works at locating mass graves, returning the remains to their families, rehabilitating the victims, claiming possessions seized by the State. Our aim is to turn the Camp Boiro into a Memorial (for some photos of the camp, taken in 1999, see here) dedicated to the memory of the victims, especially the cabine technique “technical booth” where inmates were tortured, and the “Death's head”, where they were executed.

Since President Comté died, another coup has taken place in Guinea.

A bloodless military coup, this time, which brought to the presidency Captain Moussa Dadis Camara. He is educated, he was trained in a democratic country, and he is young enough not to be involved with former regimes. Our hopes for justice got a strong boost on March 24th, when the new President officially received members of our association in Conakry. The meeting was broadcast on national TV. During this meeting, President Dadis Camara asked forgiveness from the members of our Association and revealed that his own father was among the victims. While an encouraging development, however, this is only a first step in a longer process to reach national reconciliation.

Interview carried out on March 27.

Zot in Guinea, a Peace Corps volunteer, wrote about the feeling of optimism towards the new leader:

Guineans are generally pretty happy with the whole thing. The new president isn’t from any of the three major ethnic groups, which has eased ethnic tensions, and, perhaps most importantly for the general public, the power has been much more consistent since he took over. Most Guineans want change, and figure any kind of change is good.

And there is reason to hope that there will be good change.

For Seckasysteme [Fr], the reaction of the Guinean people to the coup is due to amnesia:

Pris comme dans une amnésie collective, le peuple Guinéen si longtemps opprimé pleure Lansana Konté et fait acte d'allégeance au chef de la Junte militaire autopropulsé Président de la république de Guinée.

[…] C'est à croire que le peuple Guinéen est fataliste et qu'il s'accommode très bien de son asservissement et de la misère dans laquelle l'a si longtemps maintenu ses chefs d'état successifs.

Widely condemned by the international community as unconstitutional, Guinea’s military junta is promising democratic elections at the end of 2010, which seems too far away for most commentators. But Zot in Guinea argues that it's not realistic to expect elections too soon:

… you cannot possibly know how impossible fair elections would be in a country like Guinea. There is no registration of voters to speak of. There is no identification system. If they set up polls, nothing would prevent the wealthier candidate from paying people to vote repeatedly. The infrastructure to handle and election is just nonexistent in this country. And it can take a long time to put together. […] I’m not saying I think the coup is necessarily a good thing, especially since I don’t know much about the president himself, and it is impossible to know whether the military will actually organize elections. But Guinea has been spiralling downward for some time under not just bad leadership, but a lack of leadership, and hopefully things will be different now.

Naija Pikin, a blogger from Nigeria, is sceptical about the democratic prospects offered by the new military junta:

Lets not be deceived. Guineans are happy with the junta because they were frustrated with Lansana Conte's government which for 24 years suffocated them down with poverty and oppression. They yearned for fresh air. In stepped Camara. Lansana came into power in 1984 via a military coup.

Camara is only threading a farmiliar path. Seize power, the whole world will condemn you. You promise to conduct elections in the soonest possible time. The world relaxes its pressure. Two years time you conduct a ‘democratic' election with you as the main or only candidate. You win a landslide.We know this song too well.

For Edward B. Rackley, an American scholar blogging about African affairs at Accross the divide, the coup in Guinea follows a familiar pattern:

With last week's passing of Guinea's senile dictator, Lansana Conté, and the military coup that followed, the country is marking no deviation from a well-rehearsed choreography, enacted repeatedly since independence from the French in 1958. The dance moves are economical, simple for new generations of political elites to learn.

A leader emerges, accedes power bolstered by populist rhetoric, buys off the military, installs single-party rule. Cronyism flourishes, rule of law evaporates, the military shores up the trappings of statehood. Decades pass; the population languishes. Leader then dies, military resumes control until a new leader-puppet is found. For nine million Guineans, the spectacle and squalor continue.

For Seckasysteme [Fr], once again history is repeating:

C'est à croire que l'histoire se répète pour le pauvre peuple Guinéen.

Des siècles d'esclavage et de colonisation, 27 longues années de Touréisme et 24 autres longues années de Kontéisme semblent ne pas suffire pour sortir le peuple Guinéen de l'obscurantisme, de la misère et de l'asservissement, pour le faire entrer dans la démocratie et la modernité.

Vraiment dommage que le débile Général n'ait pas emporté avec lui, sa dictature.

Africa News reports about the African Union's response:

The African Union (AU) has condemned the return of coups d’état to the continent, describing the phenomenon as “a very serious setback in the ongoing democratization process in Africa.

Abantu is a blogger that, like the AU, condemns the coup:

What is really wrong with us Africans? Cant we ever learn from past mistakes and take it upon ourselves to walk the democratic path on our own, or we are so used do disorder and dysfunction as the order of the day, the coups don't mean anything to us?

[…] The world should condemn this act by the Guinean military in the strongest terms possible and ensure that that bauxite producing state should return to a civilian democratic process because the military has no basis of interfering the management of political state affairs.

Neba Fuh of Voice of the Oppressed, a blogger from Cameroon, recently wrote about Guinea in a post titled “Military Coups In African Dictatorships: Liberation or Retrogression?“:

A country blessed with natural resources and its people caged by a dictator for over 24 years. Drowning in poverty for decades, the people are now holding tight to a 'snake' hoping that it can take them afloat.- A junior officer of the Military just seized power there after the death of the country's long time dictator- a move apparently welcomed by the populace.

Cameroun, Gabon, Congo, Egypt, Libya and many other African countries will one day have their ‘liberators'. They may come from barracks, who knows???

It will be called a ‘coup'; but the question all of us should ponder on is: In a country where all democratic methods to change a seasoned dictator have been barred or made impossible, is a military coup an act of patriotism or subversion?

For Sofa Jawaro of The sword of truth, a blogger from Gambia, it is important to give credit to the military junta for the sake of stability in a very volatile region:

…taking into consideration the timing of the coup, Conteh’s 24 year autocratic misrule, and endorsements by both a prominent regional player, President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal and constituents across the Guinean political landscape, it is imperative to give the situation the benefit of the doubt. That may be possible only by supporting the young military leaders to ensure that Guinea do away with its authoritarian past by reforming the fabrics of Guinean communities.

In a region that is already ravaged by bloody civil wars in Liberia, Sierra-Leone, Ivory Coast, low level insurgencies in the southern Senegalese region of Cassamance and northern Mali, isolating the military junta and suspension of aid could have an adverse impact on the sub-region. Guinea continues to be home to thousands of refugees from neighboring Liberia, Sierra-Leone, Ivory Coast and Guinea-Bissau

Conte had ruled Guinea with an iron fist for a quarter of a century.  His hold on power seemed to have weakened in recent years, during which he has lived largely a recluse, reportedly suffering from diabetes.

Guinea, with 10 million inhabitants, is the world's first producer of bauxite. It is also one of the poorest countries in the world despite its mineral resources.

The main question, as described by Le Pangolin, in an interview with Serge Michel, a Swiss journalist specializing in African affairs, is whether or not the situation will degrade into a blood bath:

“L'état de la Guinée est très mauvais. Le pays n'a pas été géré depuis des années. Il y a un vide au sommet de l'Etat. Le pouvoir n'était plus exercé par le Président mais par ses proches conseillers qui étaient d'ailleurs régulièrement renouvelés. De plus, le pays est rongé par une très grande corruption. Contrairement à beaucoup d'Etats africains, la Guinée n'a pas connu la guerre civile, pourtant, quand on voit l'état de délabrement dans lequel est le pays, on a l'impression que la guerre est passée par là. A Conakry, la capitale, les bâtiments tombent en ruine, la ville semble avoir été laissée à l'abandon. En ce qui concerne les institutions politiques, elles sont extrêmement faibles et n'ont pas la force de résister à une tentative de coup d'Etat. Les militaires ont un véritable boulevard devant eux. La question aujourd'hui est de savoir si la situation va dégénérer en bain de sang ou non.”

The coup was led by a previously unknown captain, Moussa Davis Camara, who cited “general corruption”, impunity and anarchy, economical catastrophes to justify the dissolution of the government and the suspension of the constitution.

“Nous sommes là pour promouvoir l'organisation d'élections présidentielles crédibles et transparentes d'ici la fin décembre 2010″, a ajouté le capitaine Camara. Mardi, lors de sa première allocution à la nation, il avait annoncé que ces élections auraient lieu d'ici deux mois. “

However the Prime Minister, Ahmed Tidiane Souare, has also said the government was still firmly in place and was preparing the funerals of the president.

France, the US and the rest of the international community have expressed their preference for a better political resolution than a coup.

“This seizure of power constitutes a flagrant violation of the Guinean constitution,” the African Union said in a statement.

On Aminata.com, Sambégou Diallo lifts the confusion and reports that “it is done”, Moussa Dadis Camara is now the third president of the republic of Guinea.

“Le cortège présidentiel vient de s'ébranler en direction de Kaloum. Il est exactement 15 heures TU. Les membres du Conseil national de démocratie et de développement ont préféré faire le tour de la capitale, passant par le centre commercial de Madina, puis Dixinn, Coléah, le Camp Almamy Samory, (dans Kaloum) avant de prendre la direction de Sekhoutoureya, et puis… et enfin le camp Koundara.

Le cortège devrait vraisemblablement revenir, après cette extraordinaire parade, revenir au palais de la Colombe pour installer le capitaine Moussa Dadis Camara dans ses nouvelles et exaltantes fonctions de président de la République.”

While newspapers report that the coup leaders are firmly in charge of the national broadcasting headquarters and are occupying many strategic buildings across the city, Guinean bloggers report that all is quiet :

Henri Willox says :

“Ici, dans la banlieue de Conakry, tout un chacun vaque à ses occupations et la vie se déroule comme d'habitude, sauf que nous avons encore de l'électricité alors qu'habituellement, elle est coupée vers six heures du matin.
Il n'y a pas eu un seul coup de feu de toute la nuit, et la population se dit plutôt heureuse de la prise du pouvoir par de jeunes militaires.”

Association des Ressortissants et Sympathisants de Fria reports the same quiet :

“Tout est calme à Fria, les gens se sont rendus au travail comme si c'était un jour normal. La plupart des commerces sont restés ouverts et il n'y a eu aucune précipitation, malgré quelques personnes désireuses de faire des provisions pour le réveillon de demain. Même les enfants ont voulu aller à l'école, mais ils ont été renvoyés à la maison. Les soldats sont dans les casernes et il n'y a pas de mouvement de troupes dans la ville.
L'annonce du décès a été faite vers 2 heures du matin. Ils ont attendu que les gens dorment pour éviter les rassemblements dans les rues. Mais la nouvelle a de toutes façons été accueillie presque dans l'indifférence. Les gens sont tellement fatigués à cause de la crise économique guinéenne et mondiale, qu'il n'y a pas eu de réaction excessive. “

One reader, Bali de Yeimberein, hopes for change :

“De manière succinte, il faut espérer que des militaires réellement épris de justice sociale, de paix et visionnaires arrivent aux affaires et garantissent une authentique transition en veillan à une TOTALE REFONDATION de la Guinée (ses institutions, leurs modes de fonctionnement mais surtout une nouvelle mentalité) le tout dans un environnement d'ETAT DE DROIT.
Ce sont des préalables à tout retour de la Guinée d'abord à une situation de PAYS (normal) puis, dans un second temps, se donner les chances de pénétrer le champ du concert des Nations.
Victime de prédation sans précédent, saignée à blanc, vidée de toutes ses ressources (agricoles, minières) dévoyée de ses ressources humaines, la Guinée risque de ne JAMAIS se remettre de CINQUANTE ANS de dictature et gabegie. Ces lignes seront-elles lues par un des futurs (?) responsables du pays?”

One blogger rejoices in Conte's passing :

“Enfin, le tyran est parti après 24 ans de règne. Délivrance générale !”

A feeling echoed by JT, a Global Voices reader:

“Now it is ended. Conte has died. That’s that. And now it begins. Now begins the hard work. Now the people of Guinea must seize their nation and their destiny. The oppressor is gone. Do not allow another dictator to take his throne. With much love and hope for the best for all of the people of Guinea,JT

Maintenant il est fini. Conte est mort. C’est ca.  Et maintenant il commence. Commence maintenant le dur labeur. Maintenant les personnes de la Guinée doivent saisir leur nation et leur destin. L’oppresseur est allé. Ne permettez pas à un autre dictateur de prendre son trône. Avec beaucoup d’amour et d’espoir pour le meilleur pour toutes les personnes de Guinée, JT”

Although Alseny Ndiaye wonders if the Guinean people's attitude, and Africans' in general, does not have a responsibility in turning their leaders into tyrants:

“Les africains en général et ceux de l’Ouest en particulier, ont une tendance exagérée à personnifier le pouvoir et à le diviniser. Cela se manifeste à tous les niveaux. Du jour au lendemain, un homme ordinaire, de par son arrivée au pouvoir, est perçu comme un envoyé de Dieu ; on lui crédite de pouvoirs extraordinaires, d’intelligence hors du commun, de visionnaire. On le cite dans les propos les plus banals voire farfelus. On lui attribue la paternité de toutes les idées jugées bonnes, de toutes les citations, de tous les projets. Imaginez un président inculte qui a de la peine même pour écrire son nom, et qui se retrouve subitement « auteur » d’une œuvre littéraire, philosophique voire économique !.”

Some readers of the daily French newspaper Le Monde worry that the fate of Guinea after their strong man's passing may predict other African countries' :
Turgot comments:

“Le pire est que ce qui se passe (de façon totalement prévisible) en Guinée est plus ou moins la reproduction de ce qui s’est passé en Côte d’Ivoire à la mort d’Houphouët (pas de succession préparée et guerre des héritiers) et préfigure ce qui se passera dans un certain nombre d’autres pays africains à la mort de leurs présidents: Cameroun (Biya), Gabon (Bongo), Tchad (Déby), et même peut-être Sénégal à la mort de Wade (encore que ce pays connaît un semblant de tradition démocratique).”