Guinea’s governing board faces a difficult decision: to detain the ousted president, Alpha Conde, by ignoring international demands for clemency or to release a powerful leader who can take revenge.
A recent military coup ended Conde’s government in the West African country, after months of tension over its decision to seek a third presidential term last year.
Special forces led by Lieutenant Colonel Mamady Doumbouya rebelled on September 5, attacking the presidential palace and capturing the 83-year-old Conde.
They quickly dissolved the government and installed a military junta, citing abuses of rights under Conde.
But the coup sparked widespread diplomatic outrage and sparked the demand for Conde’s immediate release, including the United Nations, the African Union and the ECOWAS West African bloc.
Guinea’s ruling army has pledged to keep the former leader safe, but his plans for Conde are unclear.
The former president’s political opponents seem to want him to remain under lock and key, wary of his fierce reputation and his close ties to some African leaders.
“We believe that Mr. Alpha Conde should initially stay with the Board, for security reasons, for Guinea, but also for himself,” said Abdoulaye Oumou Sow, a spokesman for the opposition FNDC.
“We all know the friendship he has with some heads of state in the subregion. We know he is rich and has all the means to want to return to power,” he added.
Former Prime Minister and opposition figure Cellou Dalein Diallo also said Conde’s release could be problematic.
“I know Mr. Alpha Conde, I’m not sure he can keep calm,” he told AFP.
– Free “in principle” –
ECOWAS envoys, sent to the Guinean capital, Conakry, after the coup, saw Conde on Friday and informed him that he was in good health.
It was the former president’s first news since the day of the coup, when a video showed a crumpled-looking Count sitting on the couch, in jeans and a partially unbuttoned shirt, surrounded by troops.
After the visit of the delegation of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Guinea’s Foreign Minister Fanta Cisse spoke of an agreement “in principle” to release Conde.
He said it was “difficult to respond immediately to a request” to release the former president, but that “the principle is recognized.”
The issue is sensitive and raises questions about what will happen to Conde after he is released and whether he will stay in Guinea.
An official close to the ECOWAS delegation said Conde had insisted that “he is still the president” and that he should be reinstated.
Mahamat Saleh Annadif, the UN special representative in the region, was in Guinea on Monday, according to a UN official who requested anonymity.
– “Resolution of results” –
Conde became the first democratically elected president in Guinea in 2010 and was re-elected in 2015.
But last year, Conde pushed for a new constitution that allowed him to run for a third term in October 2020.
The movement sparked mass demonstrations in which dozens of protesters were killed. Conde won the election, but the political opposition maintained that the poll was a farce.
Many Guineans hold the former president responsible for the violence.
Abdoulaye Oumou Sow, of the FNDC, said there must be a “right to justice, a right to restitution.”
Asmaou Diallo, a member of an association representing victims of a 2009 massacre, said he wanted Conde to stand trial.
The former president defrauded the victims, he said, referring to the lack of investigation into a massacre that saw the troops of former army strongman Moussa Dadis Camara kill at least 157 protesters and rape dozens of women.
Conde must “take responsibility because impunity must end,” he said.
However, Souleymane Keita, a member of Conde’s RPG party party, warned against “resolving the results”.
“Naturally, Mr Conde must be released unconditionally. Good governance and justice were the credos of our policy,” he said.
lal-bm / sst / eml / gd