Guinea commemorated the 51st anniversary of its independence on Friday against the backdrop of an internal crisis between the controversial ruling junta and the opposition coalition.
The junta is facing several condemnation worldwide following the killing of over 150 people in the wake of the bloody repression against a protest rally convened on 28 September by the country’s opposition parties and civil society organizations that reject Moussa Dadis Camara’s candidacy for the 2010 presidential polls.
Speaking on Thursday night in a broadcast address, Captain Dadis extended a fresh olive branch to the opposition to form a unity government.
However, he no longer seems a reliable negotiator in the eyes of opposition leader Alpha Conde and his peers.
They all claim the withdrawal of the ruling junta and the setting up of an international fact-finding commission to shed light on the 28 September events as well as on the January-February 2007 incidents in the country.
After 51 years of independence, Guinea is still struggling, though it has been the single colony within the French West Africa (AOF) to object to the 28 September 1958 Referendum convened by former French President Charles De Gaulle.
From a 26-year dictatorship under Sekou Toure to another 24-year autocratic regime led by late General Lansana Conte, Guinea falls once again under military leadership.
Dadis Camara’s junta had pledged to establish a civilian leadership in the country through fair and transparent election.
However, less than nine months since he becoming president, Dadis Camara changed his mind, as he is in “a dilemma,” he said.
He then displayed his political ambitions, saying “if the overwhelming majority of the citizens approve his candidacy, he will see no obstacle to his contesting the January presidential polls”.
Such vague plan subsequently spurred the opposition coalition to convene a protest rally on Monday at the country’s biggest stadium to voice up their negative stand to President Dadis Camara’s candidacy.
In his Thursday address, the junta leader recognized that the celebrations of the Independence Day “occur in a difficult context”.
He appealed for dialogue, despite the internal divergences, for the achievement of a successful transition.
Many observers feel that the junta has disqualified itself from carrying out this transition, after the excessive use of security forces to repress a demonstration by the opposition coalition.
The death toll of the killings reportedly exceeds 150 people, according to Conakry-based human rights organizations.
Source African Press Agency
