Coup leader wants PM

2008-12-25 14:19

Conakry - The leader of a coup in Guinea called on Thursday for the prime minister to come out of hiding and present himself at the group's military barracks within 24 hours along with the country's other heads of government.

Renegade army Captain Moussa Camara said in a radio broadcast that the leaders of Guinea's government and armed forces were to go to the Alpha Yaya Diallo barracks.

Prime Minister Ahmed Tidiane Souare has not been seen in public since the coup was declared on Tuesday, but maintained in a telephone interview from an undisclosed location on Wednesday that he remained in control of the West African country.

"If tomorrow arrives without them presenting themselves, we will organise a search across the entire country," Camara said. He did not say what would happen if the leaders came voluntarily to the barracks or were found.

Funeral held for Conte

Camara, who has declared himself head of Guinea's 32-member interim government, was unknown to most Guineans until Tuesday, when he and other members of the military announced the coup shortly after the death of longtime dictator Lansana Conte.

In another sign the coup leaders were in control of Guinea, Camara promised a "grandiose funeral" on Friday for Conte. The group, which calls itself the National Council for Democracy and Development, also said it would ensure the security of visiting foreign heads of state and dignitaries.

Conte's body was to be brought to a stadium in Conakry on Friday morning and to the Grand Mosque for viewing before interment.

Until Conte's death Monday night, Guinea had been ruled by only two people since its 1958 independence from France. Conte first took power in a 1984 military coup after his predecessor's death, embarking on more than two decades of stern-handed, dictatorial rule.

He won presidential elections in 1993, 1998 and 2003, but the ballots were marred by accusations of fraud. In 2003, Conte secured 95% of the vote - an improbably high tally for a man many say was unpopular.

Initially the coup leaders promised elections within 60 days, but Camara later said the group would organise a presidential election in two years.

"As the head of the junta, I am reassured and convinced that I am the president of the republic," he told the nation in his address Thursday morning. "But it is not my intention to be a candidate in the election of December 2010. Because one should never have the ambition to become something which one is not."

On Wednesday, Camara paraded through Guinea's capital, Conakry, along with several thousand soldiers. Cautiously at first and then by the thousand, people lined streets to applaud Camara. It was the first time the capital's residents had ventured outdoors since the coup.

Those in Conakry showing support for the army takeover said they were ready for a change. Under Guinea's constitution, parliament leader Aboubacar Sompare was next in line to be president.

- AP