Guinea rivals sign deal
2010-01-16 09:13
Ouagadougou - Guinea's political rivals on Friday agreed to set up an interim government and hold elections in six months in a deal to end a political crisis exacerbated by the ruling junta's brutal crackdown on opponents.
The pact said ailing junta chief Captain Moussa Dadis Camara should effectively remain in exile, following a December 3 assassination attempt that led to him being hospitalised in Morocco. Camara is now in Burkina Faso.
The accord was signed by Camara, interim junta chief General Sekouba Konate, and Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore who is mediating between the ruling junta and the opposition.
The pact provides for a national council of transition and a unity government before polls are held "in six months."
A statement said Camara, who was shot in the head by an aide-de-camp in December following an alleged dispute over a bloody crackdown on an opposition rally in which more than 150 people were shot dead, "will remain available to help the players in the transition," adding he should be "in convalescence."
Camara, in his first public appearance since the assassination attempt, appeared thin and a large scar was visible on the right side of his head. He walked slowly, but without help.
The pact said the proposed unity government would be led by a prime minister and composed of a cabinet from the Forces Vives coalition of opposition parties, trade unions and civil society.
The agreement also called for civil and military observers from the regional Economic Community of West African States bloc to be deployed.
The names of two men - opposition figure Jean-Marie Dore and unionist Rabiatou Serah Diallo were proposed by the Forces Vives coalition, Mamadou Bah Baadiko, the head of the Union of Democratic Forces told AFP.
"We could not agree to a sole candidate and so we proposed two names," he said.
Dore hailed the pact but stressed that interim leader "general Sekouba Konate should be given the space to manoeuvre to institute reforms and achieve a peaceful transition."
Hours before the agreement was signed, the ruling junta pledged "peace and security" to civilians and especially political leaders.
"We wish to reassure national and international opinion that peace in the country and the security of the civilian population, and of their property, particularly political leaders, will be guaranteed across the whole territory," the minister for presidential security, Claude Pivi, said in a broadcast.
"The process of democratisation begun for a calm transition towards a happy end to the crisis rests and remains the main preoccupation of the CNDD" - the National Council for Democracy and Development - Pivi added in his broadcast message.
"We commit ourselves to making democratisation a reality in Guinea. To succeed, we ask for the contribution and the willing cooperation of all citizens," concluded Pivi, who is close to junta leader Camara.
Several Guinean politicians and France and the United States have expressed fears that if Camara returns to Guinea, the west African country could plunge into civil war.
Guinea, one of the world's top bauxite producers, has been mired in a political crisis sparked by a military coup led by Camara on December 23, 2008.
Unrest worsened when troops massacred more than 150 people at an opposition rally in September last year, according to UN figures. Hundreds more were wounded and women and young girls were publicly raped.
A recent UN report on the massacre in Guinea's capital Conakry named Camara as a suspect and accused the army of "crimes against humanity."
The International Criminal Court said Friday a visit by its deputy prosecutor Fatou Bensouda to investigate the stadium incident, planned for next week, would be postponed for "logistical reasons."
