Junta may cling to power

2009-11-12 09:02

Ouagadougou - Guinea's ruling junta late on Wednesday presented proposals for the creation of a transitional government that would keep junta chief Captain Moussa Dadis Camara in place.

The proposals were passed to Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore who is mediating in talks with the country's opposition in Ouagadougou, after forces loyal to the junta on September 28 massacred more than 150 people.

The killings took place at a rally in a Conakry stadium, organised to urge Camara not to stand in elections planned for January.

In a 10-page document, junta representatives proposed a prime minister appointed by consensus "under the authority of the president Moussa Dadis Camara", Idrissa Cherif, special adviser to the junta chief, said.

Cherif is one of a 26-member delegation sent by the junta to have talks with Compaore, who met the opposition last week. The team from the National Council for Democracy and Development (CNDD), as the junta has called itself, is led by the CNDD permanent secretary, Colonel Moussa Keita.

Last week Guinea's opposition held discussions with Compaore and called for the dissolution of the junta, which seized power late last year, and the departure of Camara.

The opposition says that at least 157 people died in the massacre and more than 1 200 were injured, including women who were raped in public, while the junta admits that 56 people were killed and has announced an inquiry, in parallel with one to be undertaken by the United Nations.

Since the killings, the opposition has systematically refused to have any dealings with the junta.   

- SAPA