Pressure mounts on junta

2009-10-19 09:02

Conakry - Guinea's junta chief has postponed an announcement on whether he will stand for president, an official said Sunday, as a top UN diplomat arrived in the country to lead an international probe into the massacre of opposition supporters last month.

Junta leader Moussa Dadis Camara has come under mounting international pressure to step down following the massacre in September of scores of demonstrators at a Conakry stadium who were demanding he relinquish power.

The African Union had given Camara until midnight Saturday to promise in writing not to stand in the January 2010 presidential election, as he had vowed when he seized power last December.

A failure to comply could lead to sanctions, with the body's Peace and Security Commissioner Ramtane Lamamra again raising that possibility after Camara said he wanted to discuss his standing for election.

"Legally speaking, the deadline has expired but politically, we are still working to put pressure on the junta. It's the result that matters most," Lamamra said, urging support for top mediator Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore.

Unwilling to comply

"We are waiting to hear back from Compaore to see whether or not the junta is changing its position... If he tells us that they are sticking to their guns, then sanctions will be enforced," Lamamra added.

On Saturday, a summit of the 15-country Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), which has already suspended Guinea as a member, slapped an arms embargo on the country after the junta sought to buy more weapons.

France hailed the summit as a success, with Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner saying that "the killers and rapists must be identified, tried and punished, as well as those who ordered these acts," according to a statement.

But Guinea's Foreign Minister Alexandre Cece Loua said Camara was still unwilling to comply with demands to stand aside, and was instead calling for international mediation.

He said Camara wrote to Ecowas requesting further mediation with Compaore. "He is not refusing (to sign a written pledge) but is asking for the question to be reviewed by the mediator," the minister said.

International investigation

Concerning the AU deadline: "It wasn't an ultimatum," he insisted. "It was an appeal not to stand in the elections."

Sanctions "won't solve the Guinean question. We must seek a way to get the parties around the negotiating table. Sanctions are not a solution," said Cece Loua.

Aside from sanctions, Camara is also facing international investigations over the September 28 massacre.

UN Assistant Secretary General Haile Menkerios, who has mediated in hot spots throughout Africa, arrived in Conakry early Sunday and was scheduled to meet Camara, who took power in a bloodless coup in December, as well as opposition figures.

The United Nations announced Friday it would set up a panel to probe the recent violence and alleged human rights violations, including public rape, at the rally at a stadium in the capital on September 28.

At least 157 people were killed when government troops opened fire on demonstrators at the football stadium, according to rights groups. The junta says 56 people died.

Increasing pressure

Local rights groups also say 1 200 people were injured, including many women who were raped by soldiers during the crackdown.

The junta has come under increasing pressure over the crackdown, with the International Criminal Court in The Hague also investigating.

Camara has said he is "very, very sorry" for the killings, but has also sought to distance himself from the events, saying he could not control the army.

The junta itself on Saturday appointed a commission to investigate the killings, with slots allotted to judges, lawyers, doctors as well as pro-junta and opposition political parties and members of human rights groups.

However, leaders of numerous civil and human rights groups, as well as opposition groups have declared their intention to boycott the commission.

West African leaders fear the crisis in Guinea - the world's top bauxite exporter - could erupt into civil war and destabilise the region.

- AFP