July 15, 1985

Guinea: the task before President Conte

by Ben Mensah

At the time of the military coup which followed the end of President Sekou Toure's bloody and long dictatorial rule, the fear was that the same Guinean people who had been denied their various freedoms would begin to make unnecessary demands on the new government.

In March 1984 when Brigadier General, then Colonel, Lansana Conte led the Guinean armed forces to seize power three days after the burial of President Ahmed Sekou Toure he promised not to shed any more blood after the bloody and harsh twenty-seven year dictatorship of the late President.

But today President Conte faces a quandary. An organised coup by Colonel Diara Traore, his former Prime Minister, against his government when he was in Lome, Togo, chairing a meeting of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was foiled through the vigilance of loyal members of the armed forces and Col. Conte is expected to punish the coup makers. In a statement, President Conte said, "eighteen people were killed and 229 wounded during the coup attempt and now those who killed or wounded innocent people I am going to kill them."

But then, in further statements, the President appears to be wary of his regime being indicted as bloody and is therefore going to ridiculous extents to explain that since the people who were killed during the coup also had a right to live, the coup plotters also needed to be shot. In addition to this explanation President Conte has also invited all those who would defend the rebels in the name of human rights to do so quickly.

In the light of these statements one wonders what sort of punishment President Conte would have meted out to Colonel Traore and his other conspirators if the coup attempt had been bloodless.

President Conte has said that he had advance information of the plot and even received a list of the top conspirators before he left Conakry for Togo to preside over the ECOWAS summit. He said the government deliberately allowed the plotters to show their hand while secretly planning swift action to crush the coup when it came.

The obvious sense in this strategy is that if the loyal forces had succeeded in eliminating Colonel Traore and his group in the process of quelling the coup it would have saved President Conte from the dilemma of having to justify the possible execution of the coup plotters to the international community. Unfortunately, Col. Traore survived the government's counter attack and even attempted to flee the country into safety and freedom somewhere. But the more regrettable side of this strategy is that as many as eighteen lives had to be lost and many others wounded in the coup attempt and the follow-up exercise to quell it.

On the day of the coup, Col. Traore and his men seized control of Radio Conakry and announced the formation of a Supreme State Council which he said would end nepotism and economic sabotage. Col. Traore described President Conte's rule as a period of total disappointment of intolerable disorder which had dashed the hopes of the Guinean people.

Apart from the insults hurled on President Conte who was subsequently declared "a citizen in exile" the reported rejoicing and shouting of "down with Lansana Conte, long live Col. Diarra Traore" by some Guineans has created an unnecessary atmosphere of tension and suspicion in the Guinean community. Above all, the government's counter attack against the coup-makers could have gone wrong and left Col. Traore firmly installed as the country's new leader.

At the time of the military coup which followed the end of President Sekou Toure's bloody and long dictatorial rule, the hopes and aspirations of the majority of Guineans and their well wishers from the international community were that the new rulers would restore the country to a liberal democracy where there is due respect for human rights. But there was also the fear that the same Guinean people who had long been denied their various freedoms by the late President Sekou Toure would make unnecessary demands on the new government.

Colonel Traore partly confirmed these fears when during his brief takeover of the country accused the military regime of being a total disappointment. He said: "In the face of the disintegration of the situation in the country, the Supreme Military Council believes it is its duty to take into its hands the destiny of the Republic of Guinea, because the hesitations of the last few months, the partisan struggles with some ethnic colouration, the emergence of egotistic interests and the lust for personal power have scandalously spoiled the credibility of the Republic of Guinea on the inter- national scene. Today, it is more than ever necessary to put an end to all the foot-dragging in making political, economic and in particular monetary decis- ions which are to launch the development of our country."

The message should be loud and clear to President Conte that the euphoria over the demise of the bloody and dictatorial Sekou Toure dynasty is over

The swiftness with which President Conte's ministers organised the resistance to the coup and the enthusiasm with which members of the armed forces crushed it testify to the popular support President Conte enjoys in the armed forces. It also reveals the selfish motives of the coup leader who as a member of the military government had to be demoted from his position as Prime Minister to Minister of Education.

But whatever punishment President Conte finally decides to mete out to Col. Traore and his co-conspirators, the message should be loud and clear to him that the euphoria over the demise of the bloody and dictatorial Sekou Toure regime is over. He should therefore utilise the increased flow of foreign goodwill currently enjoyed by his government from both local and international sources to bring about a modest improvement in the impoverished lives of his countrymen.

For, it is only through such meaning- ful measures, buttressed by a systematic promotion of a liberal society. which will continue to guarantee the people's support for President Conte and his government and also ensure that further coup attempts will be crushed by loyal forces.