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The ruling junta in Guinea is faced with a difficult choice: to keep ousted President Alpha Condé in detention, ignoring international requests for leniency, or to release a powerful leader who could take revenge.
A recent military coup put an end to Condé’s reign in the West African country, after months of tension over his decision to run for a third presidential term last year.
Special forces led by Lt. Col. Mamady Doumbouya rebelled on September 5, attacking the presidential palace and capturing Condé, 83.
They quickly dissolved the government and installed a military junta, citing rights violations under Conde.
But the coup drew widespread diplomatic outrage and led to calls for the immediate release of Condé, notably from the United Nations, the African Union and the West African bloc of ECOWAS.
Guinea’s ruling army has vowed to keep the former leader safe, but their plans for Condé are unclear.
The ex-president’s political opponents seem to want him to remain under lock and key, wary of his fierce reputation and close ties to certain African leaders.
“We believe that Mr. Alpha Condé should initially stay with the junta, for security reasons – for Guinea, but also for himself,” said Abdoulaye Oumou Sow, spokesperson for the opposition collective. FNDC.
Map of Guinea. By Gillian HANDYSIDE (AFP) “We all know the friendship he maintains with certain heads of state in the sub-region. We know that he is rich and has all the means to want to come back to power,” he added.
Former prime minister and opposition figure Cellou Dalein Diallo also said Condé’s release could be problematic.
“Knowing Mr. Alpha Condé, I’m not sure he can stay calm,” he told AFP.
Free ‘in principle’
ECOWAS envoys, sent to Conakry, the capital of Guinea following the coup, saw Conde on Friday and reported him in good health.
It was the first news from the former president since the day of the coup, when a video showed a crumpled-looking Condé sitting on a sofa, in jeans and a partially unbuttoned shirt, surrounded by troops.
After the visit of the delegation of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the deputy of the Guinean Minister of Foreign Affairs Fanta Cissé evoked an agreement “in principle” to release Condé.
She said it was “difficult to respond immediately to a request” for the ex-president’s release, but “the principle is recognized.”
The question is sensitive and raises questions about what will happen to Condé after his release and if he will stay in Guinea.
An official close to the ECOWAS delegation said Condé had insisted that he “is still the president” and must be reinstated.
” Reckoning ”
Condé became the first democratically elected president of Guinea in 2010 and was re-elected in 2015.
But last year, Condé passed a new constitution that allowed him to run for a third term in October 2020.
The move sparked mass protests in which dozens of protesters were killed. Condé won the election, but the political opposition maintained that the ballot was a sham.
Many Guineans hold the former president responsible for the violence.
FNDC Abdoulaye Oumou Sow said there must be a “right to justice, a right to restitution”.
Asmaou Diallo, member of an association representing victims of a 2009 massacre, said she wanted Condé to be tried.
The ex-president let the victims down, she said, referring to the lack of investigation into a massacre that saw the troops of former army strongman Moussa Dadis Camara kill in less 157 protesters and raping dozens of women.
Diallo said she hopes junta leader Doumbouya will keep his post-coup pledge that justice will be the “compass that guides every citizen.”
Condé must “be held responsible because impunity must end,” she said.
However, Souleymane Keita, a member of the RPG party of Condé, warned against “settling of scores”.
“Of course, Mr. Condé must be released unconditionally. Good governance and justice were the credos of our policy, ”he said.
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