webGuinée

Ed Butler in Conakry
Guinea's military junta imports arms despite embargo

The Guardian
November 2nd, 2009

Guinea's military junta has imported millions of dollars worth of weapons in recent weeks, despite international sanctions imposed on the country after members of the presidential guard massacred at least 160 people at an opposition rally in September.

Light arms worth $45m (£27m) were flown into the country on 23 October in defiance of the embargo, according to local and diplomatic sources in the capital, Conakry.

Sources suggest the weapons were bought in Ukraine by the defence minister, Sékouba Konaté, during a recent private visit, and their arrival was supervised by a specially hired group of South African security advisers.

The South African newspaper Beeld alleges that as many as 50 mercenaries could be in Guinea working for the government and the president, Captain Moussa “Dadis” Camara, who seized power after a coup last December.

The atmosphere in Conakry is increasingly tense. Last week a city-wide strike was called. Most shops and banks closed to mark one month since the violent suppression of an anti-government rally at the national football stadium. Local human rights workers believe scores were killed when government soldiers, led by members of the presidential guard, opened fire on pro-democracy demonstrators at a stadium on 28 September.

Dozens of women were raped in a co-ordinated attack by the military, which prompted international outrage. A series of sanctions followed, including a freeze on assets and travel bans against the leaders of the junta.

Dadis disputes the number of dead, blaming rogue military elements for the violence, which he claims was provoked by the opposition. But he now appears to be an isolated figure, cancelling his weekly television appearances and refusing requests for media interviews. This may in part be due to a recent intimate profile by the French television channel France 24, in which Dadis was filmed in his pyjamas in the presidential bed. He shows the reporter his preferred bedtime reading, a book entitled The Power of Positive Thinking. French media have since been ejected from the country.

Dadis is now rarely seen on the streets. Sources in the military say he is becoming fearful of a counter-coup from within his own military. He is not alone. The chief of presidential security, Claude Pivi, who is believed to have personally supervised the September attack, now drives through town escorted by no fewer than seven battle wagons with anti-aircraft guns strapped to the back.

In the 50 years since it won independence from France, Guinea has never known a freely elected government. Analysts say the main fear of the junta is not unrest among the public, but a split within the military. To shore up support, Dadis has begun recruiting militia units from among his own Forestier ethnic group in the east of the country. He has promoted fellow Forestiers to senior positions in preference to those from other tribes.

The international political pressure is also testing nerves. Dadis has pledged to allow a team of UN investigators into the country, saying those responsible for the September massacre will face punishment. Some officers are said to fear that they will be made scapegoats.

“The army is deeply divided,” said Corinne Dufka, of Human Rights Watch. “Members of other tribal groupings within the military feel marginalised and many soldiers have personally told me they are horrified by the massacre, which they say was the work of a small minority.”

Members of the opposition coalition meanwhile continue to face the threat of arrest and violent assault. While leaders of the Forces Vives have agreed to participate in West African-led negotiations with the military junta, many still operate either from abroad or in hiding.

Britain, the US and France, as well as west African nations, are calling on Dadis to stand down. Presidential elections are due to be held in January. Dadis has so far refused to honour his pledge not to run.

The fear is that further conflict in Guinea could again spill over into neighbouring Liberia and Sierra Leone, which have only recently emerged from years of violent conflict. There are unconfirmed reports of former Liberian combatants joining Dadis's militias.

Mouctar Diallo, one of the leading opposition leaders, called on the foreign powers to rescue the country from Dadis. “We are asking the international community to help us to dismantle his ethnic militias,” he said. “The people of Guinea are in danger. We have the right and a duty to demand a humanitarian intervention.”