Guinea: Junta hits back at opposition

  1. Posted on Wednesday 25 November 2009 - 08:55
    KingsleyKobo
    Image of KingsleyKobo
    Kingsley Kobo, AfricaNews reporter in Abidjan, Ivory Coast
    Guinea's junta has hit back at the opposition in that country. In a sharp response to the opposition who had declared that Guinea's junta leader, Captain Dadis Camara, should not be allowed to run for presidential elections, Communication Minister Idrissa Cherif said Camara's candidacy is "not negotiable."
    Camara
    In a statement issued to reporters on Tuesday in Guinea’s capital Conakry, Cherif reinstated the junta’s stance as given in a radio broadcast on Sunday.

    "There are some issues which are not negotiable. One is President Camara's candidacy in new elections,” Cherif said in the statement, according to the AFP.

    "We will also not discuss the break-up of the CNDD (the junta’s ruling committee),” he added.

    This is thus bringing the political situation in Guinea to a deadlock.

    Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore, who is mediating in Guinea's crisis, last week met with members of the junta and officials from the opposition coalition, which comprises political parties, trade unions and the civil society.

    Campaore’s proposed peace deal allows junta’s leader, Camara, to remain in power and to be able to contest for an eventual presidential election.

    The opposition bloc last week rejected this deal saying it ignored the plight of the masses. And now the junta said their leader must go to polls.

    Further meetings are set to be held later this week between the Guinean parties and Compaore.

    Camara came to power in a bloodless coup on December 23 last year after the death of Lansana Conte, who had ruled the country since 1984.

    Government troops shot and killed hundreds of opposition protesters in a Conakry stadium on September 28 when they gathered to say no to Camara’s bid to run in a presidential election earlier slated for January 2010.

    The international community unanimously condemned the junta for killing innocent civilians and called the mineral-rich country’s political forces for a dialogue under Campaore.

Latest News

  1. AFCON: 46 hurt in Zambia victory celebrations09/02Over 40 casualty cases were recorded Wednesday night at Zambia's University Teaching Hospital (UTH) after post-match celebrations turned violent …
  2. African Peer Review Mechanism making progress08/02In 2003 the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), the continental development plan, initiated the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM…
  3. Combating HIV infections among African women08/02With a lack of knowledge and power, African women continue to bear the brunt of HIV infections.
  4. Legume cultivation booms in Western Kenya07/02Small Holder Farmers (SHFs) who traditionally relied on seed companies for all their seeds are now bulking their own legume seeds for their farms.
  5. Malawi vendors chase out Chinese07/02Vendors in Kalonga, the Northern district of Malawi, on Wednesday petitioned the District Commissioner to flash out all Chinese nationals who are doin…
  6. Zim: Informal sector urged to join HIV battle05/02While the Harare City council is busy engaging in running battles with city vendors, Health Minister has called for authorities to devise ways to form…
  7. Elections: Wole Soyinka warns Mugabe, Wade03/02The Nigerian Nobel Prize winner for literature said heads of states who are trying to cling to power suffer the same fate as the dictators who were sw…
  8. AU elections rescheduled for June in Malawi01/02Following a deadlock during Monday's African Union elections, with a tie between former wife to South African president Jacob Zuma, Home Affairs …
  9. Senegal in turmoil as protest intensifies01/02Hundreds of anti-government protesters Tuesday gathered in the central Dakar, Senegal to show their dissatisfaction over the incumbent president Abdou…
  10. Zimbabwe’s inflation still favourable -…01/02Zimbabwe's annual headline inflation still compared favourably with economies in the region, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono said o…
  11. AFCON 2012: Sudan qualifies after four decades31/01The Sudanese national team has sealed a historic win over the Stallions of Burkina Faso.
  12. Senegalese opposition to intensify protests31/01Opposition and civil society groups in Senegal have vowed to increase their fight against incumbent President Abdoulaye Wade's presidential bid.
  13. Malawi: Rights coalition condemn stripping of…30/01The 39 members of the Solidarity for African Women's Rights Coalition based in 18 African countries have vehemently condemned the stripping of wo…
  14. Kenya to deworm five million children annually30/01Kenya launched the second phase of its national deworming programme at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2012, aiming to treat 5 million childre…
  15. Benin’s Yayi Boni is AU’s new…30/01President Yayi Boni of Benin Republic has been elected chairperson of the African Union in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa
News archive