CONAKRY — Guinea's ruling junta on Saturday ruled out
exile for detained former president Alpha Conde and said transition towards
civilian rule would be done in accordance with "the will of the
people".
اضافة اعلان
The statement from the ruling council came in defiance of
international pressure for Conde's release and a six-month timetable for
elections after a coup on September 5 sparked global condemnation.
It also followed the visit on Friday of a mission from
ECOWAS led by two heads of state from the 15-member West African bloc.
Mamady Doumbouya, the colonel who
led the coup, told the
visiting delegation that "it was important for ECOWAS to listen to the
legitimate aspirations of the people of Guinea," said a junta spokesman,
Colonel Amara Camara, at the ruling council's first press conference on the
six-month deadline.
Doumbouya stressed the need not to repeat the "mistakes
of the past", recalling that national consultations to outline the
transition had begun on Tuesday and that "only the sovereign people of
Guinea will decide its destiny", Camara said.
"It is also clear to all parties that the former
president will remain in Guinea," he added.
During their visit, the Ghanaian head of state Nana
Akufo-Addo, whose country holds the rotating presidency of ECOWAS, and his
Ivorian counterpart Alassane Ouattara, presented the junta with the
organisation's demands for elections within six months.
They also insisted on the release of Conde.
"We had very frank, fraternal talks with Colonel
Doumbouya and his associates and collaborators and I think that ECOWAS and
Guinea will find a way to walk together," Akufo-Addo said at the end of
the visit.
The ruling council, which now designates Doumbouya as
"President of the Republic and Head of State", said that the
consultation sessions scheduled for Friday with banks, insurance companies and
unions would be held on Saturday.
This consultation will continue next week, it announced,
including Monday meetings with cultural actors, press associations and those
within the informal sector.
The military has already held talks with political parties,
religious leaders, the heads of mining companies, key players in this poor but
resource-rich country, and other figures.
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