Coup brings hope to Guinea

After a military coup in Guinea in December, the United States, European countries, the Economic Community of West African States and the African Union condemned the arbitrary seizure of power.

But within Guinea itself, the coup led by Capt. Moussa Camara, a French-educated soldier, drew widespread support.

“The public was reacting to 24 years of dictatorial rule, with elections in between simply a facade for clinging to power,” Sidya Toure, a former Guinean prime minister who heads the United Republican Front party, said in an telephone interview from the Guinean capital of Conakry.

Mr. Toure resigned his office in 1999, saying the government of Lansana Conte had failed to address corruption. Mr. Conte died in December after 24 years in power.

“Africans most always react positively to coups carried out against autocratic regimes, only to be disappointed later with soldier rule,” said Chris Fomunyoh of the National Democratic Institute, a group affiliated with the U.S. Democratic Party that sponsors democracy promotion efforts abroad.

Joseph Sala, a former State Department official on Africa, said a coup in Mauritania earlier last year provoked a similar reaction - international condemnation despite widespread domestic support.

In condemning the military takeover in Guinea, the African Union acted under the Algiers declaration of 2001, which requires automatic suspension of AU membership of nations whose leaders come to power in undemocratic ways. Western nations and West African economic community followed suit.

Mr. Conte’s dictatorial rule was preceded by another autocratic regime, that of Ahmed Sekou Toure (no relation to the former prime minister), who died in office in 1984.

Furthermore, Guinea was burdened in the 1990s by wars in neighboring Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Charges of systemic corruption compounded public dissatisfaction and contributed to its readiness to give soldiers a chance to turn things around, given their promise of early elections and civilian rule.

“The public’s support should be taken as a limited approval - no more than 12 months,” Mr. Toure said.

The country has been saddled with dictatorial rule since independence in 1958, when Sekou Toure became the only French colony leader to reject French President Charles de Gaulle’s offer of independence in exchange for continued association with France.

As a result, Guinea was cast adrift by Paris. Sekou Toure aligned the country with the Soviet Union and ruled until his death in 1984. The pro-Western Mr. Conte led a military government that took over.

Despite the trappings of democracy, Mr. Conte ruled with an iron hand until he died in December after a long illness. Within hours, Capt. Camara announced that he had taken over, saying he wanted to avoid a continuation of the old order.

The move subverted the constitutional order, which called for the president of the National Assembly, Abubacar Somare, to succeed to the highest office.

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