Haruna
 
No need to talk you down as your instincts on this whole saga are pertinent and accurate. Because of its political culture, the military in La Guinea are generally incompetent in the rudiments of the rule of law, and the pronouncements on that front are legitimately regarded as "clueless".  
 
Our fundamental difference may lie in the related issues of whether what occurred in La Guinea was necessary, or avoidable. May be unnecessary, but the analysis on that point is neither here nor there. 
 
A fifty year history of political lawlessness cannot avoid a vacuum when the only operator of the state machine suddenly collapsed at the controls. As Conte embodied the institutions of La Guinea, Guineans are cheering because they are missing nothing in the demise of a kleptomaniac brute. 
 
What you must now research is why an individual can so easily exercise such stranglehold on a whole nation. 
 
And what is it about the presidency that affords a common criminal the ability to garner and maintain a veneer of respectability? 
 
In the interim, you must go to bed as it is quite late in the State of Georgia.
 
 
 
 
 
 
LJDarbo
 
 

--- On Fri, 26/12/08, Haruna Darbo <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

From: Haruna Darbo <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Captain Moussa Dadis Camara seems to be receiving the goodwill of Guineans
To: [log in to unmask]
Date: Friday, 26 December, 2008, 6:35 AM




#yiv555109025 .hmmessage P
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Perhaps still in shock and awe.
 
JDAM and Jados, it appears the coup leader is sincere in his pronouncements. He has also since appointed the army chief of staff General Diarra Camara to the governance council whose number has now swelled to 32 from the initial 26. Even though no bloodshed or hardship is good for La Guinea, and the young captain seems to receive the support of Guineans, I am not convinced it is necessary for him to seize power and appoint army commanders to replace governors of the communes. It seems to me this arrangement will represent a severe waste of time for La Guinea. He is silent on legislative elections and he promises presidential elections in 2010 which he promises not to take part in. It doesn't sound good. Any interim government the military might put together cannot replace a duly elected legislature. Meanwhile the judiciary will continue to languish in the doldrums.
 
The following caught my attention: "We must hold an election, free and transparent, in a dignified way to honour Guinea, to honour the Guinean army. The future of our country is peace, freedom, reconciliation," said the army officer, little known before the coup.
 
I wonder if the captain means what he said in that the idea of the elections (in 2010?) is to honour "the Guinean army" or if he misspoke? The captain also says that after the elections, then they will fight injustice, nepotism, and corruption. He seems clueless to me and I wonder how the military is going to fight these things when the military ostensibly has been the culprit in most of these malfeasances for the past decade or two? And why begin these fights after the presidential elections of 2010?
 
JDAM, I almost yielded to your urging until I read what this man is saying. Can you make any sense out of this? Do you suppose the captain indemnifies his military in the crimes of Lansana? God knows I want to join the people of La Guinea in the euphoria but I think they are in temporary trans. When they finally come to, they will begin to demand legislative elections all over again. And why keep the presidency scheduled at 2010? I am torn between giving this guy the benefit of doubt and bearing on sobriety. Just from his own pronouncements. I don't think he put much thought into this coup. It seems to be a hazard and opportunistic coup. And there was no need for a coup from the military.
 
As Rachel Maddow would say, I'm gonna need to be talked down Jados and JDAM.
Jesus friggin Christ. I thought La Guinea's problems were ending.
 
Guinea junta leader says will not cling to power 
26 Dec 2008 03:24:24 GMT 
Source: Reuters
By Saliou Samb 
CONAKRY, Dec 26 (Reuters) - Guinea's new military ruler said on Friday he had no intention of clinging to power and that it was vital to stamp out nepotism in the West African country. 
Captain Moussa Dadis Camara's junta was endorsed by deposed Prime Minister Ahmed Tidiane Souare on Thursday, but Washington condemned the coup in the world's biggest exporter of aluminium ore bauxite and demanded an immediate return to civilian rule. 
"We are patriots ... We have no intention of clinging on to power," Camara, whose junta has promised to hold an election in two years' time, said in comments broadcast by France 24 TV. 
"We must hold an election, free and transparent, in a dignified way to honour Guinea, to honour the Guinean army. The future of our country is peace, freedom, reconciliation," said the army officer, little known before the coup. 
"After that, the most important thing is to fight injustice, nepotism, in order to take up the challenge of relaunching the economy of our country." 
The coup went ahead in the political vacuum caused by the death on Monday of President Lansana Conte, the diabetic chain-smoking general who had ruled the former French colony with an iron fist since seizing power in 1984. 
Camara, chosen on Wednesday to lead the 32-member National Council for Democracy and Development junta, has vowed to fight the corruption that he said had become endemic under Conte's rule. He says he will not stand in the planned election. 
U.S. CONDEMNATION 
The United States said the military in Guinea must work with civilian leaders to swiftly restore civilian rule. 
"The United States condemns the military coup ... We reject the announcement by elements of the Guinean military that elections will not be held for two years and we call for an immediate return to civilian rule," said a U.S. statement. 
"The human rights of all citizens must be respected, particularly those of Prime Minister Souare and the members of his government," it said. 
On Thursday, Souare and several of his ministers reported to the Alpha Yaya Diallo military base in the capital Conakry, as instructed by the junta, which on Wednesday replaced regional chiefs appointed by Conte with military commanders. 
"Mr President, members of the National Council for Democracy and Development, we thank you and we put ourselves at your disposal," Souare told Camara in comments carried by Radio France International. 
The soldiers who mounted the coup appeared unopposed in their control of Conakry. 
Many businesses were closed in the capital on Thursday and soldiers patrolled the streets, though roadside vendors were working as normal and people and cars moved freely. 
Mining operations have not been affected by the coup. 
International companies including Rio Tinto <RIO.L>, Alcoa <AA.N> and United Company Rusal mine in Guinea for bauxite, the raw material for aluminium. 
The United Nations, African Union and European Union have also condemned the junta's takeover -- the most recent failure of democracy in Africa after a coup in Mauritania in August and post-election violence in Zimbabwe, Kenya and Nigeria. 
France, which holds the six-month rotating presidency of the EU until next month, called for an election to be held soon.¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html 
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