There has been an apparent military coup attempt in Guinea in the wake of the death of its President. But by the minute, the situation looks cloudy.
A military-led group seized control of the airwaves in Guinea and declared a coup Tuesday after the death of the mineral-rich West African country’s longtime dictator, but the prime minister insisted he remained in charge.
An Associated Press reporter saw three tanks and dozens of armed soldiers heading toward the prime minister’s office inside the country’s presidential compound.
The troops’ allegiance was not immediately apparent. But they appeared less than an hour after Prime Minister Ahmed Tidiane Souare announced in a state broadcast that he was inside his office and that his government had not been dissolved.
Earlier Tuesday, a group calling itself the National Council for Democracy began announcing its takeover on state-run radio and TV, just hours after longtime dictator Lansana Conte’s death was made public.
“The government is dissolved. The institutions of the republic are dissolved. … From this moment on, the council is taking charge of the destiny of the Guinean people,” said the coup leader, who identified himself as Capt. Moussa Camara.
Conte, who was believed to be in his 70s although the government never disclosed his birth date, was only Guinea’s second president since it gained independence from France a half-century ago.
The earlier Bloomberg story was more definitive, but noted a fact that could make instability in that country yet another financial wrinkle in an increasingly wrinkled world economy:
A group of Guinean army officers said it suspended the constitution and dissolved the government after the death of President Lansana Conte, who ruled the west African bauxite exporter for 24 years.
The action threatens to disrupt the economy of the country that has the world’s biggest reserves of bauxite, an ore used to make alumina, the raw material used to produce aluminum. United Co. Rusal, Rio Tinto Alcan Inc and Alcoa Inc. run bauxite and alumina operations in Guinea, while BHP Billiton Ltd. is considering developing an alumina refinery there.
A military group calling itself the National Council for Democracy and Development pledged to set up a government of national unity. Conte’s rule was marred by delayed elections, boycotted referendums, strikes and protests. Citizens of the country of 9.4 million people were advised to stay indoors.
But that was followed by a report saying the country’s Prime Minister insisted his government was not kaput:
Guinean Prime Minister Ahmed Tidiane Souare said on Tuesday that his government had not been dissolved, agencies’ reports said.
That came after radio broadcast from the Guinean capital of Conakry said a military coup followed the death of the president, forcing the government and the constitution to dissolve.
Souare told state radio that he is still in office with his government continuing its function.
Earlier in the day, a group of men in military uniform appeared at state radio and TV broadcasting stations, making the announcement of the suspension of the constitution and the government.
“From today on, the constitution is suspended, and so are all political and group activities …the government and republican institutions are dissolved,” said Capt. Moussa Camara, spokesman for a self-claimed National Council for Democracy.
Earlier, the BBC had released a report indicating there had been widespread fears that the President’s death would mean the military could move in:
The sunshine in Conakry does not reflect the mood of anxiety hanging over Guinea’s capital city.
People are worried.
The death of a president, especially one who has brought the country to its knees, might be a reason to celebrate.
“I cannot be a 100% happy over the death of someone,” one woman told me.
But she said she could not mourn President Lansana Conte, “given what he did to his people – his own people”.
She added that she wanted to see a new civilian president, not soldiers, in charge.
It is the intervention by the army that residents in the capital really fear.
They want to know if the army is united behind its decision to suspend the constitution and take power within hours of the announcement of Gen Conte’s passing.
Meanwhile, the African Union announced that it will hold a meeting to discuss the “illegal attempt” by some military officers to take over the country — and the wording of this story again indicates how initial reports about a completed coup could prove to be premature:
The African Union says it will hold a crisis meeting to discuss an ‘illegal’ attempt by military officers to organize a coup in Guinea.
The announcement came immediately after an army officer, identified as Captain Moussa Camara, declared the dissolution of the government on Tuesday following the overnight death of President Lansana Conte.
“If the army coup is confirmed, it is a flagrant violation of the constitution and of African legality which absolutely forbids unconstitutional changes of government,” AFP quoted Peace and Security Commissioner Ramtane Lamamra as saying.
Guinea is a major place on the map in the creation of aluminum. Alcoa has interests there. From its website:
Alcoa is present in Guinea as a 45% shareholder of Halco Mining, a partnership which owns 51% of Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinee (CBG). CBG, a partnership with the Government of Guinea, has exclusive rights to mine bauxite in Guinea’s Sangaredi Plateau. In addition to mining in Sangaredi, CBG operates a port in Kamsar for drying and shipping bauxite to refineries worldwide. Alcoa also supports the local Guinea community through healthcare and library programs funded by the Alcoa Foundation.
In 2005, Alcoa and Alcan signed a Basic Agreement with the Government of Guinea that sets a framework for the development of a 1.5 million metric tonne per year alumina refinery with further expansion potential. Since that time the two companies have held consultations with the Government and key communities, conducted environmental assessments of potentially affected areas, and developed resettlement plans for residents potentially affected by the project.
UPDATE: The New York Times now reports:
Within hours of the death of the authoritarian President Lansana Conté, a hitherto unknown military-led group said it had seized power in the West African state of Guinea on Tuesday, claiming it had suspended the Constitution and government, according to news reports.
But, soon afterward, the government denied the claim. Prime Minister Ahmed Tidiane Souare said in a state broadcast that he was speaking from his office and that his government “continues to function as it should,” The Associated Press reported.
The prime minister was responding to statements by a uniformed army officer, who was reported as announcing on state television and radio that a group calling itself the National Council for Democracy and Development was “taking charge of the destiny of the Guinean people.” “The constitution is dissolved,” the officer was quoted as saying. “The government is dissolved. The institutions of the republic are dissolved.” Adding to the sense of confusion and crisis, the A.P. said one of its reporters saw tanks and troops heading toward the prime minister’s office, located in the presidential compound in the capital, Conakry.
The claimed coup attempt mirrored Mr. Conté’s own rise to power in a military takeover in 1984, following the death of his predecessor, Ahmed Sekou Toure. Mr. Sekou Toure had ruled with an iron fist since the country’s independence from France in 1958.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.