Not to pick on West Africa this week, but another human rights drama is currently unfolding in Guinea, where the military opened fire with live rounds into a crowd of 50,000 pro-democracy protesters on Monday. While the military government claims that only 57 people were killed, mainly due to trampling, local rights groups are placing the death toll at 157 killed and another 1,200 wounded. Opposition leaders are claiming that some soldiers went further and specifically targeted demonstrators as they attempted to flee and later raped women in the streets in retaliation. Dozens have been arrested following the protest, including opposition politicians and human rights activists, though many have since been released. The clash is just the latest sign of growing tensions in the West African state.
The tension stems from the political situation following a bloodless military coup in December 2008. Many in Guinea were happy about the coup when it happened, as it averted the expected power struggle between various army factions. The man who took control, Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, also promised to hold election within 60 days and not run for office himself leaving many optimistic about the future of democracy in Guinea. But since then, elections have not been held and Camara has reversed his position on running for office. As a result, tensions between opposition leaders and pro-democracy groups have steadily risen with the military junta.
But the violent incident on Monday has brought new attention to the situation, and not in the favor of the junta. The African Union Commission stated that it, “strongly condemns the indiscriminate firing on unarmed civilians, which left dozens dead and many others injured, while serious other violations of human rights were committed,” while representatives from the regional security group ECOWAS said that the group was “angry and disgusted.” Guinea was suspended from ECOWAS in January due to the lack of constitutional rule.
Outside of Africa, the UN Security Council met in closed session on Wednesday to be briefed on the situation at expressed its “utmost concern” over the events. The US State Department issued a statement on Tuesday condemning the violence. The European Union has also condemned the military attack on Monday and called for the release of all political prisoners. France, which is leading the European response to the killings, suspended all military aid to the country. It seems that no one is siding with Guinea this time around.
However it does not appear that the junta government is backing down and instead has released statements blaming the incident on the irresponsibility of opposition leaders for holding the protest in the first place. It has also issued a decree banning “subversive gatherings.” Thus, it seems that for now nothing is set to change in Guinea, though the whole world is watching.
