International news
6 The Guardian Weekly 09.10.09
Camara defiant in face of Guinea deaths
Snap poll sweeps Greek socialists into office
Deaths ... unrest spreads in Conakry
Christophe Chatelot Le Monde
Agencies
Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, Guin-
ea's leader, said last Friday that elec-
tions scheduled for 31 January would
continueasplanneddespitethedeaths
of 157 people at a political rally earlier
in the week. Refusing to address the
issue that sparked Monday's protest,
he did not say whether he would run.
Opposition leaders snubbed
Camara's offer to form a national
unity government and said those
responsible for the deaths must be
held accountable.
The leader of the military regime
in Guinea has made several contra-
dictory statements since the violence
began in Conakry. Almost in the same
breath he called for a "government of
national unity" and "an international
commissionofinquiryinrelationwith
the UN", then blamed opposition par-
ties for the slaughter.
Last Monday, tens of thousands
gathered in response to an opposition
calltoprotestagainstCamara'splanto
stand in January's presidential elec-
tion. Troops opened fire on the crowd
in the capital's main football stadium,
killing 157 people and injuring many
others. Witnesses reported seeing
soldiers bayonet some of the fleeing
demonstrators as well as sexually
abusing female protesters. Violence
then spread across the city.
Camara spent much of the next
day touring hospitals and visit-
ing some of the 1,200 people in-
jured. "I have come to share in the
victims' suffering," he said. That
eveningheappearedonradioandtele-
vision.AboveallheblamedtheForum
ofGuinea'sLiveForces(FFVG),analli-
ance of the main political parties and
representatives of civil society, who
oppose his plans to run for president.
"This is not the first time that this
hashappenedinGuinea,"Camarasaid.
"The same [opposition] leaders drove
Helena Smith
Amid scenes of jubilation, Greek so-
cialists were swept into office last
weekend with a resounding victory
aftermorethanfiveyearsofconserva-
tive rule.
With 98% of the votes counted,
the centre-left Pasok party was lead-
ing with 43% � giving it 160 seats in
the 300-member parliament� while
thecentre-rightNewDemocracyparty
had 34%.
The resurgence of Pasok, led by the
US-born George Papandreou, follows
disillusionment with a government
marred by scandal and criticised for
its handling of the faltering economy
and a string of natural disasters.
The departing prime minister, Cos-
tas Karamanlis, had called the poll
midway through his term in office,
hoping it would boost his legitimacy.
By voting out the incumbent New
Democrats so determinedly, analysts
said, Greeks had shown how "fed up"
they were with the abuse of power.
Concedingdefeat,Karamanlissaid:
"I take full responsibility ... and will
start the process for the election of a
new [party] leader."
Papandreou, 57, the scion of a po-
litical dynasty that has dominated
Greece for 50 years, had wooed vot-
ers by promising to "revolutionise"
cultural and political life � and offer-
ing the possibility that Greece's near-
bankrupt economy could be "fixed"
without further austerity.
"Weneedanewstart,"hesaid."We
need to clean up our act ... people,
clearly, are looking for an alternative
thatisbothrealisticandvisionary."He
added:"Webearagreatresponsibility
to change the course of the country."
Tackling cronyism, corruption and
a bloated state sector would, he said,
bepriorities,alongwitha$1.5bnstim-
ulus package for the economy.
Papandreou is head of Socialist In-
ternational,aglobalgroupingofleftist
parties, and his victory will be a boost
for the left. His ascent will, say ana-
lysts, usher in a "wind of change".
Unlike his father, Andreas,
who founded Pasok out of an anti-
dictatorship movement in 1974 and
wasthenelectedprimeministerthree
times, Papandreou eschews fiery
rhetoric. He prefers a more measured
stance on national issues. As foreign
ministerinthe1990shemasterminded
the reconciliation policies that led to
an improvement in ties with Turkey.
ImplementingPasok'sagendaofre-
formwillnotbeeasy,andPapandreou
is unlikely to be given a honeymoon
period. He must deal with a faltering
economy that is expected to contract
in 2009 after years of growth, while
the budget deficit will probably ex-
ceed 6% of economic output. Despite
his plans for a stimulus package, the
newgovernmentwillprobablyhaveto
borrowheavilytoservicetheballoon-
ing debt, which is set to exceed 100%
ofGDPthisyear,andpaypublic-sector
wages and pensions.
the children to the slaughter in 2007.
They hand out money to the children
tomakethemrevolt.Whattheydidon
Monday was premeditated."
In a television interview he prom-
ised an inquiry. "The authorities will
doeverythingnecessarytothrowlight
on these tragic events that threaten
peace in the community," he said,
adding that any further "subversive"
demonstrationshadbeenbanned.The
following evening he called for an in-
quiry "in relation with the UN". In a
statement he also appealed for "the
appointment of a wise African presi-
dent to act as mediator in Guinea".
OnWednesday,speakingtoEurope
1radio,hetriedtominimisehispartin
thebloodyrepressionofademonstra-
tioninthecapital."Theeventescaped
my control. I don't control everything
the army does [...] It would be dema-
gogical to claim I control this army,"
hesaid.Thejunta,whichseizedpower
lastDecemberafterthedeathofPresi-
dent Lasana Cont�, announced two
days of mourning and banned "any
gathering of whatever sort of a sub-
versive nature".
TheUNsecuritycouncilcondemned
the violence and called on Camara to
give up plans to stand for president.
France has broken off military coop-
eration with Guinea and was due to
discuss the matter with its European
partnersthisweek. Brusselsisconsid-
eringtargetedsanctionsagainstthose
responsible for the violence.
In January 2007, shortly before
its demise, the Cont� regime used
extreme violence to stop a general
strike. Dozens of people were killed,
inparticularbythepresidentialguard,
the army unit to which Camara origi-
nallybelonged.OnMondaytheguard,
withitsredberets,wasinthefrontline
again, firing on the crowd trapped in
the stadium.
"The red berets are like the temple
guards.Butthearmyisdeeplydivided,
with several clans, and it is hard to tell
how much real authority Camara has
over them," said Sylvain Touati, a
researcher at the French Institute of
International Relations.
Western diplomats have a differ-
ent take on the issue. "Dadis Camara
is clearly responsible," said one. "At
first, when the junta seized power,
Camara cut a rather quaint figure,
maybeabitincoherentbutapparently
wellintentioned.Butthingsgradually
deteriorated."
He added: "Recently the junta
seems to have gone bad on its public
commitments on policy, but also to
havelostitsgriponpartsofthearmed
forces, with some units acting with
complete impunity. But until now
there hadn't been any killing."
Oppositiongroupsarestillinastate
of shock. "We need time to organise
before carrying on. But I don't think
there's much chance of a compromise
with the junta occupying the entire
public arena," said one of the FFVG
organisers who has taken refuge out-
side Conakry.
Women and war
Professor Amina Mama shows how
women helped win the war and
peace of Sierra Leone and Liberia
guardianweekly.co.uk/
editorsblog
`My life as a political cartoonist'
Looking back over the career to
date of South Africa's Zapiro
guardianweekly.co.uk/
21stcenturylife
Guardian Environment
Keep up to date with the latest
news on all things green
guardian.co.uk/environment
On the web this week

Page 1Page 2Page 3Page 4Page 5Page 6Page 7Page 8Page 9Page 10Page 11Page 12Page 13Page 14Page 15Page 16Page 17Page 18Page 19Page 20Page 21Page 22Page 23Page 24Page 25Page 26Page 27Page 28Page 29Page 30Page 31Page 32Page 33Page 34Page 35Page 36Page 37Page 38Page 39Page 40Page 41Page 42Page 43Page 44Page 45Page 46Page 47Page 48 Produced by PageSuite