Bad governance, regional dynamics and increasing poverty threatens to derail the slow move towards democratic governance, the hard-won stability in Sierra Leone and Liberia, as well as recent peace in Côte d’Ivoire. Volatility and uncertainty intensified following the December 2008 suspension of the constitution and assumption of power by officers from within the military who set up the National Council for Democracy and Development (CNDD) to replace institutions. Captain Moussa Dadis Camara was declared president. The new government vowed not to stand for elections, to root out corruption and improve living standards. The military coup was received with international condemnation. The African Union and ECOWAS suspended Guinea from attending high level intergovernmental meetings ‘until the return of constitutional order.’ Nevertheless, Guineans, weary of decades of mismanagement and bad governance and with little faith in governmental institutions, appeared to support the assumption of power by the army as a way of providing short term stability to be followed rapidly by transition to democratic rule.

However, the regime has since disappointed citizens’ expectations. Ten cabinet members are military officers. The ministries of security, defence, justice and anti-criminality, the governor of the Central Bank and the Independent National Electoral Commission have been placed under the direct authority of the presidency. Hopes were further shattered by the events of 28th September 2009. An estimated 50,000 people protesting junta leader Captain Moussa Dadis Camara’s apparent intention to stand in the presidential election staged a peaceful demonstration at the national stadium in Conakry. In response, security forces surrounded and barricaded the stadium, opened fired on and beat up some demonstrators. Women were publicly and systematically raped by groups of men, using objects in some cases. Some women were stripped, put in military trucks and driven away to endure days of gang rape. Many of the bodies of those who are missing and assumed to have died have still not been recovered by their families, causing suspicion that they have been buried in mass graves by forces wishing to conceal the true extent of the killings. As far as the public are aware, no member of the security forces has been disciplined or held accountable to date, creating perceptions of impunity for killing and sexual violence.

The events of 28th September have contributed to destabilising and causing civil unrest in Guinea, with accompanying repercussions for peace in the region, particularly in neighbouring Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire and Sierra Leone. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has appointed a mediator, President Blaise Campaoré of Burkina Faso who is trying to broker a deal between the military government and opposition political parties on the establishment and composition of a transitional government. There is a history of crisis leading to violence in the country. The military coup and the events of 28th September have created a level of uncertainty regarding rule of law with particular ramifications for women. Prospects for a peaceful and equitable transfer of power are uncertain.

For more information, contact Oumar Baldet