As U.S. Piles Pressure on Morocco – Dadis Camara’s Political Future Becomes Uncertain

Sekouba Konate and Toumba in background

The United States Government recently sent a high powered delegation including Johnny Carson, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, to try and influence the Moroccan government to stop the Guinean President Dadis Camara from returning to Guinea. The delegation also seized the opportunity to hold talks with Guinea’s Interim Leader and Minister of Defence, Sekouba Konate who was in Rabat to do an assessment of the leaders medical condition. Western diplomats in Rabat expressed confidence in the Moroccan administration and said they believe Rabat will join hands with them to keep Camara away from Guinea and bolster efforts in Conakry to return the country to a civilian government.

Sekouba Conate is keen to present a clean image to the International Community and indeed to the Guinean people. Whether this is an attempt to camouflage his true intentions to become leader in any future administration is yet to be discovered. In a television broadcast he assured the people of the junta’s intentions to return the country to civilian rule and spoke of the formation of a transitional government to oversee the process. He also hinted on Dadis Camara’s current condition when he said the Junta leader’s health is not in danger but that he needed time to recover and urged the people to be patient. He went on to say that he has asked the opposition to name a Prime Minister to help lead a national unity government.

The Moroccan government in a statement said “The Kingdom of Morocco which has received President Dadis Camara for intensive care, is pleased by the decision announced today by the Acting President General Sekouba Konate to immediately name a prime minister from the political forces to lead a transition government of national unity,” Konate , in a statement said he expected a transitional government to choose a new election date soon “The most important thing is to re-establish confidence between the government and those being governed”. He promised not cling to power, “I wouldn’t hesitate for a moment to step down if I got the impression I was preaching in the desert and was going against history and the will of the people,” he said.

Possible opposition candidates for prime minister in a transitional government are Jean Marie Dore, Francois Lonceny Fall and Sidya Toure. Dore hails from Guinea’s Forestiere region where Dadis Camara also comes from and home to several minority ethnic groups that have long felt under-represented in power.

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