Guinea: after the overthrow of Alpha Condé, a “freedom” celebrated “between hope and concern”

Published on : 09/06/2021 – 4:30 PM

“It’s over, Guinea is free!” In the streets of Conakry on September 5, soldiers were greeted to the cheers of thousands of residents relieved to turn the page on eleven years of presidency of Alpha Condé and political violence.

In the morning, after heavy fire were heard in the Kaloum district of Conakry, images of President Alpha Condé, captive, were disseminated on social networks by the putschists. The announcement of his arrest then took, at the beginning of the afternoon, a more official turn with the intervention on RTG – the Guinean national television – of Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, at the head of the Group of Special Forces (GFS) of the Guinean army. The latter, surrounded by other armed soldiers, announced the dissolution of the Constitution.

“There were too many deaths for nothing”, he said, referring in particular to the repression of demonstrations against the new Guinean Constitution, promulgated in April 2020 by Alpha Condé and which offered him the opportunity to run for office. a third term. “We are going to dissolve the institutions, our government is dissolved,” continued the colonel, who also promised the start of an “inclusive transition”.

> READ ALSO ON THE OBSERVERS: In Guinea, did the police shoot live ammunition at the demonstrators? [janvier 2020]

“We do not yet know what the soldiers want”

This Monday, September 6, Guinea finally reopened its borders and the military summoned outgoing ministers and presidents of institutions in Conakry at 11 a.m. These were forbidden to leave the national territory. Our Observer Thierno diallo, member of the Guinea Bloggers Association (Ablogui), was in front of the People’s Palace, where the meeting was taking place this morning:

There was an impressive crowd. When I arrived there, the building had been cordoned off, so although I presented my press card, I was unable to enter. At the edge of the building, soldiers arrived and the crowd applauded.

Today, traffic is fluid. A few businesses have started to reopen. As the day goes on, things may gradually return to normal. I also noticed, and I found it symbolic, the absence of a security post at the main roundabouts of the Le Prince road, which was the scene of demonstrations in Guinea. The device was not as impressive as I imagined. Perhaps the soldiers are trying to reassure because they have understood that there will be no resistance.

All this shows that, although we do not know where we are going, it is something that the population expected. It remains to be seen what will happen now. Because everyone is hoping that this time it will be “the right one”.

Personally, I think it is difficult for the moment to analyze things perfectly. We were in a tense situation: the country was blocked, the economic situation very difficult, so one way or another, we were waiting for what happened yesterday. But we are also careful, we have to. We don’t yet know what they want [les militaires, NDLR], we don’t know what their plan is.

“For us, it’s a freedom, the end of a system”

In Ratoma, a commune of Conakry considered as a bastion of the opposition to Alpha Condé, our Observer, Abdourahmane Bah, manager of the Moral Guinea page, also testifies to the uncertainty that reigns in the aftermath of the coup:

Around 9 a.m. on Sunday morning, gunshots were heard. But people thought it was a stunt of power, which wanted to make it look like an attempted coup and then justify further arrests of opponents.

People didn’t believe it. We finally understood that it was serious at the end of the morning [quand les vidéos sont apparues sur les réseaux sociaux et que l’annonce a été faite à la RTG, NDLR]. I, as an opposition activist, am very happy. For us, it is a freedom, the end of a system, and our goal was above all this: to get rid of this system. That’s why I’m happy, and not so much because the soldiers have taken power, because now nothing is certain and I don’t know what they are going to do with Guinea.

“For the moment, I am torn between hope and worry”

Same story in Labé, in the north of the country, where Sally Bilaly Sow, member of the AfricTivist blogger network, remains on her guard:

Yesterday, let’s say it was a kind of surprise for the citizens. There was a desperation, a desire for change after President Alpha Condé’s coup on October 18 [son élection pour un troisième mandat, NDLR]. And suddenly, everything changed. During the day, we began to better understand what was going on. We could call this putsch a 2.0 putsch, because the mutineers knew how to use messaging services to communicate and inform citizens before going to the traditional media. The images first circulated in WhatsApp groups and that’s how we understood what was happening.

There were real scenes of jubilation in the town of Labé, until late at night. When I asked some young people why they were there, they told me: “We do not appreciate a coup, but if it is a coup that can free us from this regime that gagged, who killed us, who pushed us to pauperization, so we hope that the military will honor their commitment. “

“We must stand guard, to watch the mutineers”

Nobody believed it: the FNDC fight could not be successful, there were hundreds of deaths [le mouvement FNDC est un groupement civique à l’origine des manifestations contre la nouvelle Constitution permettant au président Alpha Condé de diriger le pays lors d’un troisième mandat présidentiel, NDLR].

For the moment, I am torn between hope and worry. First of all, there is hope: I have read all the press releases of the mutineers, they already speak of inclusive transition, of the rewriting of a new Constitution – perhaps to bring back the 2010 Constitution – but also and above all, there are these calls for consultation and the diaspora to rebuild a new state. These are strong signs.

The second point is the worry: how will it be, how will the citizens feel – we must not forget that there have already been civil society fights against a third term. . We must involve these actors. We have to stand guard, to watch the mutineers, to keep their promises and to follow it closely. We must not manufacture another dictator.