Guinea’s opposition says no way to unity government after killings
When you massacre your own people, it doesn’t really endear them to you. One would have thought that Guinean coup leader, Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, would have learned that in officer training under the regime of his predecessor, Lasana Conte, who ruled from 1984. Conte, who died last December fomenting a coup, used to set the troops on the public with some frequency. With Captain Camara having done the same this week, and troops killing some 200 people, it could be expected that opposition leaders would look less favourably on his call for them to enter a national unity government. But, they may be wrong on this one. While such governments are not really working in Zimbabwe or Kenya, they are better than those that came before them. Camara’s junta now faces the threat of international sanctions, and his opponents are angry that he plans to stay on and lead the transition to democracy. Madagascar’s opposition said the same thing about coup leader Andry Rajoelina’s offer to form a unity government, after he unilaterally decided on who would fill the posts. But maybe these are battles that need to be fought within, and not on the streets.
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