By Johnny
When I sat down with Guinean presidential candidate Alpha Conde in March he mentioned off-handedly that I should come to Conakry for the elections. Then he paused and said maybe after the elections would be better. He may have been thinking of the frenzy of activity leading up to the polls. But, it’s easy to [...]
By Johnny
Thousands of Guineans clad in yellow shirts welcomed Alpha Conde back to Guinea this week. Campaign season is apparently heating up in Conakry. Conde’s People’s Rally for Guinea appears to be running the most sophisticated–and internationally focused-campaign among the candidates. But, the coverage doesn’t detail the political jockeying among these competitors. Instead, it focuses on [...]
By Johnny
Last week, I had the opportunity to sit down with Alpha Conde, a candidate in Guinea’s upcoming election, and a longtime opposition leader–and, possibly, the next president of this small West African nation. Conde could be called a political survivor–in a nation where political battles have been waged with increasing violence over the past 18 [...]
By Johnny
A strange drama unfolding in Guinea. Over the weekend violence broke out in Nzerekore, in the southeastern portion of the country. Initial reports indicated religious tensions between Muslims and Christians left three dead and more than three dozen wounded. Mobs armed with machetes took to the streets prompting the military and police to intervene. All [...]
By Johnny
Some election news coming out of West Africa. Liberia’s President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf reversed a campaign promise and announced she would seek reelection in 2011. At first glance, this may appear to be a power grab, yanked from the playbook of the African big men that preceded Johnson-Sirleaf. The last two leaders elected in Liberia, Taylor [...]
By Johnny
A friend in Liberia mentioned something yesterday. Guinea has the second-largest ammo dump in West Africa. It also has a president who took a bullet in the head earlier this week and is reportedly unable to speak now. Camara took power less than a year ago. But, it appears, his grip on the presidency was [...]
By Johnny
Take a deep breath. Is this that controversial? Allegedly Capt. Camara’s government has retained the services of “mercenaries”–one article identifies Dubai-based Omega Strategic Services as the provider–to train a “militia” outside the capital. There’s a bit of precedent here. Charles Taylor did this, somewhat scandalously, when he hired Fred Rindle to train the Anti-Terrorist Unit [...]
By Johnny
Not in the business of predictions, but this piece is disconcerting–twelve assassinations since late September. A police source quoted in the article referred to is as “settling scores.” The more these scores grow, the more they will require to settle. Then there’s this passage: Separately, Guinean opposition leaders on Friday rejected an offer of mediation [...]
By Johnny
The junta government of Moussa Dadis Camara waved a big paycheck in front of the international community yesterday–a potential $9 billion payday from a Chinese company for the resource rich West African nation. At a moment when Western powers–and to a certain extent–Guinea’s neighbors would like to isolate the new government, the Chinese investment complicates [...]
By Johnny
Laurence Boutreaux of Agence-France Presse authored a provocative piece alleging direct involvement of Liberian rebels in Guinea. Not surprising, but the story leaves a lot unsaid. (Perhaps because to explain any further requires a healthy cup of the Alphabet Soup of Liberian civil war factions…but here goes.) Relying on one anonymous military source and two [...]