Guinea’s military junta has said that it would not allow ousted former president Alpha Conde to leave the country and said transition towards civilian rule would be done in accordance with the will of the people, reported Reuters. Conde has been detained since his overthrow on Sept. 5, after more than a decade in power.
The announcement was made on Friday after regional and international mediators tried to create pressure on the military junta to secure Conde’s release following the coup.
Leaders of the West African regional bloc ECOWAS met Colonel Mamady Doumbouya in Conakry and called for the release of the ousted president and a six-month timetable for elections.
“We will not yield to any pressure,” the military leaders said after the conclusion of the talks. “Conde is and will remain in Guinea.”
The ECOWAS chairman and Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo, and the president of Ivory Coast, Alassane Ouattara, met Doumbouya, the coup leader and head of a special forces unit in the military, and also visited Conde.
At the ruling council’s first news conference on the six-month deadline, Colonel Amara Camara, a junta spokesman, said Doumbouya told the visiting delegation that “it was important for ECOWAS to listen to the legitimate aspirations of the people of Guinea.”
Doumbouya stressed the need not to repeat the mistakes of the past, recalling that national consultations to outline the transition had begun on Tuesday and that only the people will decide Guinea’s destiny.
“It is also clear to all parties that the former president will remain in Guinea,” he added.
Last week, the ECOWAS leaders agreed on targeted sanctions after Guinea’s military leaders failed to meet its demands. The imposed sanctions include the freezing of the financial assets and the imposition of travel bans on Guinea’s military leaders and their relatives.
