By Paul Ejime
A ministerial ECOWAS delegation led by Ghana’s Foreign Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchway met in Conakry on Friday with Guinea’s military junta leaders on how to return the country to constitutional order following Sunday’s military coup led by Col Mamady Doumbouya, head of the presidential guards.
The ECOWAS team, which also included officials from Burkina Faso, Togo, Nigeria and the ECOWAS Commission, also met with deposed President Alpha Conde, who is detained by the junta.
Both sides described the meetings as “positive” without giving details.
ECOWAS has condemned the military take-over and suspended Guinea’s membership because of the putsch.
With its unsuccessful demand for the reinstatement of Mali’s President Ibrahim Keita after his ouster by that country’s military in 2019, it is unlikely that ECOWAS would make a similar demand on behalf of Conde.
The African Union on Friday followed ECOWAS’ example in suspending Guinea.
Diplomatic sources said a joint ECOWAS, AU and UN mission is expected to visit Conakry in a few days as part of efforts to intensify pressure on the military junta to return Guinea to civilian rule.
The pledge by Col Doumbouya that he as his colleagues are not interested in political power would be tested.
Sanctions on Guinea could worsen the situation of long-suffering Guineans.
At the same time, a rushed transition programme could return the country to political uncertainty sooner than later.
The military must be pressured to return to the barracks, but Guinea requires a strong democratic structure to be put in place for the emergence of sustainable democratic principles.
Meanwhile, as the junta consolidates its hold on power, Conde’s and all government bank accounts have been ordered frozen.
On a local radio talk show on Friday, some Guinean callers suggested that Conde should face trial locally or abroad for human rights violations related to alleged suppression of opposition and killings during protests against his controversial third term ambition.
Guinea, which gained independence in 1958 from France, is rich in several priced minerals such as gold, diamond, bauxite and iron ore, but the majority of its estimated 13 million citizens are living below the poverty line.