Guinea crisis: ECOWAS envoys meet coup leaders, say ousted 'President Alpha Condé is well'

Ousted Guinean President Alpha Condé is in good health, envoys from West Africa’s regional bloc ECOWAS said. According to the BBC, the delegation of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) visited Condé on 10 September. The visit came as diplomatic pressure mounted on Guinea’s ruling military following the detention of Condé last week. The envoys also met the leaders of the coup, including its figurehead Lieutenant Colonel Mamady Doumbouya.

After meeting the overthrown president in the coup leaders’ headquarters, ECOWAS President Jean-Claude Kassi Brou said, “President Alpha Condé is well”. It is to mention that ECOWAS and the African Union (AU) have suspended Guinea’s membership. The two groups have called for a return to constitutional order and for Condé’s “immediate and unconditional release”. The ECOWAS envoys have also demanded that the security forces “maintain a constitutional posture”. 

The new military leaders, on the other hand, have pledged to install a transitional government. Guinea’s coup leaders have formed what they call the National Rally and Development Committee (CNRD), which dissolved the government and the constitution. The military even appointed army officers to head regional administrations, and ordered the central bank and other banks to freeze all government accounts, in a bid to secure state assets. 

Aftermath of military coup 

Mamady Doumbouya has accused Condé’s government of “endemic corruption” and “trampling on citizens rights”. The ousted president, who has been ruling the country since 2010, has faced criticism since he assumed the third term in office, saying that the two-term limit did not apply to him because of a referendum he had put forth. Condé was re-elected; however, the decision prompted protests across the nation. 

Meanwhile, an alliance of 18 opposition parties in Guinea - Coalition for the Restoration of Democracy (CORED) -  said that the military takeover of the nation is not a coup as Condé had previously changed the basic law in an “unconstitutional manner”. CORED said, “The corrections that were made on September 5 should not be considered a coup d'etat in the classical sense”. The opposition alliance went on to say that the rebels were bringing new prospects to Guinea. However, they also urged the Special Forces Group to respect the detained president’s physical and moral integrity. 

(Image: AP)