Guinea: President Exudes Confidence in Army Despite Assassination Attempt

By Eunice Kilonzo

Conakry--- Barely two weeks after an assassination attempt on his life by mutinous soldiers, President Alpha Conde, has stated that he still trusts his army despite the attempt. This is an interesting fact as the heavy weaponry used in the attack on the presidential palace might suggest that elements from within the Guinean military were involved. The world’s largest supplier of bauxite aluminum ore – has been largely ruled by civilian authoritarian rulers since independence from French colonial rule in 1958.

The attack from unknown commandos left one of his security men dead and several more were wounded and portions of his house were destroyed. Conde was elected president last November in Guinea's first truly-democratic election.  This is because civilian dictators ruled from independence to 2008 when soldiers took power in a coup.  The military eventually yielded to last year's vote after a military junta stepped down from power that saw the 73-year-old opposition leader take office.

Following the two hour attack on his palace, the president stated that:

“Our enemies can try everything, but they cannot prevent the Guinean people's march towards democracy. Democracy has begun and it will continue, I promised you change and, God willing, change will happen.”

Conde said the army is undergoing changes and is now a “republican army,” under civilian control. The president said some high-level officers do not like the changes and, in his words, thought my death would let Guinea come back to its notorious past.

But, Mr. Conde added, “You can't stop history's wheel.”

So far Guinean officials have arrested 38 people in connection with the attacks, 25 of them military personnel. One of the first people arrested was a former army chief, General Nouhou Thiam.

Mr. Conde was elected president last November in Guinea's first free and fair election since independence in 1958. The country previously had a history of authoritarian rule and coups. The most recent coup came in December 2008, when a group of military officers seized power after the death of longtime leader Lansana Conte.

Guinean politics are heavily influenced by rivalries among the major ethnic groups, and sometimes these rivalries spill over into violence. The December 2010 elections were largely peaceful, Conde won, but the capital devolved into ethnic riots as his supporters, who like him are mostly from the Malinke ethnic group, clashed with supporters of the defeated candidate, , Cellou Dalein Diallo, who were mostly Peul.