CONAKRY – A senior French official said Sunday that Guinea’s military junta, which seized power on December 23, had assured him the transition period before new elections will be less than a year and they would step down after.
‘I have obtained (assurances) from the new Guinean authorities that the transition period will be as short as possible, that the military and the transition government would not participate in those elections and that they will leave as soon as the transition period is over,’ French secretary of state for cooperation Alain Joyandet told a press conference.
‘The transition should not go past the end of the year 2009,’ he added.
The first senior Western official to meet with coup leaders, Joyandet arrived in Guinea Saturday. He held talks with junta leader Captain Dadis Camara who took control of the mineral-rich West African state hours after the death of veteran dictator Lansana Conte.
France, the former colonial power in Guinea, would not stop its co-operation and humanitarian aid to Guinea during the transition period ‘in order not to penalise the people who need assistance’, Joyandet said.
Paris and the international community will be ‘very vigilant and active’ to ensure the national electoral commission CENI will have everything it needs to organise elections, he added.
The coup has been internationally condemned, with the African Union announcing yesterday it was suspending Guinea’s membership. – Nampa-AFP
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