International Contact Group calls for new Transitional Authority in Guinea

The International Contact Group on Guinea (ICG-G) has called for a new transitional authority to guide Guinea to popular democracy.
It said such a group should be “based on the withdrawal of the National Council for Democracy and Development (CNDD)”, the military junta that seized power last December following the death of President Lansana Conte.”
The Group emphasized that the proposed transitional authority should ensure “a short and peaceful transition marked by the conduct of credible, free and fair elections in which those holding key executive positions demonstrate total neutrality throughout the electoral process”.
A statement received in Accra from ECOWAS on Wednesday said in a 12-point communiqué issued at the end of the one-day meeting at the ECOWAS Commission in Abuja on October 12, the Group expressed its full support for a political solution to the Guinean crisis aimed at creating the new transitional authority, through dialogue if possible.
It called on the President of the CNDD to “formalize not later than the deadline of October 17, 2009, fixed by the 204th meeting of the African Union Peace and Security Council, his commitment that neither he nor members of the CNDD nor the Prime Minister would contest the Presidential election.
The statement said should the CNDD President fail to meet the deadline, the Group called on the African Union and relevant regional and international organizations “to take appropriate measures”.
In addition, it expressed its full support to President Blaise Compaore of Burkina Faso for accepting the facilitation mission requested by the current Chairperson of ECOWAS in conformity with the recommendations of its 7th session held on 22nd September 2009 in
New York.
According to the communiqué, the Group also made an urgent appeal to the United Nations Secretary General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, to facilitate the establishment of an International Commission of Inquiry to investigate the September 28, 2009 “gross human rights violation, including the massacre of unarmed civilians and rapes, identify the culprits and prosecute them in competent courts in Guinea or at the International Criminal
Court so as to put an end to acts of impunity in the country.
The ICG-G requested that the facilitation of the establishment of the International Commission of Inquiry be done in collaboration with ECOWAS and the African Union, with the support of the High Commission for Human Rights, and that all partners immediately prepare mechanisms for appropriate targeted sanctions to be imposed on the identified culprits.
“The Group strongly condemned the brutal acts of rape in Guinea and the massacre perpetrated by armed troops under the authority of the National Council for Democracy and Development (CNDD) against women and unarmed civilians during a gathering of members of the “Forces Vives” on 28th September 2009.”
The group also demanded that the de facto authorities in Guinea freed all those who had been detained since September 28, 2009; give back the bodies of the victims to their families; allow all wounded persons in hospitals and outside, in particular raped women, to freely receive medical care; lift obstacles to freedom of expression, movement and assembly; as well as ban the bearing of weapons of war by military personnel outside barracks not under active command.
The Group further invited ECOWAS, with the support of its partners, to set up an international observer and protection mission, comprising civilians and military personnel, to protect the members of the panel of enquiry and witnesses against acts of intimidation and to contribute to the establishment of an atmosphere of security for the people of
Guinea.
The ICG-G also expressed “serious concerns over information relating to the illicit trafficking and circulation of arms in Guinea” and requested ECOWAS to implement the relevant provisions of its Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW).
In addition, it recommended to the International Community to impose total embargo on arms meant for Guinea.
“The Group reminds the Guinean authorities of their obligation to protect the civilian population, including political leaders, leaders of labour unions and civil society as well as foreigners residing in Guinea, especially members of the diplomatic and consular corps, who are guests of the country,” the communiqué added.
In this regard, it called on the Guinean authorities to take “necessary measures to guarantee their protection in accordance with the commitments that they freely made”.
The ICG-G, which held its first meeting in February 2009 in Conakry, is co-chaired by the ECOWAS and African Union Commissions.
Scheduled to meet as often as necessary, at least once every two months, the Group comprises the Community of Sahelo-Saharan States (CEN-SAD), the European Union (EU), the Mano River Union (MRU), the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), the International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF) and the United Nations, the current
Chair of the African Union Peace and Security Council, the current Chair of ECOWAS as well as the African members and permanent members of the UN Security Council.
GNA