Bloody Monday (The September 28 Massacre and Rapes by Security Forces in Guinea) – Human Rights Watch
Background
The human rights of ordinary Guineans have been systematically undermined under the successive leaderships of Ahmed Sékou Touré, president from the time of independence from France in 1958 until 1984, and then Lansana Conté, who led Guinea until his death in December 2008.
A bloodless coup following Conté’s death on December 22, 2008, by a group of Guinean military officers calling themselves the National Council for Democracy and Development (Conseil national pour la démocratie et le développement, CNDD), led by a self-proclaimed president, Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, initially brought some hope for greater protection of democracy and respect for human rights.
Dadis Camara and the CNDD government have entrenched military control of the country’s political affairs, failed to hold free and fair elections as they promised, and steadily and violently suppressed the opposition. The perpetrators of these abuses have enjoyed near complete impunity.
Initially, Dadis Camara took concrete steps to root out the high levels of corruption and involvement by government and military officials in drug trafficking that for years had plagued Guinea, a major transit location for cocaine trafficked between Latin America and Europe.
However, these efforts were characterized by a number of abuses and serious violations of the rule of law. Throughout 2009, heavily armed soldiers carried out frequent abuses against ordinary Guineans and businesspeople, including theft, extortion, and intimidation of the judiciary.
Upon taking power, Dadis Camara quickly suspended the country’s constitution, dissolved the government, and declared a ban on political and union activity.
The new leader initially proposed to hold elections by December 2010, but later, under international pressure, pledged to hold elections in 2009, in which neither he nor any CNDD member would run, and to relinquish control to a civilian-led government, earning him the support of much of the Guinean population.
However, few concrete steps to organize elections were taken, and throughout 2009 the CNDD government increasingly restricted freedoms of political expression and assembly. Attempts by opposition parties to campaign ahead of planned presidential elections were repeatedly met with intimidation and attacks by the government. At various times throughout the year, Dadis Camara lifted and reinstated a ban on political and union activity. In response to heightened criticism from the Guinean public, in August he imposed a ban on mobile phone text-messaging and in September a ban on political discussions on radio talk shows.
Opponents of the military regime, which include unions, civil society leaders, and all of
Guinea’s major political parties … banded together to form the umbrella Forum of the Forces Vives of Guinea (Forum des Forces Vives de Guinée). In March the Force Vives presented the CNDD with a timetable for election preparations, with a view toward holding legislative elections in October and presidential elections by December 2009.
Dadis Camara, … Although he stopped short of declaring his own candidacy, Camara back-tracked on earlier commitments, stating that any member of the CNDD should be “free to put forward their candidacy for the national election if they so desire.” This was widely interpreted by Guineans as meaning that the military leader fully intended to run.
Guinea’s opposition viewed Dadis Camara’s presumed candidacy as a spoiler for the election’s credibility, and responded by planning demonstrations of varying sizes across the country. By the end of September, momentum toward mass demonstrations had reached a tipping point, with actions planned by the Forces Vives.
The Forces Vives decided to hold a major rally on September 28, 2009, a date deliberately chosen because of its historical significance in Guinea. On September 28, 1958, France carried out a referendum in its colonies, giving them the choice between immediate independence and remaining a French colony. Guinea was the only French colony to vote “No” and gained its independence days later, on October 2, 1958. Guineans consider September 28, 1958, the day when Guinea stood united for the country’s independence.
The stadium in Conakry where the demonstration was to take place is named the September 28 Stadium.
The Forces Vives leaders called for a major opposition rally on this date for two reasons: first,
to show the extent of their support among the population, refuting CNDD President Dadis
Camara’s claim that the Forces Vives “do not represent anything”; and second, to
challenge Dadis Camara’s presumed candidacy in the elections planned for January 2010,
which the opposition leaders hoped would return Guinea to civilian rule.
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basically in transition from military rule to democracy
