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Guinea's Conte sends in military to quash unrest Tue 13 Feb 2007 8:49 AM ET (Recasts, adds WFP suspending operations, details) By Mohamed Camara CONAKRY, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Guinea's military enforced draconian martial law measures across the West African state on Tuesday, quashing protests and arresting curfew-breakers to halt a widening revolt against President Lansana Conte's rule. Conte, who has resisted opposition calls to step down, declared an 11-day state of siege late on Monday, handing sweeping law and order powers to the armed forces which have faithfully supported him since he seized power 23 years ago. The diabetic, chain-smoking, reclusive president, who critics say is unfit to rule, imposed martial law to try to end a wave of rioting and looting that accompanied the relaunch by unions on Monday of a general strike after Conte named an ally as prime minister. An 18-day work stoppage last month paralysed the former French colony and sparked violence that has so far killed more than 110 people in union-led protests against Conte. Major foreign-run mining operations in Guinea, the world's biggest exporter of the bauxite ore from which aluminium is extracted, have been disrupted by the strikes and protests. The martial law measures restricted civilians to their homes for all but four hours of the day -- from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. -- and gave the armed forces tough powers of search and arrest and control over broadcasting, the press and communications. The president signed the emergency decree "General Lansana Conte", evoking his leadership of the armed forces. Residents said heavily armed soldiers and police patrolled the largely deserted streets of the dilapidated seaside capital and other upcountry towns, rounding up curfew-breakers. In Labe, 250 km (155 miles) northeast of Conakry, soldiers opened fired on a group of protesters. At least one person, a women, was wounded in the stomach. Sporadic shooting could be heard in at least one neighbourhood of Conakry. Other recent riot hotspots, such as Kankan and Nzerekore in the east, were also reported to be under tight military control. FOOD AID HIT The martial law measures heaped further hardship on Guinea's nearly 10 million population, most of whom live in poverty. Many had already been struggling to feed themselves and their families during the labour shutdowns and protests. The U.N. World Food Programme on Tuesday temporarily suspended its operations in Guinea after three food warehouses were looted at the weekend by marauding local inhabitants. WFP said it had lost nearly 450 metric tons of food aid, valued at $350,000, destined for many of the 200,000 children in WFP programmes to feed schools and poor communities. "We understand there is widespread frustration and anger in the country, but actions such as these will only make the lives of the poorest even worse," WFP Guinea country director Philippe Guyon LeBuffy said. The martial law measures forbid all public meetings and allow the military to monitor private communications, such as telephone calls, faxes and emails. Union and opposition leaders said they feared persecution. "We're all under surveillance at home," said union negotiator Ousmane Souare. Unions resumed a general strike after Conte named a close ally, Eugene Camara, as prime minister on Friday. Union leaders said this violated a power-sharing deal to end last month's crippling stoppage. "Either Conte leaves or he names someone else. If he names someone and the people accept, things will calm down," said one political opponent, Mamadou Ba. "I don't think he realises that the crisis needs to be resolved through dialogue," Ba added. (Additional reporting by Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva) © Reuters 2007. All Rights Reserved. |  |
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