EU prepares sanctions, arms embargo for Guinea

By RAF CASERT, Associated Press Writer

BRUSSELS – The European Union is preparing to impose an arms embargo and visa ban to punish Guinea's military rulers for a massacre at a pro-democracy rally, an official said Thursday, in the latest effort to step up international pressure on the junta.

The move comes days after West African leaders said they were placing an arms embargo on Guinea, where presidential guard troops opened fire on tens of thousands of demonstrators late last month. A Guinean human rights group says 157 people were killed, while the government said 57 died.

The EU is still drawing up a list of Guinean leaders to be included on the visa ban list, according to an official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the official decision is pending. EU officials also are looking at whose assets should be frozen.

Once completed, a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg starting Monday will impose the sanctions, the official said.

In a draft conclusion for Monday's foreign ministers meeting, the EU said the violent crackdown in Guinea "resulted in gross violations of human rights, including many deaths, injuries and rape."

As a result, the draft conclusion said that the member states "have decided to adopt measures targeting the members of the (junta) and individuals associated with them, responsible for the violent crackdown."

Two EU officials said they did not expect any changes in the draft before it gets approved by the foreign ministers.

Frederik Kolie, a Guinean government spokesman, said Thursday he was waiting to see the official EU document before commenting on the sanctions.

Human rights and opposition groups in Guinea applauded news of the proposed embargo and visa ban.

"We hail this pressure and hope that the sanctions will be put into place very quickly so that justice will be done and the people of Guinea can leave this spiral of violence that haunts us day-to-day," said Mamadou Bah Baadikko, president of the Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea, an opposition party.

Dr. Thierno Maadjou Sow, president of the Guinean humans rights group that first reported 157 people were killed in last month's violence, said they backed sanctions "that can bring about the junta accepting its departure."

"We support these sanctions on the condition that they don't cause suffering to the people, but the perpetrators of crimes and their accomplices," he said.

On Wednesday, a senior U.N. official said Guinea's military ruler has promised to cooperate with an international commission to investigate last month's crackdown.

Capt. Moussa "Dadis" Camara seized power hours after longtime dictator Lansana Conte died last December. Camara initially said he would not run in elections scheduled for Jan. 31, 2010, but recently indicated that he may have changed his mind.

The violence in Guinea has drawn widespread condemnation, with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton calling for Camara to apologize and step down.

West African leaders said Saturday that the regional bloc known as ECOWAS would impose an arms embargo on Guinea and would try to stop Camara from running in the upcoming election.