Guinea opposition calls for help and new election

By BISHR EL-TOUNI, Associated Press Writer

CONAKRY, Guinea – A top figure in Guinea's opposition appealed Thursday for outside help to hold elections after troops loyal to the military leader fired live ammunition at 50,000 pro-democracy protesters earlier this week.

Opposition leader and former prime minister Sidya Toure told AP Television News that he cannot have any kind of discussion with the government of Capt. Moussa "Dadis" Camara after Monday's massacre.

A human rights group says 157 people were killed and more than 1,000 wounded in the protest against Camara. Witnesses say soldiers raped women in the streets.

"Today we are not thinking about elections, because from Monday we know we cannot have any kind of discussion with this government," Toure said in his home in Conakry. "What we think we have to do is with the help of international community is to find a way have elections but led by something neutral; not by the army, maybe by civilians."

Toure, a former prime minister, was arrested during the protests and released Tuesday. He said he suffered head wounds and returned home to find his house ransacked. The house was also used as opposition party headquarters.

Toure has also said that he recognized several members of Guinea's junta in the stadium during demonstrations, including Camara's nephew and his top aide.

The protest in the capital's main soccer stadium turned bloody when Camara's presidential guard opened fire into the crowd, scattering panicked demonstrators and leaving behind scores of dead. Opposition politician Mutarr Diallo said he saw soldiers raping women with rifle butts.

Witnesses told New York-based Human Rights Watch that security forces stripped female protesters and raped them in the streets during Monday's protest. The rights group, citing witnesses, said soldiers also stabbed protesters with knives and bayonets.

The bloody protest drew condemnation from the several United Nations bodies, the African Union, the European Union, several human rights groups and the government of neighboring Senegal.

Guinea's government said it will investigate why troops opened fire at the pro-democracy rally. The U.N. Security Council and the Commission for Human Rights have supported the announcement but urged that the investigation be independent.

Camara, an army captain in his 40s, seized power in December just hours after the death of longtime leader Lansana Conte. Camara announced that the constitution had been dissolved and that the country was under the rule of a military junta.

He initially said he would not stand in elections scheduled for January, but recently indicated that he may have changed his mind.

After Monday's protest, he banned all gatherings and demonstrations and declared two days of mourning starting Wednesday.

Although the streets of Conakry appeared to be returning to their normal state of bustling activity on Thursday, the U.S. Embassy ordered the departure of some embassy personnel and family members.

Celebrations in the capital are planned for Friday morning to mark the country's 51st year of independence.

Since winning independence half a century ago from France, Guinea has been pillaged by its ruling elite. Its 10 million people are among the world's poorest, even though its soil has diamonds, gold, iron and half the world's reserves of the raw material used to make aluminum.