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| Guinea PM named in strike deal |
| Guinea's President Lansana Conte has appointed a new prime minister, bowing to trade-union demands after a strike and violent protests. |
CONAKRY (AFP) - Guinea's embattled President Lansana Conte has agreed to change his prime minister and the west
African country's trade unions will end a crippling general strike, union leader Ibrahima Fofana said Sunday.
"President Conte has agreed to a scenario that ends the crisis by naming a consensus prime minister by March 2 among
candidates, three of them proposed by the trade unions and two by civil society leaders," Fofana said.
Fofana, head of the National Union of Workers of Guinea (USTG), added that representatives of his rs that launched a
general strike on January 10 voted to suspend the strike from Tuesday.
The announcement came after crisis talks labour body and othebrokered in Conakry by the Economic Union of West African
States (ECOWAS), but attended neither by the ailing Conte or the close aide he named prime minister a fortnight earlier.
"Eugene Camara is no longer the prime minister," Fofana said following the talks with politicians and civic leaders, which
opened earlier Sunday, two days after parliament voted to end martial law decreed by Conte on February 12.
"The strike will be suspended starting on Tuesday," Fofana said.
When Conte, who has ruled Guinea since 1984, filled the vacant post of prime minister with Camara, the appointment only
deepened the strife and the president declared a state of siege, strengthening the powers of the military.
The unrest since January 10 has claimed 113 lives in a brutal crackdown that was widely condemned worldwide, including by
African organisations that stepped up pressure on the parties in Guinea to negotiate a solution.
The mediation team at Sunday's talks was led by Nigerian former president Ibrahim Babangida, who invited the unions,
politicians and civil society and religious leaders.
Fofana said it was now up to the security forces to release union activists and others detained in the weeks of unrest, which
had bought the country to an economic standstill and shut down its bauxite mines.
Bauxite, from which aluminium is made, is Guinea's main mineral export and source of foreign income.
Mohamed Ibn Chambas, the commission chairman of the 15-nation ECOWAS, said late Saturday that the organisation was
"very happy about the end of the state of siege" and added that the mediators would extend their trip by a few days.
"Now the people can carry on their dialogue in a good, calm and free atmosphere. Now we can move forward," he said.
Under martial law, the military had been given increased powers of search and arrest in a bid to restore order, but civilians
accused troops of abusing their authority in cases of looting and theft, rape and other violence.
The disturbances in Guinea seriously worried neighbouring Liberia and Sierra Leone, which have separately emerged in the
past six years from devastating and brutal civil wars to begin the long process of economic and social recovery.
Guinea remained relatively stable during the times of conflict, but Conte, who initially seized power in a military coup before
being becoming an elected head of state, has tolerated little political opposition.
In 2003, he won a presidential election with an official result giving him more than 95 percent of the votes, but after the
previous contests, the main opposition boycotted that election, saying they would not be free or fair.
Ex-diplomat Lansana Kouyate was chosen from a list supplied by unions and the opposition after a deal at the weekend.
He replaces Eugene Camara - a close aide to the president whose appointment sparked weeks of unrest.
The move came as Guineans attended commemoration services for the 110 people killed in the violence.
Businesses, schools and government offices in Guinea remained closed on Monday.
'Constant pressure'
Trade unions wanted an independent prime minister to carry out reforms, and President Lansana Conte agreed to end the
crisis on Sunday.
Mr Kouyate is a former UN diplomat who one headed the Economic Union of West African States (Ecowas), a regional bloc.
The deal emerged after days of intense negotiation
The deal was struck after lengthy talks involving the unions, the president and West African mediators.
A union negotiator told AP news agency that although the strike ended at midnight on Sunday, Monday would be a day of
prayer devoted to all those who died in the strike-related violence.
According to a statement, the unions "decided to suspend the strike call across the whole national territory and they urge
workers to go back to work on Tuesday, 27 February".
Martial law was declared shortly after Mr Conte appointed Mr Camara as prime minister on 9 February. This proved unpopular
and unrest spread. Despite the deal, the unions stressed the strike could still resume.
"We have to be careful and let him know the pressure is constant," opposition spokesman Mamadou Ba told AFP news agency.
"He's not in the habit of letting his prime ministers do their job."
He replaces Eugene Camara - a close aide to the president whose appointment sparked weeks of unrest.
The move came as Guineans attended commemoration services for the 110 people killed in the violence.
Businesses, schools and government offices in Guinea remained closed on Monday.
'Constant pressure'
Trade unions wanted an independent prime minister to carry out reforms, and President Lansana Conte agreed to end the
crisis on Sunday.
Mr Kouyate is a former UN diplomat who one headed the Economic Union of West African States (Ecowas), a regional bloc.
The deal emerged after days of intense negotiation
The deal was struck after lengthy talks involving the unions, the president and West African mediators.
A union negotiator told AP news agency that although the strike ended at midnight on Sunday, Monday would be a day of
prayer devoted to all those who died in the strike-related violence.
According to a statement, the unions "decided to suspend the strike call across the whole national territory and they urge
workers to go back to work on Tuesday, 27 February".
Martial law was declared shortly after Mr Conte appointed Mr Camara as prime minister on 9 February. This proved unpopular
and unrest spread. Despite the deal, the unions stressed the strike could still resume.
"We have to be careful and let him know the pressure is constant," opposition spokesman Mamadou Ba told AFP news agency.
"He's not in the habit of letting his prime ministers do their job."
| Guinea's President Conte agrees to change prime minister Sun Feb 25, 11:58 AM ET |
