Guinea's Military Junta Cancels Mining Agreements

Guinea's military Junta cancels mining agreements 

Guinea's military junta, which seized power after the death of President Lasana Conte this month, cancelled all mining agreements in the country and said existing contracts would be revised.

The decision to revise mining agreements was prompted by corruption in the industry, Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, the junta chief, who is now acting as Guinea's president, said at the Alpha Yaya Diallo military camp in the capital of Conakry.

"Activities in the gold-bearing zones" have been "arrested at the moment," Camara said during a meeting with political parties.

Guinea, which holds the world's biggest reserves of bauxite, has no history of a democratic transfer of power. The junta has ruled out elections for two years and imposed a nationwide curfew following its takeover on December 23, a day after Conte died.

Camara is heading a council of 26 army officers and six civilians that has ordered a nationwide curfew and told generals and ministers of the previous government to report to a military camp within 24 hours.

A faction of the armed forces seized power in the West African country on December 23, a day after Conte died.

The nation of 9.4 million people is divided among three main ethnic groups, with the Peuhl, or Fulani, accounting for 40%, the Malinke 30% and Soussou 20%, according to U.S. government data. Former President Conte was a Soussou, while the military faction that seized power consists of Malinke officers, according to analysts.

Bauxite ProducerGuinea is a former French colony and the world's fourth- biggest producer of bauxite, an ore used in the production of aluminum, after Australia, Brazil and China. Bauxite and related industries account for about 80% of the country's foreign exchange earnings.

The nation produced 14 million metric tons of bauxite last year, according to the U.S. Geological Service. Violent protests in early 2007 caused the price of alumina to jump 76% in two months. Rio Tinto Group, Alcoa Inc., United Co. Rusal and AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. have operations in the country.

Rio Tinto, which is exploring part of the Simandou iron ore deposit, on Dec. 23 told its staff in the capital to stay at home. A London-based spokesman for Rio Tinto, the world's third-largest mining company, couldn't be reached for comment today. BHP Billiton Ltd., which plans to develop an alumina refinery and bauxite mine in a venture with Global Alumina Corp., has shut its Conakry office.

Career Soldier

Camara, who has a diploma in law and economics from the University of Conakry, joined the military in 1990. Conte ruled for 24 years and died three days ago after a long illness. He was a career soldier who seized power in April 1984, after the death of President Ahmed Sekou Toure.

The council ordered generals and ministers to report to a camp in the Conakry suburbs yesterday. Most of the ministers, led by Prime Minister Ahmed Tidiane Souar¡§¦, reported to the camp, arriving in a convoy of off-road vehicles. The curfew was delayed to yesterday for the Christmas holiday, the council said. Mines are exempt from the curfew, though companies will be responsible for their own security.

The junta must approve all government expenditure and general secretaries, the civil servants who oversee the government departments, will temporarily assume responsibilities previously accorded to their ministers, spokesman Captain Nouhou Thiam said.

Camara told reporters Dec. 24 that elections will be held in 2010. "I am not interested in remaining in power" and won't run for office, he said.

State radio earlier said Camara will be sworn in as president at the Palais de Nations in Conakry.

Growth Slows

Guinea's economy grew 1.8% last year, down from 2.4% in 2006, according to the International Monetary Fund. Its gross domestic product is estimated at $4.53 billion by the IMF, compared with $278 billion for South Africa, the continent's biggest economy.

Government officials and the army leader, General Diarra Camara, told Radio France Internationale that the government hasn't been dissolved and most members of the army are loyal.

The African Union's peace and security council, meeting in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, condemned the coup.

The 53-nation group expressed "grave concern about the resurgence of the phenomenon of coup d'etat, which constitutes a threat to peace and security on the continent, as well as a very serious setback in the ongoing democratization process in Africa," according to the statement.

The coup plotters will be "held fully and personally accountable for their actions."

Delayed Elections

Conte's rule was characterized by delayed elections, boycotted referendums, strikes and protests. At least 110 people were killed by security forces in early 2007 after demonstrations demanding Conte's resignation, according to Human Rights Watch. The year before, soldiers shot dead 13 unarmed people during protests against rising food prices, the New York-based group said.