CONAKRY, Guinea — Guinea’s coup leader declared a zero-tolerance policy on corruption Saturday, vowing to renegotiate the country’s numerous mining contracts and warning that anyone who embezzles state funds will be executed.
Capt. Moussa Camara also extended an apparent concession to Guinea’s opposition, telling them they could help choose a prime minister following international criticism that elections are not planned for two more years.
On a concrete stage inside the barracks from where he launched his rebellion Tuesday, Camara jabbed his finger at the sky as he swore to do away with the corruption that has drained the mineral-rich state’s coffers.
“For the person who embezzles money, there won’t be a trial. They’ll be killed,” he said as the crowd went wild. “I was born in a hut. I walked to school. . . . Money means nothing to me.”
Guinea is the world’s largest producer of bauxite, the raw material used to make aluminum, and also produces diamonds and gold. Yet its mineral wealth was siphoned off to enrich the country’s longtime ruling clique.
Guinea has been ruled by only two people since gaining independence from France a half-century ago. Dictator Lansana Conte died Monday, and the military junta led by Camara declared the coup a day later.
Even as the crowd of thousands cheered him, the international community continued its condemnation of the coup. South African President Kgalema Motlanthe called it “an affront to peace, stability and democracy.” The European Union said the junta needs to hold elections in 2009, not two years from now as Camara promised.
