mr president we move from one item to the next
this is a very serious and important subject which the honourable members have raised and chosen to put on the agenda
on monday twenty-eight september more than one hundred people were killed in conakry guinea when members of the guinean security forces shot into crowds of demonstrators
guinean citizens had gathered in a stadium in the capital to demonstrate against the presumed intention of the guinean military interim leader captain moussa dadis camara to run for president
the final death toll is still unknown as the soldiers also collected the bodies rather than allow them to be counted at public morgues
at this stage we do not know the real dimension of these tragic events
the number of injured people is said to be at least one two hundred and eye witnesses have reported that soldiers raped women on the streets of conakry
during the violent repression several opposition leaders were wounded and temporarily arrested
the number of protestors still under detention is also unknown the houses of opposition leaders were ransacked and shops looted by uniformed men
in a tv statement the following day captain camara expressed his condolences with the families of those killed and visited some of the injured
he proclaimed two days of national mourning and pledged to investigate the violence
he distanced himself from the killings by saying that he was not in control of the elements of the military responsible for the atrocities
the european union immediately and forcefully condemned these brutal and shocking events
a presidency declaration a statement by high representative solana and a statement by eu commissioner de gucht were issued the following day
we will have to insist on the liberation of the arrested prisoners and a thorough investigation of the events
the violence in guinea received worldwide condemnation
the un security council was briefed last wednesday on the situation in the country
the african union condemned the events and decided to prepare a report on possible measures to be taken
the economic community of west african states ecowas called for a full international inquiry into the matter
parliament as you know condemned the unconstitutional change of power and in its resolution of fifteen january two thousand and nine called for respect for human rights and a rapid return to constitutional order
the eu decided to open consultations under article ninety-six of the cotonou agreement and eu development aid apart from humanitarian aid and support for democratic transition was frozen
we have not been alone
our international partners have acted in line with us
the african union and ecowas decided to suspend guinea until it established a democratically elected parliament or government
an international contact group on guinea co-chaired by the african union and ecowas and with participation by the european union was put into place
in march the military junta agreed with the opposition to have elections before the end of two thousand and nine which gave reasonable hope for a peaceful and democratic transition
captain camara gave his assurances that none of the coup leaders would stand for political office
a national transitional council was to guide the transition process and prepare the necessary modification of the constitution in order to help elections
what can we do then to prevent further violence and how can we help the people of guinea in their legitimate desire for democracy the rule of law peace and development
well there are three main areas of action
first of all we should maintain and reinforce political pressure on the regime in conakry notably in the context of the international group
captain camara's decision not to run could allow calm to return
the nomination of the president of burkina faso mr blaise compaoré as facilitator in the crisis on behalf of ecowas and the international contact group is a very positive sign and the european union has welcomed this appointment via the presidency
we hope that his mediation will contribute to a secure peaceful and lasting solution to the situation in guinea
secondly the option of targeted sanctions against individuals responsible for violence could be further explored
we will need to coordinate this approach with the african union and other international and bilateral partners
the upcoming eu-african ministerial troika in addis ababa and the meeting on guinea on twelve october in abuja will be important in this respect
thirdly we should continue to provide humanitarian aid to the civilian population and support the democratic transition process
the latter will nevertheless depend on the credible willingness of the transitional authorities of guinea to re-engage in a peaceful and constructive dialogue with a clear commitment to refraining from further violence and to respecting the human rights and political freedoms of its citizens
we will spare no efforts to help the people of guinea in this critical moment and we are determined to support a return to civilian constitutional and democratic government through free and transparent elections
we encourage all stakeholders in guinea to refrain from violence and to make a peaceful and democratic transition
