Convalescing West African Leaders Emerge

I have written previously about how Moussa Dadis Camara and Umaru Yar'Adua, the junta leader of Guinea and President of Nigeria, respectively, are both out of country for medical reasons. Camara was being treated in Morocco for a gunshot wound to the head. Yar'Adua is being treated in a Saudi medical facility for an unknown illness.

Both leaders have emerged in recent days. As I mentioned in a previous post, Yar'Adua issued a statement recently confirming that he is still alive (although there has been some controversy over whether the recorded statement was actually his voice). His absence is becoming quite problematic for Nigeria. Protests recently broke out over his absence, and now the issue of transition is being taken to court.

Meanwhile, Camara has been moved from Morocco to Burkina Faso, and it seems that he is purposefully being kept out of the country while the interim junta leaders prepares for some kind of transition toward more democratic rule. Overall, it seems that Camara's absence from Guinea is much more of a positive development than Yar'Adua's, which has been almost entirely detrimental.

Some Hopeful Signs Out of Guinea

Couple of hopeful news items out of Guinea. It looks like junta leader, Camara, getting shot in the head by an aide was probably a very good development for the country. The interim military leader, Sekouba Konate, seems to have no designs on staying in power, is talking about forming a new unity government, and says a Prime Minister drawn from the opposition would be acceptable. It also looks like ECOWAS, the West African IGO, is putting pressure on the junta to quickly transition toward a more democratic rule (following a little strategic sabre-rattling).

Karma in Guinea

I don't really believe in the supernatural, but recent the recent shooting of the leader of Guinea's ruling junta by his aide de camp might lead some to believe that there is some sort of karmic force at work in the universe.

Guinea junta chief Captain Moussa Dadis Camara was flown to Morocco on Friday for hospital treatment after being wounded in a gun attack by a former military aide, Moroccan authorities said.

Couldn't have happened to a nicer military dictator.

In September, the Guinean junta massacred 157 pro-democracy protesters and perpetrated widespread rape of women who participated in the protests. Camara claims that he wasn't at the rally because he couldn't find the keys to his pickup truck.

There are some rumblings that a) the shootout occurred in relation to investigations surrounding the September massacre and b) that this may spell the end of Camara's brief rule. He is currently undergoing treatment for the wound in Morocco.

Camara's Orwellian-named National Council for Democracy seized power last year amidst some hope that they would usher in a more liberal and democratic future and crack down on the drug trafficking that has plagued the small West African state. That hope quickly faded and it became clear that Camara did not intend on stepping down anytime soon.

Here's hoping that the Camara shooting could be a beginning toward a better path for Guinea.