Guinea may be on course for civilian rule

We called it, here at CompHyp, when then-Junta-leader Captain Moussa "Dadis" Camara was shot and had to take medical refuge in Morocco: The Junta is done for. What remains is merely playing out the string.

The facts of life were explained to Camara in a visit to him while he was still in Morocco, and again (more convincingly) in a confrontation between him and his long-time supporter General Sekouba Konate in Bukina Faso last week. Camara stays in exile; The Junta moves toward restoring civilian rule; no promises that Camara can dodge the pending charges that include him in the responsibility for the massacres of last September.

Step one is done:

After reports of a power struggle between his supporters and Gen Konate, Capt Camara agreed last week to take a back seat.

In an agreement signed last week, a national election was pencilled in for six months' time.

Step two started Wednesday:

Guinea's military rulers have chosen opposition leader Jean-Marie Dore to be prime minister, overseeing a return to civilian rule, officials say.

J-M Dore represents the educated "class" in the Opposition, and as the linked article comments, he will have to affirm the support of the trade union leaders to have any real ability to govern... and that's not a sure thing...

But it is a course toward civilian rule (not even a "return" to civilian rule, considering how the country was run for years) and it may well allow for an accounting to be had for the crimes of last September.

Godspeed, Guinea.