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December 27, 2008

Guinea Junta Seeks International Support
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=2133462:A6F02AD83191E1606BEEA04C5C6900D130EB2FA2E66CBB22&
 
Leaders invite representatives of UN, Group of Eight leading
industrialized countries, European Union and African Union for meeting
in capital, Conakry 
Guinea's coup leader Captain Moussa Camara, 25 Dec 2008Guinea's military
junta has invited representatives of the
international community for a meeting Saturday in a bid to win support
for its bloodless coup. The junta's leaders invited
representatives of the United Nations, the Group of Eight leading
industrialized countries, the European Union and the African Union for
a meeting in Guinea's capital, Conakry. The coup leaders will hold
separate talks Saturday with leaders of Guinea's political parties and
civil society groups. In Paris Friday, Senegal's President Abdoulaye
Wade urged the international community to support the junta. Mr.
Wade spoke to reporters during a visit to the Senegalese Embassy in
Paris. He said the junta deserves to be backed because of its promise
to organize free and fair elections. The African Union, the
United States and the European Union have condemned the coup and called
for Guinea to quickly return to civilian rule. On Friday,
soldiers loyal to Army Captain Moussa Camara, who seized power in a
coup following the death Monday of Guinea's longtime President Lansana
Conte, fired shots into the air to enforce a nighttime curfew following
Mr. Conte's funeral. Tens of thousands of people gathered in Conakry
Friday to pay their last respects to the late president. Mr. Conte had
ruled Guinea for nearly 25 years, taking power in a coup in 1984.Camara
declared himself president on Thursday, and said new elections will be
held by the end of 2010. The African Union, the United States and the
European Union have condemned the coup and called for Guinea to quickly
return to civilian rule. Mr. Conte's prime minister, Ahmed Tidiane
Souare, and other Guinean officials have signaled their support for
Camara.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.


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