For too long, public figures within and outside Africa
have been timid about discussing Guinea’s deep-rooted
problems. Its strong anti-imperialist stance in the 1960s
and beyond earned it respect among pan-Africanists, but
the hands-off attitude that grew out of that respect has
long since degraded into indifference and cynicism. The
probability is now high that President Conté’s term will
end in a military takeover, which some seem prepared to
accept before the fact, as if it were a means of preserving
Guinea’s sovereignty. But parts of Guinea’s civilian elite
are finally beginning to treat the country’s future as their
own collective concern, one not to be resolved by a
third party, whether the army or foreign diplomats. They
should be given every encouragement, including by
relevant international actors, to do so.
