By Saliou Samb
CONAKRY, Dec 25 (Reuters) - The army captain installed as de facto head of state in Guinea in a military coup moved to cement his grip on power on Thursday, but said he would not stand for president in promised elections.
Government ministers reported to the Alpha Yaya Diallo military base in Conakry's suburbs, as instructed by the junta, which late on Wednesday replaced regional chiefs appointed by the late President Lansana Conte with military commanders.
Capt. Moussa Dadis Camara was chosen on Wednesday as leader of Guinea, the world's biggest exporter of aluminium ore bauxite and a target for billions of dollars in mining investment, after Conte's on Monday.
Mining operations have not immediately been affected but analysts say foreign resources firms may be targeted as sources of cash by the new rulers.
'I do not have the ambition of being a candidate at the presidential elections,' Camara said in comments broadcast by Radio France International.
'I have never had the ambition of power.'
The soldiers who mounted the coup, calling themselves the National Council for Democracy and Development (CNDD), appeared unopposed in their control of the capital Conakry three days after Conte's death from illness.
Government ministers including Prime Minister Ahmed Tidiane Souare reported to the junta's headquarters as instructed but left the camp after meeting coup leaders.
'Government ministers met at the prime minister's house then went to the camp,' a police source said. There was no immediate word on the content of the meeting.
Camara said his administration would attempt to fight the corruption he said had become endemic under Conte's rule.
'The government did not do what it had to,' he told state television. 'It did not deserve the confidence of the nation.'
Many businesses were closed in Conakry on Thursday and soldiers patrolled the streets, though roadside vendors were working as normal and people and cars moved freely.
'We have come out because we can't stay at home and we hope the situation will stabilise,' said Souleymane Bah, a car mechanic in the capital.
INTERNATIONAL REACTION
The United Nations, African Union, European Union and United States have condemned this most recent failure of democracy in Africa, which comes after a military coup in Saharan Islamic state Mauritania in August, and post-election violence in Zimbabwe, Kenya and Nigeria.
France, which holds the six-month rotating presidency of the EU until next month, called for elections to be held soon.
'The presidency points out the importance of respecting time limits and within the first half of 2009 holding democratic and transparent elections,' it said in a statement.
International firms including Rio Tinto, Alcoa and United Company Rusal dig bauxite, the raw material for aluminium, in the former French colony.
Until earlier this month, Rio planned to spend $6 billion on the Simandou iron ore project, but postponed work as part of a cost-cutting scheme. A firm owned by Israeli diamond dealer Beny Steinmetz has since said it has obtained the rights to a section of the concession.
Camara was chosen on Wednesday to lead the 32-member junta, which announced the suspension of the constitution and the government on Tuesday. The CNDD has promised to hold elections in two years.
Camara has defended the coup as 'a civic act ... to save a people in distress'. Guinea's civilian leader, National Assembly President Aboubacar Sompare, who under the constitution should have taken over as interim head of state, has appealed to the international community to prevent the coup from succeeding.
((For factbox on Conte, click on, on Guinea , on Guinea mining))
(For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://africa.reuters.com/)
(Additional reporting by Brian Rohan in Paris; Writing by Daniel Magnowski; editing by Jon Boyle) Keywords: GUINEA/ (daniel.magnowski@reuters.com; Dakar Newsroom +221 33 864 5076) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2008. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
CONAKRY, Dec 25 (Reuters) - The army captain installed as de facto head of state in Guinea in a military coup moved to cement his grip on power on Thursday, but said he would not stand for president in promised elections.
Government ministers reported to the Alpha Yaya Diallo military base in Conakry's suburbs, as instructed by the junta, which late on Wednesday replaced regional chiefs appointed by the late President Lansana Conte with military commanders.
Capt. Moussa Dadis Camara was chosen on Wednesday as leader of Guinea, the world's biggest exporter of aluminium ore bauxite and a target for billions of dollars in mining investment, after Conte's on Monday.
Mining operations have not immediately been affected but analysts say foreign resources firms may be targeted as sources of cash by the new rulers.
'I do not have the ambition of being a candidate at the presidential elections,' Camara said in comments broadcast by Radio France International.
'I have never had the ambition of power.'
The soldiers who mounted the coup, calling themselves the National Council for Democracy and Development (CNDD), appeared unopposed in their control of the capital Conakry three days after Conte's death from illness.
Government ministers including Prime Minister Ahmed Tidiane Souare reported to the junta's headquarters as instructed but left the camp after meeting coup leaders.
'Government ministers met at the prime minister's house then went to the camp,' a police source said. There was no immediate word on the content of the meeting.
Camara said his administration would attempt to fight the corruption he said had become endemic under Conte's rule.
'The government did not do what it had to,' he told state television. 'It did not deserve the confidence of the nation.'
Many businesses were closed in Conakry on Thursday and soldiers patrolled the streets, though roadside vendors were working as normal and people and cars moved freely.
'We have come out because we can't stay at home and we hope the situation will stabilise,' said Souleymane Bah, a car mechanic in the capital.
INTERNATIONAL REACTION
The United Nations, African Union, European Union and United States have condemned this most recent failure of democracy in Africa, which comes after a military coup in Saharan Islamic state Mauritania in August, and post-election violence in Zimbabwe, Kenya and Nigeria.
France, which holds the six-month rotating presidency of the EU until next month, called for elections to be held soon.
'The presidency points out the importance of respecting time limits and within the first half of 2009 holding democratic and transparent elections,' it said in a statement.
International firms including Rio Tinto, Alcoa and United Company Rusal dig bauxite, the raw material for aluminium, in the former French colony.
Until earlier this month, Rio planned to spend $6 billion on the Simandou iron ore project, but postponed work as part of a cost-cutting scheme. A firm owned by Israeli diamond dealer Beny Steinmetz has since said it has obtained the rights to a section of the concession.
Camara was chosen on Wednesday to lead the 32-member junta, which announced the suspension of the constitution and the government on Tuesday. The CNDD has promised to hold elections in two years.
Camara has defended the coup as 'a civic act ... to save a people in distress'. Guinea's civilian leader, National Assembly President Aboubacar Sompare, who under the constitution should have taken over as interim head of state, has appealed to the international community to prevent the coup from succeeding.
((For factbox on Conte, click on, on Guinea , on Guinea mining))
(For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://africa.reuters.com/)
(Additional reporting by Brian Rohan in Paris; Writing by Daniel Magnowski; editing by Jon Boyle) Keywords: GUINEA/ (daniel.magnowski@reuters.com; Dakar Newsroom +221 33 864 5076) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2008. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.