Guinea Prime Minister Surrenders to Military Coup Leaders

[XXPANTHAXX]

Guinea prime minister 'surrenders'

Camara has justified the coup as a 'civic act'

Ahmed Tidiane Souare, the Guinean prime minister, has reportedly
presented himself at an army camp near Conakry after being ordered to do
so by the country's self-declared president.

Captain Moussa Dadis Camara declared himself the new president of Guinea
and ordered the government and senior military leaders to give
themselves up by the end of Thursday.

Former government ministers had gathered at Souare's suburban home on
Thursday before boarding cars and driving off to the sprawling military
camp, trailed by a number of soldiers, AFP news agency reported.

The army captain paraded through the capital on Wednesday with hundreds
of soldiers amid cheering crowds.

Camara was unknown to most Guineans until this week, when he and other
members of his faction announced a coup d'etat following the death of
Lansana Conte, the country's former president.

The coup leaders initially promised elections within 60 days, but Camara
said on Wednesday that the group would organise a presidential election
by 2010.

Camara also plans to lead a 32-member National Council for Democracy and
Development (CNDD), made up of 26 military officers and six civilians.

Enthusiastic atmosphere

Richard Cornwell, a regional analyst from the Institute of Security
Studies in Pretoria, South Africa, told Al Jazeera that there seems to
be an enthusiastic atmosphere for Camara.

"It's early days yet, a lot can happen in politics even in one week ...
and there are all kinds of ambitious politicians there who may have
their own interests in mind," he said.

"But it is well known that the army itself has a lot of grievances
against the old regime, and there may be future attempts to change just
who may be heading this country, but all this remains to be seen."

Thousands of Guineans cheered Camara as he brandished the national flag,
while on board a military convoy, waving to the crowd in Conakry on
Wednesday.

The pro-coup forces continue to move freely and unopposed around the
sprawling coastal city, and according to witnesses and police sources,
were arresting potential opponents.

In a televised statement broadcast on Wednesday, Camara defended the
coup as "a civic act ... to save a people in distress".

But the UN, the European Union and the US all condemned the latest
political upheaval in Africa, which follows post-election turmoil in
Kenya and Zimbabwe, and an August military coup in Mauritania.

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies