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WASHINGTON, Sep 29 (OneWorld.net) - Human rights groups and the UN chief are condemning Tuesday's brutal military attacks on a pro-democracy rally in the West African nation of Guinea. Over 100 people were killed and countless women raped and sexually assaulted. While debate and divisions between political parties are welcome, we are now receiving word of abductions, torture, and rape in the capitol area," said Gerald LeMelle, executive director of the Washington, DC-based advocacy group Africa Action, in a statement today.
LeMelle was responding to events yesterday in the Guinean capital Conakry, where security forces responded to a largely peaceful political rally by shooting into the crowd and beating and sexually assaulting women.

According to the Guinean Organization for the Defense of Human Rights, at least 157 people were killed and 1,200 wounded. UN chief Ban Ki-moon has "deplored" the use of force and called on the country's rulers "to exercise maximum restraint and to uphold the rule of law."
The New York-based Human Rights Watch, which has human rights monitors stationed around the world, also expressed shock at the brutality.
"The killing of dozens of unarmed protesters is shocking even by the abusive standards of Guinea's coup government," said Corinne Dufka, the group's senior West Africa researcher, referring to the military junta that took power last December after the death of the country's former president, who himself had taken power in a coup and ruled for the previous 24 years.
"Guinea's leaders should order an immediate end to attacks on demonstrators and bring to justice those responsible for the bloodshed," added Dufka. LeMelle's group has called on the United States government to join in condemning the situation in Guinea and use its influence to protect human rights and advance democracy in the resource-rich but politically fragile country.

A Brutal Show of Force

The French medical aid group Doctors without Borders (known by its French acronym MSF) is reporting that hospitals in Conakry have been overwhelmed by an influx of hundreds of wounded, and ambulances were picking up more today for transport to medical facilities. MSF staff said that most of those injured had suffered gun shot wounds or been attacked with knives, and several women seen by MSF also reported having been raped. Human Rights Watch monitors received similar reports from eyewitnesses.
When the crowd pushed past security forces to hold a long-planned pro-democracy rally at a major stadium, police allegedly responded with gunfire -- first into the air, then into the crowd. Human Rights Watch's report describes the harrowing events, from the point of view of several people at the scene:
"One witness told Human Rights Watch: 'At around noon, our [opposition] political leaders came to address the rally. Shortly after they arrived, the military started shooting. Our leaders didn't even have a chance to speak. I saw the armed men shooting directly into the crowds and shooting in the air -- there was tear gas and gunshots and total panic; we ran for our lives.'
"Eyewitnesses and medical personnel told Human Rights Watch that many of the bodies of protesters were riddled with bullet holes. Others had stab wounds from knives and bayonets. A number of women taking part in the demonstration were stripped naked and sexually assaulted by security forces, victims and witnesses said.
"A second witness to the violence said: 'I saw the Red Berets [an elite unit within the military] catch some of the women who were trying to flee, rip off their clothes, and stick their hands in their private parts. Others beat the women, including on their genitals. It was pathetic -- the women were crying out.'
"Another eyewitness said: 'I saw several women stripped and then put inside the military trucks and taken away. I don't know what happened to them.' "Victims of the violence reported that there were so many people in the local hospital that they waited for hours without being treated. One young man who had been shot in the leg described the scene in the hospital: 'I waited for treatment from just after 11 a.m. until 4 p.m., but there were so many other wounded, they didn't even have time to treat me. I saw people dying in front of me.'
"Witnesses also spoke of widespread looting by members of the security forces; a few described how vehicles were stolen and possessions looted, including from the homes of opposition leaders."

A Troubled Nine Months Led to Yesterday's Massacre

The crowd of tens of thousands were protesting the rule of Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, who said last December, after the death of the former president, that elections would be held in 2009 and that neither he nor anyone in his military government would seek the office.
At the time, Camara said he was talking power only to provide political stability for the country that had no clear succession plan to replace its longtime ruler. But the nine months since have seen a slew of arbitrary arrests and detentions, restrictions on political activity, and unpunished criminal acts by the military, according to Human Rights Watch.
Camara also delayed any decision about elections for many months, finally announcing in August that the vote would take place in January 2010, and that he might stand for the office after all. This final point led advocacy groups in the country to organize yesterday's protest, which Camara's government prohibited.

Life in Guinea

Guinea is about the size of the United Kingdom, but with only one sixth the population (approximately 10 million, compared to the UK's 60 million).  Across Guinea's varied terrain lie vast mineral resources -- including the world's largest reserves of bauxite, the raw material used to produce aluminum, which is used in countless industries across the globe. The country also boasts significant deposits of diamonds, gold, and iron ore, and abundant agriculture, forestry, hydropower, and fishing potential.
The massive Niger is just one of 22 rivers that find their source in Guinea's highlands. Nevertheless, Guinea's standard of living was ranked 157th in the world by the UN in 2008. Fully 70 percent of adults can not read and write and nearly one third of the population does not have access to clean drinking water.
Only one in five Guineans have access to electricity, and even for them, the power cuts off frequently. Mounting food prices put even rice out of reach of many families at some points in recent years. The country's poor living conditions are widely blamed on the corruption accompanying decades of autocratic rule. Since independence in 1958, Guinea has been ruled by only three men: Camara, his predecessor General Lansana Conte (1984-2008), and Sekou Toure (1958-1984). The next few days and months will determine whether the country's political trends -- and their accompanying humanitarian consequences -- will continue.
Africa Action's Michael Stulman believes the international community -- and especially the United States -- have an important role to play in determining the fate of Guinea's 10 million people.
"There is grassroots support for democracy and development," said Stulman, "but the U.S. should exert greater leadership to support human security in the region."

Text: http://us.oneworld.net/article/367074-guinea-crackdown-attracts-international-scorn