Cape Town — A national conference on the political way forward for Guinea, has been initiated by the ministry of territorial administration and decentralization, with the aim of building a "new institutional framework".

This comes after the military seized power from the previous president Alpha Condé in September 2021. Since then there has been pressure from the regional body ECOWAS to return the country to civilian rule. Colonel Mamady Doumbouya declared himself interim president in October of that year.

Doumbouya will deliver the opening address and consultations are expected to last several weeks.

He announced on December 31, 2021 that the conference would be about "forgiveness and truth" and also "reconciliation". While he did not explain how this will be implemented, experts and civil society organisations agree that the conference should implement the recommendations of a report published in 2016, that recommended the setting up of a Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission. They are of the opinion that this approach would be "more productive".

The National Front for the Defence of the Constitution, is concerned about the mobilisation of resources. However political players and technical partners were overwhelmed by many questions, a few hours before the start of the conference. They were still unaware of the precise content of the conference and the purpose of these exchanges. "Why dwell on these meetings when we are still waiting for a timetable on the transition", one observer said.

Several associations and organizations have set conditions for their participation in these meetings. Camp Boiro Victims Association for example believe that the 2016 report must be updated to take into account all the violence in the country from 1958 to the present day.

Translated from RFI by Allafrica's Michael Tantoh