Action

We were appalled and outraged by the recent violence in Guinea. The indiscriminate killing and raping that took place under government control by government troops was a vile violation of the rights of the people of that country . . . The leadership of Guinea owe a profound apology to the people, who had gathered in peaceful protest against the military takeover . . . They owe not only that apology in words, but in a recognition that they cannot remain in power, that they must turn back to the people the right to choose their own leaders.

– Hillary Clinton, U.S. Secretary of State, October 6, 2009

In response to the tragic events of September 28, 2009, multiple other and on-going human rights abuses in Guinea and repeated delays in proceeding to the democratic transition of power promised with the current military government took power, Alliance Guinea calls for the following actions:

In response to the massacre of September 28:

1. Release of protesters, activists and journalists arrested by the Guinean military and security forces;
2. Health care, pyscho-social and economic support to the victims of September 28, in particular the dozens of rape survivors;
3. Complete census of all persons reported missing since September 28, 2009;
4. Restitution to family members of all mortal remains of protesters killed;
5. Return to the freedom of press, allowing private radio stations free speech to discuss current events and allow opposition parties access to the air waves;
6. Pursuit of a judicial process to prosecute the crimes against humanity committed on and after September 28;
7. Institution of an embargo of arms sales to Guinea until the military is restructured and civilian rule established.

To ensure a peaceful, democratic transition to civilian rule:

1. Provide all necessary financial and technical assistance to the National Independent Election Commission responsible for the elections now scheduled for June 27, and for the several election observer and monitor groups essential for closely following the electoral process;
2. Provide technical and financial support to ECOWAS civil-political observers to monitor the situation closely and help keep the peace;
3. Facilitate the efficient sharing of information within Guinea, across the Guinean diaspora and to the outside media to increase understanding of the electoral process and increase issue-based voting.

In the run-up to the presidential elections now set for June 27, Alliance Guinea is focusing on the following activities – contact the people listed to get involved!

1. Congressional outreach: Join forces with other Alliance members in your state/region to make sure that your Congressional representatives know about this critical moment in Guinea and what it means for America to “always stand on the side of freedom and human dignity” as President Obama said in his State of the Union address. We’ll be asking our Members of Congress to sign a letter addressed to Secretary of State Clinton saying that they are monitoring events closely, asking that the US do all it can to help Guinea with this transition, and that we also do everyhing possible to ensure that the perpetrators of the September 28 crimes against humanity are brought to justice. To take part in this critical pre-election effort contact Steve Wood at stephenawood at gmail.com.
2. Candidate questionnaire: Who has the most thoughtful policy on sustainable mining in Guinea? Who has the best record for real, positive accomplishments in country? Alliance is joining forces with our friends at RougeJauneVert.com and many others to develop a common questionnaire of 15 questions for candidates to answer, providing the means to compare on substantive issues and cast an informed vote. To learn more and become involved in the development and dissemination of this questionnaire, contact Mohamed Toure at mohamedl.toure at gmail.com.
3. Ushahidi for Guinea: First introduced in Kenya to collect citizen-generated information about events in that country following their elections in 2007, Ushahidi has since been adapted for multiple uses around the world. In the case of Guinea, the platform Alliance is developing will enable people on the ground to send election-related messages and notice of events in their community using SMS sent to an internet-based map – allowing election monitors, the media and the general public to follow the development of discussions and incidents in real time. To learn more and become involved in this initiative, contact Damien Brockmann at damienbrockmann at gmail.com.
4. Blog: Follow the Guinean news closely and feel like you have an important perspective to share? Want to reach a diverse audience around the world of Guineans, other friends of Guinea, international media and international players with your analyses? Become a blogger for www.allianceguinea.org! Write in either French or English and the Alliance translation team will translate. To help our diverse following keep up and better understand the most important developments around democracy and justice in Guinea – especially in the run-up to these historic elections – by blogging on regular basis, contact Raul Rothblatt at rrothblatt at gmail.com.
5. The Next Greatest Initiative: Have an idea about something else that we can do in the next 49 days to make a difference? Want to take the initiative and make that idea happen? We’re all about letting a thousand democratic and justice flowers bloom – let us know how the rest of us at Alliance can help by contacting Jen Swift-Morgan at jbsfela at yahoo.com. Or just do it and post something on the Alliance wall to let the rest of us know!

And, if you do not have a lot of time but do have the desire to help, please consider donating here.  We’re still 100% volunteer-run and have an ambitious agenda – every contribution counts tremendously. Thank you for your support.

Finally, here are things you can do anytime on your own to raise awareness about what is happening in Guinea and build international support for justice and democracy:

1. WRITE TO YOUR HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER AND/OR REPRESENTATIVE

If you are in the US and wish to contact your elected representatives, find your Congresspeople at these links for the House of Representatives and for the Senate.

Recommended things to include in a letter, which doesn’t have to be long:

a. A personal connection to Guinea, to democracy: if you are Guinean, talk about the country you knew before these atrocities happened. If you are a returned Peace Corps volunteer, talk about your village, your family, what Guinea means to you. If you’ve been to Guinea, talk about what it was like.  If you are another kind of friend of Guinea or of human rights and democracy in general, talk about why what is happening caught your attention, what it means to you to live in freedom and democracy.

b. Some basic background into the situation, such as (and feel free to copy):

On Monday, September 28, 2009, nine months after a military junta took control of Guinea in a coup, more than 50,000 Guineans rallied in the capital of Conakry to protest the possible presidential candidacy of the junta’s leader, Captain Moussa Dadis Camara. The population was met by a merciless attack by the Guinean military who fired live ammunition into the crowd, beat people with batons, and viciously raped women and girls in the streets.  Currently, the International Red Cross has estimated the death toll at 157 with more than 1,200 people injured, but with reports of the junta hiding bodies and many of the critically wounded in worsening state, these figures are likely much higher. The latest reports are that the violence continues with soldiers rampaging and looting with impunity in the city.  While Guinea has traditionally been a relatively peaceful country, 51 years of dictatorship and gross mismanagement of government since independence has led to an unsupportable situation.  Guineans have had enough.

c. A few words about why people outside of Guinea should care, such as:

• we need to act now before the situation turns into war, ie another Liberia, another Sierra Leone, etc
• how many times after Rwanda and Darfour have we pledged that next time we will not to sit idly by when countries are on the edge of mass violence?
• America/France/Poland, etc. (your country) fought for its own democracy and freedom, and people continue this fight for equal rights for all people in our countries. Guineans are no different in their desire for peace and democracy, and we must stand with them.

d. A call for the international community to not let the junta get away with the crimes they have committed or delay elections any further. You can say that you a heartened by the statements already made by the UN Security Council; African Union; European Union; the governments of the US, France, Canada; and the Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS) among others strongly condemning the action and in some cases calling for immediate international investigation into the events. Can say that you expect that these statements will be followed up by real action with regard to the investigation into crimes against humanity, with real pressure on the junta and with assistance in finding a path towards democratic elections.

e. Tell people to visit www.allianceguinea.org to be a part of the cause, sign an online petition in support of the Guinean people,  and to learn more about what they can do.

2. EMAIL CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, CANAL + & ANY JOURNALIST YOU KNOW

Tell them what is happening i Guinea and that they should be covering this story. CNN, for instance, has an “exchange” page for feedback on coverage, etc.: http://www.cnn.com/feedback/forms/form.sound.off.html.

3. WRITE ABOUT GUINEA IN YOUR OWN BLOG, MAGAZINE OR NEWSPAPER

Many of you have your own blogs, are part of organizations that have blogs or newsletters, or are journalists yourself. Write about what is happening, and tell people to join us here at www.allianceguinea.org. Link your blog to ours.

4. HOLD AN AWARENESS & ORGANIZING MEETING

Meet with your community group, church/synagogue/mosque, student organization, book group, whatever - and tell them about Guinea. Get them to join our letter writing campaign and meet up with us here at www.allianceguinea.org.

5. JOIN ONE OF ALLIANCE GUINEA’S SUB-COMMITTEES

• Are you a lawyer, law student, human rights activist? Join our law & human rights group. (See Human Rights page).
• Are you an educator or student leader? Join our education group for universities and for highschools. (See Education page.)
• Are you an elected leader or political activist? Join our advocacy action group. (Tell us on this Advocacy page.)

Email allianceguinea@gmail.com to get involved in any of these sub-committees.

WHAT OTHER IDEAS DO *YOU* HAVE?

Respond to this post with your own ideas for action we can take now.