Xinhua - Visiting Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore (photo) has invited Guinea's military junta leader, Capt. Moussa Dadis Camara, and his political opponents to Ouagadougou for talks on a lasting solution to the months-old crisis.Compaore, the mediator appointed by the Economic Community for West African States (ECOWAS), invited both sides to talks at a press conference held in the Guinean capital Conakry on Monday evening, before going back to Ouagadougou, the Burkinabe capital.
Ouagadougou is well known for hosting a series of talks to end the crisis in neighboring Cote d'Ivoire, with the rival sides signing four peace accords leading to a presidential election on Nov. 29.
Compaore, who also appealed to the Guinean media to preach the message of peace, said he would not perform "a miracle" to the crisis and that "all political actors and those in power (junta) have to find a solution" for the West African country.
He urged the military junta to release all political detainees, treat the sick and the injured. After that, "we will talk about elections," he said.
Compaore arrived in Conakry on Monday following a decision by his peers in ECOWAS to mandate him with the responsibility of ending the Guinean political crisis, in which a clash erupted on Sept. 28 in Conakry leaving many people dead and injured.
The junta put the death toll at 56, while a local human rights group reported 157 people killed and more than 1,200 others injured in the confrontation in which soldiers opened fire.
Published by Mike Hitchen i On Global Trends, world news, analysis, opinion
Putting principles before profits
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