With Obama in White House, U.S. Words Carry New Moral Weight in Guinea

[Pirate Smile]

Source: The New York Times

CONAKRY, Guinea — The Club Obama does not look like much, just a square thatched-roof platform jutting out to the ocean where jembe music, beer and the young mix at the edge of the pungent Boulbinet fish market.
Soldiers gather there, too, particularly the feared Red Berets; a notorious military camp is within view. Everybody, it seems, wants to relax under the sign of the American president.

There is no Club Sarkozy nearby in this sweltering, squalid capital; in West Africa, the French president cannot compete at present, despite his country’s historic connections as the former colonial power here. Right now, in this volatile region, mere mention of being from America — Obama’s America — is enough to avert an armed soldier’s grim gaze, defuse a mob’s anger, soften an unyielding border guard or lower the demands from ubiquitous bribe-seeking policemen.

The president’s name, freshly painted, appears above a barbershop, a grocery, a school, even tire stores here, as well as the cabaret in Boulbinet. In a leading bookstore downtown, a full-scale poster of Obama looks out from behind a closed door, a visual echo of the sentiments of those who go in to discuss politics.
The implications of this new American authority in an unfamiliar spot received a tryout last week, when the Obama administration sent a senior diplomat here to condemn the massacre of dozens of unarmed civilians protesting Guinea’s military government in September. They seem clear: America punches above its weight, in a part of the world that it has hitherto left to the French. The United States, with few practical sticks to beat the junta, nonetheless has a moral authority in the streets that the big-dog French do not match.

-snip-
On Wednesday, the International Criminal Court in The Hague confirmed that it was looking into the killings.
“We don’t accept it any more,” said Sow Baïlo, a Guinean actor and intellectual with a wide following. “That’s why we went to the stadium.”

In that context, the tough American stance against the government, as enunciated by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, carried a special weight.
“After the declaration of Hillary Clinton, the people regained confidence in themselves,” said Mamadi Kaba, president of the Guinean branch of the African Assembly for Human Rights. “It was a very powerful symbol. People understood that they had not been abandoned.”
There were indications that the junta itself understood the potency of the American position.

-snip-
The differing reactions were not lost on local observers. Mamadou Mouctar Diallo, an opposition leader, said Captain Camara “dared to defy France, but he didn’t dare defy the U.S.”
“America is a power that counts,” Mr. Diallo said. “You can’t turn your back on them.”



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/15/world/africa/15guinea.html?_r=1&src=twt&twt=nytimesworld

[Cha]

1. Interesting..thanks for the article,

Pirate Smile:)

I noticed "jembe"..I didn't know how it was spelled but I've been drumming on one lately and now I will think of the people of Guinea as well.

Actually, it's djembe but the d is silent.. http://www.x8drums.com/v/djembe-drum-buying-guide.asp

[Kind of Blue]

2. Idiot. I wish he thought of that before the sanctioned public

rapes and murders. But I am surprised though by his change in tone. The last I heard, Camara said, "Guinea is a sovereign nation and not a part of France or any other foreign country."

Kudos to Clinton for acting swiftly and hopefully stemming more atrocities. Thanks for posting.