On March 28, at the trial of the September 28, 2009 massacre, François Lonsény Fall, former president of the former United Front for Democracy and Change (FUDEC) party, testified before the bar. A member of the Forces Vives who organized the demonstration, he recounted the course of events and formally accused Captain Marcel Guilavogui of the abuses committed at the stadium that day. Mr. Fall considers Aboubacar Sidiki Diakité said their savior.
Objective of the Forces Vives
François Lonsény Fall indicated that the Forces vives were formed to say no to a possible candidacy of a member of the CNDD or its president Captain Moussa Dadis Camara in an election. Especially since the members of the Forces Vives had noted the reverse order of the elections, when it was a question of organizing the legislative elections before the presidential election. But according to him, through maneuvers, an ad hoc committee had reversed the order of the elections. “What we feared at the time. What happened unfortunately in Guinea, because after the presidential election of 2010, it took us three years of pain to be able to have elections. It is a set of situations that led us to say that the Forces vives had to make their voices heard. We told you about the visit of President Wade, the meeting of local elected officials, we told you about the visit of the vice president of the CNDD who made a campaign speech in Macenta, we told you about Labé, Fria and I myself was in Kankan a few days before September 28, I saw maneuvers that were in place to support the president of the CNDD. So the mechanism was in place. It was clear that the CNDD was preparing to take part in the elections. which was contrary to the commitments that had been made. Despite all the efforts that had been deployed by the International Contact Group that had been set up, the CNDD did not back down. This is why we decided to hold this meeting; not to create unrest in the country. We wanted to do it in a protected place, calling on all of our populations for weeks through media campaigns. It wasn’t hidden, because we wanted to demonstrate in front of the world; in response to what President Abdoulaye Wade said here in Conakry that the majority of the Guinean people were in favor of a democratic election in Guinea. This is the reason why we chose this date. »
Mobilization
On the morning of September 28, 2009, Lonsény Fall claimed to have received the leaders of his party at his home. They had breakfast together in an atmosphere of trust, before going to the stadium. “I separated from my activists, I picked up my colleague Sidya Touré at his home. Arrived at the level of the stadium, we saw that the stadium was already full of people. There was already a fine rain in the morning. We had to bypass, to go to Landréah, to join the other leaders at the home of our spokesperson, Jean-Marie Doré. When we arrived we were informed that there had been problems at the stadium”. The former ambassador, the former Prime Minister, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, recalls that Jean-Marie Doré had informed them that he was expecting a delegation of religious. But given the atmosphere at the esplanade, they felt it was necessary to join the compatriots. Because during the preparations, they had promised that this time the first leaders of the political parties would be present. All the leaders of the political parties were present, with the exception of the president of the RPG who had traveled a few days earlier, explains the diplomat. “We left Jean-Marie Doré’s home on foot. When we arrived at the FONDIS foundation, we encountered a cordon of gendarmerie; at its head: Moussa Tiegboro Camara, there was a long discussion with him. He wished we could change the date. But where we were, we couldn’t change the date since thousands of activists were already gathered. There was no question of going back”. He believes that backtracking meant betrayal on their part, because the militants had already mobilized en masse. “When the activists realized that we were blocked, there was a large crowd that came towards us, who broke the locks. From that moment, our feet no longer touched the ground. We were taken in triumph by our militants. It was tens of thousands of people who carried us in triumph towards the stadium. We don’t know how the gates of the stadium had been opened, but what is certain, we entered the stadium carried in triumph by this mass. We sat down on the podium. The atmosphere was a broad daylight atmosphere. The militants had stormed both the platform and the bleachers. I still remember these young people singing the national anthem, others who lined up on the lawn to pray two rakats of prayer, to thank God for being there and to thank God also that he may bless our country for the advent of democracy in Guinea. I was there, I watched this show with a lot of encouragement for the future of our country”.
Of the massacre
“At some point, we saw our spokesperson entering through the footballers’ gate. From where we were, we saw our colleague Jean-Marie Doré given a standing ovation by the young people. We were happy that our spokesperson decided to join us,” says Lonsény Fall. The leader of the living forces says that they immediately heard cracklings followed by a great rush of tear gas which invaded the stadium, which flooded the stadium. “From where we were, we couldn’t breathe anymore. The young people formed a cordon to bring us leaves, to protect us against the effect of the gas. It was at this moment that panic spread throughout the stadium, young people were running everywhere. These shots from outside preceded the entry of the soldiers inside the stadium. Then the soldiers entered. When they entered, I recognized Commander Aboubacar Sidiki Diakité dit Toumba among them”. The witness claims to have seen the soldiers shoot at the crowd which was in disarray. “People were running everywhere, they were climbing the walls, they were falling. I saw young people falling on the lawn, Sidya said: ”You have seen, they are killing the young people”. I never imagined that this could happen in my country. It was at this moment, he said, Aboubacar Sidiki Diakité dit Toumba came up to them, he asked where the leaders are. As soon as they got up, a group of soldiers had come behind Toumba, whom Lonsény Fall recognized as being Marcel, this group seized them, they received the first blows. Sidya received a violent blow from a club or rifle butt on his head, the blood spurted out, affirms Mr. Fall who continues: “I received a violent blow, I fell on the bleachers, my right elbow was torn. The blood, the pain, I felt it vividly. This is how we descended, some went right, some left. Still pursued by the assailants and on the lawn, I saw our colleague Cellou Dalein in their (military) hands, which strangled him by beating him. While we were stopped, I saw Marcel strike a violent blow on the head of Sidya Touré and then it will be my turn, a violent blow with a truncheon on my head, I fell. I got up right away, I hung on the belt of my young colleague Mouctar Diallo. My bodyguard, who was dressed like the police, covered me with his body, and I clung to Mouctar. It was at this moment that Toumba extracted us with difficulty, he asked us to follow him. That’s how we got out of the stadium, but the assailants were still chasing us. When we got to the Sports Palace, we saw soldiers undressing women, beating women. We saw an almost naked woman, whom they dragged towards the Palais des Sports. We walked to the esplanade. Arrived there, we found our unfortunate Jean-Marie Doré who no longer had his jacket or his tie, he was bloodily beaten. It was at this moment that Toumba took us into his vehicle: Sidya Touré, Mouctar Diallo, Jean-Marie Doré and myself. He ran back to the stadium, his vehicle was parked on the side of the road.
During this time, Marcel and his soldiers circled around the vehicle, they preferred threats to one moment, he gave a violent blow with a truncheon in the face of Sidya Touré. Sidya asked him, “What did I do to you? ” And Marcel answered: ” You, you will never be Presidents, we will kill you all”, and he threatened. We were terrified because there was no one to protect us. We also saw Toumba come back running, he got behind the wheel, he took the direction of the Ambroise Paré clinic at very high speed. In front of the Ambroise Paré clinic, we got off, the doctors and nurses came out to welcome us. We saw Marcel appear, Colonel Tiegboro Camara was present on the scene; So there was an altercation between Marcel and Toumba. That’s when we knew that the one who beat us inside the stadium is called Marcel, because Toumba called him by his name. There was a long argument, Marcel wanted us to be taken to the Alpha Yaya camp, Tiegboro timidly tried, he couldn’t. It was at this moment that Marcel took out a grenade, to say that ”if we were received in the clinic”, he was going to blow up the clinic. Toumba took us back to his vehicle, direction, the staff of the gendarmerie”, where they were “deposited”, not far from the ministry of the Plan where only Sidya accepted to receive first aid, whose wound was sutured without anesthesia.
As the authorities realized that there had been carnage, the leaders were transported to the Pasteur clinic, in a large room, for treatment, testified François Lonsény Fall.
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