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Coup Leader Aims To End Corruption

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The Associated Press

Published: December 28, 2008

CONAKRY, Guinea - Guinea's coup leader declared a zero-tolerance policy on corruption Saturday, vowing to renegotiate the country's many mining contracts and warning that anyone who embezzles state funds will be executed.

Capt. Moussa Camara also extended an apparent concession to Guinea's opposition, telling them they could help choose a prime minister on the heels of international criticism over elections not being planned for two more years.

On a concrete stage inside the barracks from where he launched his rebellion Tuesday, Camara swore to excise the corruption that has drained the mineral-rich country's coffers and impoverished the West African nation's 10 million people.

Guinea is the world's largest producer of bauxite, the raw material used to make aluminum, and also produces diamonds and gold. Yet its mineral wealth is largely thought to have been siphoned off to enrich the country's longtime ruling family and its collaborators.

The United States has called for the immediate restoration of civilian rule, while the European Union said the junta needs to hold elections next year.

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