An army colonel, Col. Lansana Conte, 39 years old, pledged to reverse the ''harm'' done by President Ahmed Sekou Toure. In a broadcast interview, Colonel Conte denounced racism, which he said ''had been more accentuated'' in Guinea than elsewhere in Africa. He said the military would insure that all citizens ''have the same rights and the same responsibilities.'' Mr. Toure's Government had been dominated by members of his Malinke ethnic group. Diplomats said the new Government appeared to be well balanced among the various tribes. Colonel Conte said the problem of human rights ''will be our principal problem because since our independence 26 years ago we have lived under a regime where there was no right of expression, where a person did not have the right to say what he wants.'' The new leadership has accused Mr. Toure of rights violations. In the 1960's and 70's, the Government arrested and imprisoned thousands of people. Many others disappeared or were executed.
A recent State Department report said the number of political prisoners had been ''considerably reduced over the past several years.'' ''The old regime died with President Ahmed Sekou Toure, whom we have praised for having led us to independence but that is all,'' the colonel said. ''Now that we have succeeded in taking his place, we are obliged to banish all the harm he has done.''
Throughout Conakry, portraits of Mr. Toure were being removed or defaced. In some places the image had been roughly scratched off or painted over and the slogan ''Down with corruption!'' scrawled nearby. Flags that had been at half-staff after Mr. Toure's death were raised. Hundreds of jubilant schoolchildren, led by adults, paraded through the streets, singing, beating drums and blowing whistles. Some automobiles bore handpainted signs reading, ''Long live the military! Long live the Republic of Guinea!'' Under the former Government, the title was the People's Revolutionary Republic of Guinea.
Several times during the day, Colonel Conte and other officials drove through the city in a motorcade, led by soldiers on motorcycles. Crowds cheered and waved as the motorcade passed. Asked why he was cheering, one Guinean replied, ''Because we have been liberated.'' There was no word on the fate of members of the ousted Government. On Wednesday a military spokesman said only that senior officials had been put ''under security.''
A radio announcement ordered any officials who had not yet reported to the new authorities to do so immediately. Several radio reports also said the coup had been accomplished ''with no bloodletting and without exchanges of gunfire.'' However, a communique issued today by the ruling Military Committee for National Rectification said that the new leadership ''is attentively following the movements of a small group of people who, in connivance with some foreign embassies in the capital, are planning to do harm.'' A well-placed official said the allusion was to the Moroccan Embassy. Moroccan leaders had close relations with Mr. Toure, members of his Government and family. Colonel Conte did not elaborate on the economic policy changes being contemplated. A communique issued Wednesday pledged to encourage free enterprise.
Source: New York Times
