The armed forces of Guinea said today that they had seized power in that West African nation a week after the death of President Ahmed Sekou Toure ended what they called a ''bloody and ruthless dictatorship.'' The armed forces did not say what had happened to Government officials and the 14 members of the ruling Political Bureau, who were to have met today to choose a successor to Mr. Toure. Mr. Toure, who died March 26 in the Cleveland Clinic while having heart surgery, was black Africa's longest-serving head of state. He had led his nation, one of the world's leading producers of bauxite, since independence from France in October 1958.
The military dissolved the ruling Guinean Democratic Party, Parliament and all mass organizations, suspended the constitution, imposed a curfew from 10 P.M. to 6 A.M., closed the airport and the country's borders, seized the radio and television stations and forbade communication with the rest of the world. A statement read by an unidentified military spokesman on the Conakry radio said the army had ''decided to take over the running of the country in order to lay the foundations of a true democracy, avoiding in the future any personal dictatorship.''
The statement said the coup took place ''without bloodshed, in complete calm and amid popular rejoicing.'' The spokesman also said a ''military redemption committee'' was running the country of 5.5 million people, and added: ''The Guinean people had not dried its tears, yet a tough struggle for the succession was under way amongst Sekou Toure's companions, whose hands are sullied with the blood of so many innocent people.''
Among Mr. Toure's closest associates was Prime Minister Louis Lansana Beavogui, 61 years old, a longtime friend and adviser, who had been expected to succeed him. The spokesman praised Mr. Toure's influence in Africa but said his domestic record was questionable. ''Under the feudal pressure of his family and dishonest companions of his early struggle, your hope for a more just and more equitable society disappeared, swept away by a bloody and ruthless dictatorship,'' he said. The radio said that the military had decided to free all political prisoners and that Guinea would respect all its international commitments.
Guineans were confined to their homes. ''There will be no work, no market and no traffic,'' the spokesman said, concluding, ''Long live the glorious people of Guinea.'' After a period in which Guinea turned to the Soviet Union for aid, Mr. Toure had in recent years increasingly emphasized that he was not tied to any bloc. The nation has exported its bauxite, the ore for aluminum, to both Western countries and the Soviet Union.
During Mr. Toure's rule, human rights organizations said thousands of Guineans were killed or jailed and almost a fifth of the population went into exile. Amnesty International has listed 2,900 people in Guinea who disappeared without a trace. Mr. Toure claimed to have thwarted more than a dozen coup attempts.
Source: New York Times
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