Question 2.29

2.29 Did you know what Sékou Touré thought of you?

At first he was very surprised by my freedom of speech. He also knew that I respected the protocol of the regime. For example, I never missed the long ceremonies on the national holiday or any other public manifestation organized by the State Party, and if Sékou Touré invited me to the presidential palace, I did not decline.

On several occasions, he had me sit beside him, among his ministers, presenting me as an example of faithfulness to the policies of the State Party. He proclaimed that he placed all his trust in me. … Several people came to see me to warn me about the trap that the president would not fail to set for me.

During our one-on-one meetings, he listened attentively to my observations, and the tone of our conversations was cordial. However, he must have known my opinions, because I knew that secret service agents listened to a great number of my conversations.

In fact, I was very worried by the depression that was poisoning the entire country. The moral conscience of the Guineans in particular had changed. Terror reigned everywhere, and a small minority of Guineans were drunk on deceptive revolutionary slogans and commitments. Sékou Touré instilled in the hearts of men such a deep fear that it took years before the people found the courage to stand up again. Unfortunately, it is easier to destroy a country than to rebuild it.

In January 1984, when Omar Bongo, president of the Republic of Gabon, was visiting our country, Sékou Touré wanted to honor me by introducing me to his guest. He once again warmly congratulated me on my adherence to the principles of the revolution. … The dictator’s strategy became obvious. By encouraging me and publicly manifesting his high esteem for me, Sékou Touré could more easily accuse me later of betraying his confidence along with the ideals of the regime.

A few weeks later, several European ambassadors, as well as my vicar general, Father André Mamadouba Camara, came to warn me about confidential remarks by ministers close to the president. These dignitaries of the regime claimed that the Church no longer had the same ideology as the State Party. In fact, Sékou Touré intended to prepare their minds for my arrest. But God placed his hand on me to protect me and keep me.

In December 1983, an earthquake struck Guinea; the damage was very extensive.

Those in charge of international aid in response to this natural disaster were welcomed by Commander Siake Touré, the leader of the Boiro camp. While he was at the airport in Conakry waiting for the arrival of a plane, he slipped, fell, and broke his leg. He was immediately evacuated to Morocco. According to the plans of Sékou Touré, that man was supposed to have arrested me a few weeks later. …

Then, in March 1984, on the occasion of the first World Youth Day organized in Rome, I asked the government for permission to go to Italy in response to the pope’s invitation. Usually, only a notification from the minister of the interior and national security was required. This visa was almost a mere formality. For this trip, the minister also asked for the president’s approval. He telephoned Sékou Touré, who asked about the date of my return, and upon hearing that I would be returning in April, gave his authorization for the trip. Joseph Hyzazi, who takes care of the finances of the diocese and my trips, reported to me the president’s discussion with the minister. These arrangements seemed strange and ominous!

But a few days later, Sékou Touré had a stroke. Saudi Arabia quickly dispatched an air ambulance. When it arrived in Conakry, the control tower, following procedures, tried to contact the president to obtain his authorization. Unable to reach Sékou Touré, since his critical condition was being kept secret, the tower refused to let the plane land, and it then headed for Dakar. Not until the next day, when the prime minister-a physician by profession-inquired about the arrival of the air ambulance, did the plane finally return to Conakry. Sékou Touré was evacuated to Morocco, then to the United States.

Thus the president, who had planned to have me arrested, and Siaka Touré, who was to carry out the plan, were both rendered incapable of doing any harm!

Despite the intensive care that he received, the dictator died on March 26, 1984, in Cleveland, in the United States, during heart surgery.

Prime Minister Lansana Beavogui became interim president, as the country waited for the elections that were supposed to be held within forty-five days. But on April 3, the armed forces seized power, denouncing the last years of the regime as a “bloody and merciless” oligarchy. The constitution was suspended, and the national assembly was dissolved, along with the one party. The leader of the coup, Colonel Lansana Conté, assumed the presidency on April 5, as the head of the Military Committee of National Recovery, the CMRN. As a pledge of goodwill, more than two thousand political prisoners were released from the sinister Boiro camp. The people were overjoyed.

Several days after Lansana Conté came into power, the ambassador from the Federal Republic of Germany, Bernard Zimmermann, informed me that documents containing a list of public figures who were to be executed had been found on Sékou Touré’s desk. I was at the top of the list. … This document planned my secret arrest and assassination for the month of April. God had been quicker than Sékou Touré! The Savior wanted me to stay a little longer on earth.