Camp Boiro
Encyclopedia
Camp Boiro or Camp Mamadou Boiro (1960 – 1984) is a defunct Guinea
n concentration camp within Conakry
city.
During the regime of President Ahmed Sékou Touré
, thousands of political opponents were imprisoned at the camp.
It has been estimated that almost 5,000 people were executed or died from torture or starvation at the camp.
Sékou Touré became president of Guinea when the country gained independence from France
in 1958. Over the years that followed, his regime became increasingly repressive, persecuting opposition leaders and dissidents from within the ruling Guinean Democratic Party (PDG).
The camp, situated in the center of Conakry, was originally called Camp Camyenne.
The camp was constructed with assistance from the Czechoslovak
government. In 1961 the commandant had the windows reduced in size, since they were too large for condemned men.
The camp was renamed Camp Mamadou Boiro in 1969 in honor of a police commissioner who had been thrown from a helicopter in which he was transporting prisoners from Labé
to Conakry.
The camp was used to dispose of Touré's opponents.
Marof Achkar, actor and former Guinean ambassador to the United Nations, was recalled to Guinea in 1968, arrested and jailed at Camp Boiro.
He briefly gained his freedom in the 1970 coup attempt. His family learned in 1985 that he had been shot on 26 January 1971.
The so-called Labé plot, linked to French imperialism, was uncovered in February 1969.
Touré used this plot to purge the army and execute at least 13 people.
A total of 87 people were arrested and detained in the camp. Two, Diallo Mouctar and Keïta Namory, died of starvation and dehydration only days after their arrest.
Fodéba Keïta
, former Minister of Defense, was arrested for alleged complicity in the Labé plot. He was shot after forced starvation on 27 May 1969.
troops assisted by Guinean fighters invaded Conakry from the sea in an attempt to overthrow the Touré regime ("Operation Green Sea"). They captured Camp Boiro and liberated the prisoners. The camp commandant Siaka Touré
managed to hide, but General Lansana Diané
, minister of Defense, was captured. He later escaped and took refuge with the ambassador of Algeria
.
The coup attempt failed, and in the aftermath many opponents of the regime were rounded up and imprisoned in Camp Boiro.
On 23 December 1970, the Bishop of Conakry, Raymond-Marie Tchidimbo, was arrested, and subsequently made a "confession".
Tchidimbo later wrote a book about his 8 year, 8 month stay at the camp.
Alassane Diop
, who was Senegal
ese in origin, a former Minister of Information in Guinea was arrested and held in Camp Boiro for ten years, returning to Senegal after his release.
The prisoners were given little food other than a scrap of bread the size of a box of matches in the morning, and a ladle of plain rice cooked in dirty water in the evening. There was never any meat except on days when Touré was performing some sacrifice.
Starting in January 1971 the prisoners were interrogated by a Revolutionary Committee headed by Ismaël Touré
, half-brother of Sékou Touré and minister of the Economy.
Some prisoners were placed on the "black diet", meaning no food or water until they died.
Prisoners could only show their courage by refusing to confess during torture sessions, and refusing to beg for food when placed on the black diet.
Loffo Camara
, former Secretary of State for Social Affairs, was hanged on 25 January 1971, the only woman killed at that time.
According to El Hadj Ibrahima Diane, an inmate for many years, from June 1972 until August 1973 at least four corpses were taken from the cells each day and thrown into mass graves in the rear yard of the prison.
In 1975, France agreed to restore diplomatic relations after French prisoners were released from the camp. This reduced pressure on Touré. The book Prison D'Afrique by Jean-Paul Alata
, a survivor from the camp, was banned from publication in France and had to be printed in Belgium
.
Further incarcerations followed in the ensuing years.
Diallo Telli
was a popular politician, loyal to the regime, and former Secretary General of the Organization of African Unity (OAU).
He returned to Guinea in 1972 and was appointed Minister of Justice.
On 18 July 1976, Diallo Telli was arrested at his home and imprisoned at Camp Boiro.
In February 1977 five prominent prisoners were eliminated through the black diet: Diallo Telli, ex-ministers Barry Alpha Oumar and Dramé Alioune, and army officers Diallo Alhassana and Kouyate Laminé. The next month five more people died of starvation.
The arrests and deaths continued. In August 1979 Bay Mahmoud, an expatriate from Labé who had moved to France, returned to visit his family. Entering the country from Senegal, all occupants of his vehicle were arrested and jailed at Camp Boiro. Eight of the travellers - all but Bay Mahmoud himself - had died of the black diet within a month.
In September 1983 the government announced they had uncovered a plot to sabotage a meeting of the OAU planned to be held in Conakry the next year. Eighty one people were incarcerated in Camp Boiro.
Many of the leaders of the former regime were imprisoned, and later executed.
In the years that followed, the association of Victims of Camp Boiro fought for many years to maintain the memory of what had happened.
The council of ministers issued a communique on 27 August 1991 for renovation of the camp and construction of a memorial to all the victims, but no action followed.
The Association was forbidden to establish a museum in the former camp.
In a 2007 interview, Bobo Dieng, a former senior official in the Touré government, stated that there had been just 117 deaths at the camp.
It was not until 2009 that the interim president Moussa Dadis Camara
met the members of the association.
That year, demolition of the camp buildings began, but it was not known whether a memorial would be erected.
As of 2010, there had been no commission of inquiry, and all documents about the camp were inaccessible or had been destroyed.
Guinea
Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...
n concentration camp within Conakry
Conakry
Conakry is the capital and largest city of Guinea. Conakry is a port city on the Atlantic Ocean and serves as the economic, financial and cultural centre of Guinea with a 2009 population of 1,548,500...
city.
During the regime of President Ahmed Sékou Touré
Ahmed Sékou Touré
Ahmed Sékou Touré was an African political leader and President of Guinea from 1958 to his death in 1984...
, thousands of political opponents were imprisoned at the camp.
It has been estimated that almost 5,000 people were executed or died from torture or starvation at the camp.
Early years
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in 1958. Over the years that followed, his regime became increasingly repressive, persecuting opposition leaders and dissidents from within the ruling Guinean Democratic Party (PDG).
The camp, situated in the center of Conakry, was originally called Camp Camyenne.
The camp was constructed with assistance from the Czechoslovak
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
government. In 1961 the commandant had the windows reduced in size, since they were too large for condemned men.
The camp was renamed Camp Mamadou Boiro in 1969 in honor of a police commissioner who had been thrown from a helicopter in which he was transporting prisoners from Labé
Labé
Labé is the main city and administrative capital of the Fouta Djallon region of Guinea. It has a population of about 58,649 . It is the second largest city in the country after the capital Conakry...
to Conakry.
The camp was used to dispose of Touré's opponents.
Marof Achkar, actor and former Guinean ambassador to the United Nations, was recalled to Guinea in 1968, arrested and jailed at Camp Boiro.
He briefly gained his freedom in the 1970 coup attempt. His family learned in 1985 that he had been shot on 26 January 1971.
The so-called Labé plot, linked to French imperialism, was uncovered in February 1969.
Touré used this plot to purge the army and execute at least 13 people.
A total of 87 people were arrested and detained in the camp. Two, Diallo Mouctar and Keïta Namory, died of starvation and dehydration only days after their arrest.
Fodéba Keïta
Fodéba Keïta
Fodéba Keïta was a Guinean dancer, musician, writer, playwright, composer and politician. Founder of the first professional African theatrical troupe, Theatre Africain, he also arranged Liberté, the national anthem of Guinea.-Early years:Keïta was the son of a male nurse...
, former Minister of Defense, was arrested for alleged complicity in the Labé plot. He was shot after forced starvation on 27 May 1969.
Aftermath of 1970 coup attempt
On 21 November 1970 a group of PortuguesePortugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
troops assisted by Guinean fighters invaded Conakry from the sea in an attempt to overthrow the Touré regime ("Operation Green Sea"). They captured Camp Boiro and liberated the prisoners. The camp commandant Siaka Touré
Siaka Touré
Siaka Touré was the commandant of Camp Boiro in Conakry, Guinea during the regime of president Ahmed Sékou Touré. During this period, many of the president's political opponents died in the camp....
managed to hide, but General Lansana Diané
Lansana Diané
Lansana Diané was a general and a minister in the cabinet of Ahmed Sekou Touré, President of Guinea during the First Republic...
, minister of Defense, was captured. He later escaped and took refuge with the ambassador of Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
.
The coup attempt failed, and in the aftermath many opponents of the regime were rounded up and imprisoned in Camp Boiro.
On 23 December 1970, the Bishop of Conakry, Raymond-Marie Tchidimbo, was arrested, and subsequently made a "confession".
Tchidimbo later wrote a book about his 8 year, 8 month stay at the camp.
Alassane Diop
Alassane Diop
Alassane Diop was a Minister of Information in Guinea who was arrested and held in Camp Boiro for ten years, returning to Senegal after his release.Diop was Senegalese in origin and was trained as an electrical engineer....
, who was Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
ese in origin, a former Minister of Information in Guinea was arrested and held in Camp Boiro for ten years, returning to Senegal after his release.
The prisoners were given little food other than a scrap of bread the size of a box of matches in the morning, and a ladle of plain rice cooked in dirty water in the evening. There was never any meat except on days when Touré was performing some sacrifice.
Starting in January 1971 the prisoners were interrogated by a Revolutionary Committee headed by Ismaël Touré
Ismaël Touré
- Bibliography :...
, half-brother of Sékou Touré and minister of the Economy.
Some prisoners were placed on the "black diet", meaning no food or water until they died.
Prisoners could only show their courage by refusing to confess during torture sessions, and refusing to beg for food when placed on the black diet.
Loffo Camara
Loffo Camara
Loffo Camara was a senior Guinean politician, and a member of the Politburo of the First Republic of Guinea in the years immediately following independence...
, former Secretary of State for Social Affairs, was hanged on 25 January 1971, the only woman killed at that time.
According to El Hadj Ibrahima Diane, an inmate for many years, from June 1972 until August 1973 at least four corpses were taken from the cells each day and thrown into mass graves in the rear yard of the prison.
In 1975, France agreed to restore diplomatic relations after French prisoners were released from the camp. This reduced pressure on Touré. The book Prison D'Afrique by Jean-Paul Alata
Jean-Paul Alata
Jean-Paul Alata was a Frenchman who was a political prisoner in Camp Boiro, Guinea from January 1971 to July 1975, later writing a book about his experience which was banned by the French government.-Early career:...
, a survivor from the camp, was banned from publication in France and had to be printed in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
.
Further incarcerations followed in the ensuing years.
Diallo Telli
Diallo Telli
Boubacar Diallo Telli was a Guinean diplomat and politician. He helped found the Organisation of African Unity and was the first secretary-general of the OAU between 1964 and 1972...
was a popular politician, loyal to the regime, and former Secretary General of the Organization of African Unity (OAU).
He returned to Guinea in 1972 and was appointed Minister of Justice.
On 18 July 1976, Diallo Telli was arrested at his home and imprisoned at Camp Boiro.
In February 1977 five prominent prisoners were eliminated through the black diet: Diallo Telli, ex-ministers Barry Alpha Oumar and Dramé Alioune, and army officers Diallo Alhassana and Kouyate Laminé. The next month five more people died of starvation.
The arrests and deaths continued. In August 1979 Bay Mahmoud, an expatriate from Labé who had moved to France, returned to visit his family. Entering the country from Senegal, all occupants of his vehicle were arrested and jailed at Camp Boiro. Eight of the travellers - all but Bay Mahmoud himself - had died of the black diet within a month.
In September 1983 the government announced they had uncovered a plot to sabotage a meeting of the OAU planned to be held in Conakry the next year. Eighty one people were incarcerated in Camp Boiro.
Legacy
After the death of Sékou Touré in 1984, the military took power and released many of the political prisoners at Camp Boiro.Many of the leaders of the former regime were imprisoned, and later executed.
In the years that followed, the association of Victims of Camp Boiro fought for many years to maintain the memory of what had happened.
The council of ministers issued a communique on 27 August 1991 for renovation of the camp and construction of a memorial to all the victims, but no action followed.
The Association was forbidden to establish a museum in the former camp.
In a 2007 interview, Bobo Dieng, a former senior official in the Touré government, stated that there had been just 117 deaths at the camp.
It was not until 2009 that the interim president Moussa Dadis Camara
Moussa Dadis Camara
Captain Moussa Dadis Camara now called Moïse Dadis Camara is an ex-officer of the Guinean army who served as the President of the Republic of Guinea's National Council for Democracy and Development , which seized power in a military coup d'état on 23 December 2008 after the...
met the members of the association.
That year, demolition of the camp buildings began, but it was not known whether a memorial would be erected.
As of 2010, there had been no commission of inquiry, and all documents about the camp were inaccessible or had been destroyed.