Guinea opposition picks activist for PM job

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CONAKRY (Reuters) –Guinea's opposition coalition of political and civil society groups have chosen veteran activist Jean-Marie Dore as candidate for prime minister, a source close to their talks said on Monday.Dore is leader of the Union for the Progress of Guinea (UPG) party and, like exiled junta chief Moussa Dadis Camara, comes from one of the minority ethnic groups of Forestiere region in the world's top bauxite exporter."Jean-Marie Dore has been chosen on the basis of the criteria we listed at a meeting attended by representatives of political parties and social groups," said opposition figure Etienne Soropogui, who was present at the meeting.Interim junta chief Sekouba Konate has yet to approve Dore to head a transitional government that would lead the West African country toward elections and end the political crisis that began with Camara's military coup in December 2008.The crisis deepened when security forces killed more than 150 people at a pro-democracy march on September 28, a massacre for which the Unitedations says Camara was responsible.KILLERS TO FACE JUSTICE AT HOMEU.S. ambassador-at-large for war crimes issues, Stephen Rapp, said the potential for democratic transition may make it possible for those behind the massacre to be tried at home."We want justice, absolutely, for the horrendous crimes that were committed there There needs to be accountability," Rapp told Reuters after speaking on international justice in London.Rapp said the atrocities committed by the security forces at the Conakry stadium were serious enough to warrant the involvement of the International Criminal Court (ICC), though the preferred option would be for Guinea to mount its own trial."If there had been no possibility of development of a (judicial) process then We think certainly we would look at the ICC, but with the hopeful developments since last week I'm still thinking that maybe this could be done nationally, with international assistance," he said.Konate, the junta's second in command, assumed control when Camara was shot in a failed assassination attempt last month.A frail Camara spoke in public in Burkina Faso on Sunday, his first address since he was wounded, to say he backed the move toward elections.The international community has demanded a vote since the coup, fearing instability within Guinea could spill over into what has historically been a volatile region.(Additional reporting by Estelle Shirbon in London; Writing by Daniel Magnowski; Editing by Louise Ireland)