The trade union movement behind a widely followed general strike in Guinea for three days announced Wednesday evening February 28 the suspension of its movement and the resumption of negotiations after the release of the head of a press union, considered a prior to any discussion. The Guinean trade union movement “informs the public, private and informal authorities of its availability to resume negotiations tomorrow, Thursday.” “To this end, the Guinean trade union movement suspends the general and indefinite strike launched on Monday February 26,” the press release continued.
This decision follows the release earlier in the day of Sékou Jamal Pendessa, secretary general of the Union of Press Professionals of Guinea (SPPG). Detained for more than a month for calling for demonstrations against censorship, the latter walked free from a court in Conakry after being sentenced on Wednesday on appeal to one month in prison.
With the release of Jamal Pendessa, “we can return to the negotiating table with the government to support the other points of demand,” Abdoulaye Sow, spokesperson for the trade union movement, declared at the Labor Exchange in the presence of the trade unionist. just released. On the agenda for future discussions: lowering the prices of basic foodstuffs, an end to media censorship and respect for an agreement linked to improving the living conditions of civil servants.
The protest movement launched by the country’s thirteen trade union centers, and supported by the main political parties and civil society organizations, resulted in an almost total paralysis of the capital Conakry: banks, schools and many businesses remained closed, administrations and hospitals operating slowly.
“Victory for democracy”
This movement represents a test for the junta led by Mamadi Doumbouya since 2021, which prohibits all demonstrations and seeks to silence any criticism of it. “It is a victory for democracy, for justice against injustice, for justice against arbitrariness,” Pendessa said after the ruling. “The fight against the dictatorship continues and we are going to fight harder so that the authorities know that they do not have the right to life and death over the population,” he added. Sporadic clashes in the suburbs of Conakry left two people dead on Monday.
Arrested on January 19, the trade unionist was sentenced on Friday to six months in prison, three of which were suspended because he went to support a certain number of his colleagues who had demonstrated “to free the media and social networks”. The demonstration was banned by the authorities.
The ruling military has recently cracked down on a number of media outlets by removing television channels from the main distribution packages and jamming radio frequencies, provoking angry protests, particularly from journalists. They lifted Internet access restrictions imposed for three months on Friday due to a security “problem” according to the Guinean authorities, but users are complaining of a still slow connection.
Tuesday evening, the head of the junta also appointed a new prime minister, eight days after unexpectedly dissolving the previous government without giving reasons, but ordering the freezing of its members’ bank accounts and the seizure of their passports. .
Economist Amadou Oury Bah, new head of government, took an oath and swore to “do everything possible to preserve the best interests of the CNRD [the ruling body of the ruling junta], its president and the people of Guinea”. Insisting on communication with Guineans, he pledged to “appease, restore confidence and give hope to our compatriots who have been feeling a little disoriented lately,” according to a publication by the Prime Minister on his social networks. .
The new prime minister is a man of dialogue. He did not boycott meetings organized by the junta, unlike many opposition leaders. He had been Minister of National Reconciliation after the major strikes of January-February 2007 which shook the authoritarian regime of President Lansana Conté and left 186 dead, according to NGOs. The junta agreed, under international pressure, to announce that it would return the place to elected civilians by the end of 2024, time, it specifies, to carry out profound reforms.
