Two young people were shot and killed on February 26, 2024 during the first day of a widely followed indefinite general strike in Guinea, where a transitional power has ruled the country since the military coup of September 2021. I welcome the climate of observation of this strike throughout the national territory “, underlined a union official, who warned: “ The strike continues until all our demands are met. »
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With our correspondent in Conakry, Moctar Bah
Following the call for a general strike launched by the trade union movement, spontaneous demonstrations took place in a northern district of Conakry. Clashes between young people and the police left at least two dead and more than a dozen injured. Barricades had been erected on the Le Prince highway, one of the main arteries that runs through much of the capital city.
Never has a strike movement been so followed in recent years, Guinea : schools, banks, and businesses closed, administration paralyzed, minimum services in hospitals and service stations.
Read alsoAt least two dead in Guinea during demonstrations in Conakry
Amadou Diallo, Secretary General of the National Confederation of Workers of Guinea (CNTG) hopes that the authorities have received the message. “ I welcome the climate of observation of this strike throughout the national territoryhe says. I congratulate all the professional trade union centers which are affiliated with the Guinean trade union movement for observing this strike slogan. The government opposite and the employers have understood that they have comrades opposite who can go in the opposite direction of their concern “.
Amadou Diallo calls for the strike to continue if the demands are not heard: “ The strike continues until all our demands are met. The first point is the immediate and unconditional release of journalist Jamal Pendessa, then the reduction in the price of basic necessities, then the end of the jamming of the airwaves. »
For the lawyer of the journalist and union leader Jamal Pendessa, imprisoned for more than a month, it is urgent to state the law in the Court of Appeal. “ We are delighted with the speed and even the setting of the date for the opening of the trial on Wednesday 28 of this month and we loudly proclaim the innocence of our client and we demand his immediate release. », assures Maître Salifou Béavogui.
Although this strike was widely followed, civil society deplores the clashes which left several dozen injured and bereaved families.