Amnesty International said it was surprised on Wednesday by the decision taken last weekend by the Guinean government to dissolve the National Front for the Defense of the Constitution (FNDC), whose “operating mode is structured by violent actions in the course of prohibited demonstrations, attacks against individuals who do not share their ideology, and targeted actions against the forces of order”.
The FNDC, an important collective made up of civil society organizations and political parties, has been opposing the ruling junta in the country for several months. He was planning a new demonstration for August 17.
Speaking through the voice of the Deputy Director of its office for West and Central Africa, Habibatou Gologo, the NGO which claims to have always followed and documented the recent demonstrations of the FNDC which were of a peaceful nature, qualifies this dissolution of “serious attack on the freedoms of association and peaceful assembly recognized by the Guinean Constitution”. This official, on the other hand, underlines the excessive use of force and repression during these demonstrations.
“The role of the FNDC has been instrumental in the promotion and advancement of human rights in Guinea. Amnesty International calls on the authorities to reinstate the FNDC and guarantee freedom of expression and association, which are rights enshrined in international human rights conventions and treaties that Guinea has ratified, as well as the Transitional Charter », continues Habibatou Gologo.
Amnesty has also denounced certain treatment reserved for media men. Mohamed Bangoura, publication director of the information site ‘Mosaic’ was summoned last weekend to report to the premises of the military intelligence directorate of the army general staff following the publication of an article which incriminated the army in the disappearance of a truck containing analgesic medicine in a camp; at the same time, another journalist Mamoudou Boulère Diallo of Espace TV was physically attacked by a military team, underlines the NGO.
These actions, she says, “constitute a regression of freedom of the press and expression. “Amnesty International calls on the Guinean authorities to immediately end the disproportionate restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression and freedom of association and to respect the right of the people and civil society of Guinea to freely express their opinions. , including in the media,” the statement concluded.
By OMA Newsletter N° 815 of 10/08/2022
Article published under the direction of Dr. Najib Kettani
The OMA, NGO with an Intercontinental vocation
For the development of cultural exchanges
Valuing human potential
The promotion and consolidation of Africa’s development, and
Inter-African integration
