Guinea: Crackdown on Right to Protest | WPN World People News

The government of Guinea has effectively banned street protests for more than a year, citing threats to public security, Human Rights Watch said on Oct 03, 2019. Local authorities have prohibited at least 20 political or other demonstrations. Security forces have tear gassed those who defy the ban, and arrested dozens of demonstrators.

Guinea is in political limbo as it awaits an announcement from President Alpha Condé about whether he will revise the constitution and run for a third term in 2020 presidential elections. A coalition of opposition parties and civil society organizations have said it will use “all legal means” to oppose any constitutional change.

“With Guinea in the midst of a fierce political debate, it is more important than ever to protect the right to peacefully demonstrate,” said Corinne Dufka, West Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “Banning protests denies political parties and other groups a legitimate way to express their opposition to, or support for, the government’s plans and policies.”

In June and August 2019, Human Rights Watch interviewed more than 40 people about the authorities’ response to protests, including governing party and opposition politicians, members of the National Front for the Defense of the Constitution (Le Front national de la défense de la Constitution, FNDC) – the coalition of opposition parties and nongovernmental groups opposed to any constitutional revision – lawyers, journalists, human rights groups, and diplomats. Human Rights Watch conducted interviews in Conakry in person and by phone or through secure communication channels in Guinea’s interior.

Guinea’s ruling party, the Rally of the Guinean People Party (Rassemblement du Peuple Guinéen, RPG), has publicly called for a new constitution that, Condé’s supporters say, would allow for a third presidential term. Condé himself has not said whether he intends to run again, but on September 4 instructed his ministers to undertake “consultations” on a new constitution. The opposition coalition has promised to take to the streets if Condé does push for a new text. “We’re in the calm before the storm,” one Conakry-based diplomat told Human Rights Watch.

Guinean law protects the right to protest but requires demonstrators to notify the local authorities ahead of a proposed march or public meeting. The local authorities can prohibit a planned protest only if there is “a real threat to public order.”

Since July 2018, however, opposition parties and the FNDC have accused the government of instructing local authorities to prohibit all protests. They said that none of their protests have been authorized in this period and showed Human Rights Watch examples of 20 letters they said they received from local authorities prohibiting protests.

Members of the ruling party also cited examples of their own demonstrations that local authorities had prohibited, although FDNC leaders noted that government ministers and officials were able to organize events to promote a new constitution without interference.

Human Rights Watch documented at least four occasions in 2019 when the security forces arrested demonstrators opposed to a new constitution or broke up protests that were held despite the ban. “We wanted to hold a meeting, not to do anything violent,” said an FNDC member who was arrested on June 13 in N’Zérékoré. “I was handcuffed, put in a pick-up truck, taken to the police station, stripped, and put in a cell.”

Guinea’s Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralization, which Guinean human rights groups said ordered the protest ban in July 2018, did not respond to a September 13 letter from Human Rights Watch.

Other government officials, however, said that a ban on protests is necessary to protect public safety. Many demonstrations in Guinea in the last few years have resulted in violence, with protesters throwing stones and other projectiles, and the security forces using teargas, water cannons, and, at times, firearms.

“Protests are prohibited at the moment across the whole country,” said Souleymane Keita, an adviser to President Condé and RPG spokesman. “Each time there are demonstrations, there’s deaths. The most important role of the state is to protect people.” Since Condé came to power in 2010, dozens of protesters have been shot dead by the security forces, and several members of the police and gendarmerie have been killed by violent demonstrators.

A blanket ban on protests is not, however, a proportionate response to the risk of violence during protests, Human Rights Watch said. And it is not likely to deter opposition demonstrators from taking to the streets if Condé does push for a third term.

Guinea’s government should instead work with political parties and other groups to develop public criteria to guide local authorities in determining whether protests should go ahead. The criteria should include a process for evaluating the security threat posed by a planned protest.

All decisions prohibiting protests should be subject to independent judicial review. Action to prevent and end violence during demonstrations should be proportionate, respecting the fundamental right to free assembly.

“The right to peaceful protest is a fundamental pillar of democratic governance and a key tool for shaping public policies and debates,” Dufka said. “The Guinean government should act quickly to find a way to respect the right to protest while protecting public safety.”

Source:Human Rights Watch