Business was slower than usual in Guinea’s capital Conakry on Thursday as an opposition call to protest gathered little momentum three years after the military seized power in a coup.The opposition in the West African nation had called for a peaceful protest to denounce the junta’s crackdown on dissent and to demand a return to civilian rule by the end of the year.But the demand went largely unheeded, according to an AFP journalist, who said that activity in the capital was nonetheless slower than usual.There was little sign of demonstrations on Thursday, as rain poured down on the capital and security forces in armoured vehicles occupied public spaces.Guinea’s opposition faces brutal repression by the military-led authorities, who banned all demonstrations in 2022 after taking power on September 5, 2021.Led by Mamady Doumbouya, the junta’s clampdown on dissent has left at least 47 people dead between September 2021 and April 2024, according to Amnesty International.On Wednesday, a woman was fatally shot while in a taxi during clashes between police and protesters in the Sofonia area of Conakry.- ‘Disappointed and angry’ -Under international pressure, the junta had initially pledged to hand over power to elected civilians by the end of 2024. But it has since made little secret of its intention to renege on this commitment.Retired civil servant Malick Sidibe said he was “disappointed and angry” with Doumbouya, denouncing the junta chief’s backtrack on the pledge.”It is unacceptable that a colonel, now a general, cannot keep his promise without any pressure”, he said.Ansoumane Camara, a doctor, expressed similar disappointment.”I don’t have the words to explain our president’s about-turn,” he told AFP, but said he believed the country’s leader could “still pull off some (good) surprises”.In an interview on Thursday with French news outlet RFI, Guinea’s junta-appointed Prime Minister Amadou Oury Bah said the authorities aimed to organise a referendum on a new constitution by the end of the year, without making any commitments.”We ask the population to understand that the work we are doing at the moment has never been done before,” he said.General Doumbouya is due to return from China where he attended a summit along with a host of other African leaders.No official activities were planned for the three-year anniversary of the junta’s takeover of power, which brought an end to civilian president Alpha Conde’s more than decade-long rule.- Opposition disappearances -Under Doumbouya’s rule, many opposition leaders in Guinea have been detained, brought before the courts or forced into exile.Two leading anti-junta activists, Oumar Sylla, better known as Fonike Mengue, and Mamadou Billo Bah, have been missing since July 9.Their pro-democracy movement said the pair were brutally arrested by armed men and have denounced their disappearance as a “kidnapping”.Guinea’s public prosecutor has denied any arrests and ordered investigations into the disappearance of the two men.Their wives published an open letter on Thursday “calling on the people of Guinea and the international community to see the clear desire of the ruling junta to eliminate our husbands”.In a rare reaction from the international community, the US embassy in Conakry said in late August that it was “deeply concerned about the disappearance and welfare” of the two pro-democracy campaigners.Speaking on the three-year coup anniversary, analyst Vincent Foucher wrote on X: “On the diplomatic front, the junta has inherited a diversified portfolio, with several major partners: France, USA, China, Russia and Turkey, as well as the UAE and Rwanda”.”This diversity gives the junta room to manoeuvre. France refrains from criticising the junta’s excesses to avoid being dismissed as it was in the Sahel. Hence its silence,” said Foucher, a researcher at the French National Centre for Scientific Research.In May, the authorities withdrew the licences of four of Guinea’s leading private radio stations and two television channels.The junta on Monday suspended the issuing of licences to associations and NGOs, citing the risk of “public order disturbance”.
