Dakar
12 October 2009
Guinea's capital has been shut down by a strike called to mourn opposition demonstrators killed by government troops two weeks ago.
Labor leaders called the strike as a day of prayer to remember what they say are the "martyrs for democracy in Guinea."
Guinean police arrest a protester on 28 Sep 2009 in front of the biggest stadium in the capital Conakry during a protest banned by Guinea's ruling junta |
Trade unions were an important part of the coalition that organized that protest. They have now succeeded in shutting down the capital on the first day of a planned two-day strike.
Shops and government offices remained closed, banks and gas stations did not open. The central market was empty.
A reporter for VOA in Conakry says most people stayed at home with no buses and only a few taxis on the streets of the capital.
Guinea's military leader Capt. Moussa Dadis Camara (l) walks with Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore as he arrives at Conakry airport, 5 Oct 2009 |
This week is the deadline the African Union set to sanction Captain Camara unless he makes clear he will not be a candidate in presidential elections scheduled for January.
The African Union says it is discussing those sanctions with the regional ECOWAS alliance.
Taking power in a coup last December, Captain Camara said no one in the ruling council would stand as a political candidate. But the council has since decided all Guineans are free to run in presidential and legislative elections.
Captain Camara has not announced his candidacy, but he has told supporters he will not insult them by ignoring their demands that he run.