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West African
Journalists condemned military takeover in Guinea
Accra, Dec 25, Ghanadot/GNA – The West Africa
Network of Journalists for Security and Development (WAJSD)
on Thursday condemned the illegal seizure of power by the
military in Guinea and called for social resistance against
the action.
The WAJSD urged journalists in Guinea to immediately
blackout the military and launch a relentless media war
against the soldiers; “the military must be told to respect
and adhere to democratic principle… military intervention in
the democratic order is outdated in the Sub-Region,” Mr
Francis Ameyibor, WAJSD Deputy General Secretary, stated in
a statement in Accra.
Mr Ameyibor said: "The illegal takeover of power constitutes
a blatant violation of the Constitution of Guinea and is in
contravention of the Lome Declaration of July 2000, the
Constitutive Act of the AU and the African Charter on
Democracy, Election and Governance."
The WAJSD Deputy General Secretary also called on the
military to respect the tenets of constitutional democracy
to ensure a peaceful transition with a view to quickly
holding free and transparent elections.
Mr Ameyibor also commended the international community for
expressing their disgust about the takeover, but challenged
the Sub-Regional body ECOWAS, and African Union (AU) to move
in immediately to restore law and order in Guinea.
Hours after the announcement of the death of Guinean
President Lansana Conte by the Guinean government on Monday,
December, 22 a self-claimed National Council for Democracy
and Development led by Captain Moussa Camara said on radio
that it had dissolved the government and suspended the
constitution.
In a related development, the West African Action Network on
Small Arms and Light Weapons (WAANSA) called for sobriety in
Guinea, following the death of the President and the
subsequent coup.
Mr Baffour Dokyi Amoa, WAANSA President, in an interview
with Ghana News Agency in Accra expressed the hope that the
Guinean constitution would be respected.
He said: “A change of power by force is unacceptable. As is
known, this is also the position of the international
community, including the African Union. Such
anti-constitutional actions deserve condemnation."
He urged the illegitimate military Leadership, which has
pledged to hold democratic presidential elections within two
years, to handover immediately and give the Guineans an
opportunity to continue its stable development within the
bounds of the Constitution and in the interest of all
sections of the Guinean society.
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