Journalists Prevented from Protesting Media Regulator’s Repressive Decisions

The Town Hall of Kaloum, one of the six municipalities of Guinea’s capital Conakry, has prevented a sit-in planned by the Guinean Union of Press Professionals (Syndicat des Professionnels de la Presse de Guinée, SPPG) to denounce what the SPPG describes as the, “liberticidal attitude of the HAC”, (High Authority for Communication). 

The decision of the Town Hall was issued in a statement on September 27, 2022 on grounds that “the administrative measures prohibiting demonstrations, especially those contained in statement Nº0012/CNRD/2022 of May 13, 2022 and Nº0015/CNRD/2022 of May 31, 2022, remain in force.” 

The authorities also asked the SPPG “to help maintain a climate of peace and social tranquility to provide a conducive environment for the negotiations initiated by the stakeholders of the transition, hence enabling our country to experience a successful but above all peaceful transition.” 

This disallowance is on the back of a general ban on demonstration decreed by the military junta. It comes after the SPPG and several other media outlets in the country undertook to publicly express their indignation at the recent repressive actions of the HAC on September 28, 2022.