Conakry – Guinea public radio journalists on Tuesday ended a strike begun a week ago to denounce work conditions and being sidelined in favour of television, their union said.
The strike begun October 19 meant that only a minimum service was broadcast and no major news bulletin given, according to an AFP journalist.
Oumar Barry, deputy secretary-general of the union at national broadcaster RTG, said the management had pledged to “find” computers and radio equipment for the network and that the union had decided to end the strike.
Saa Martin Fancinadouno, the union’s secretary-general, had said the military had “sidelined” the radio in favour of television since seizing power in a coup last month.
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The military had paid radio journalists a “lack of attention,” he said, and only shared official statements with television journalists.
Radio journalists also only have access to two computers and one car, Fancinadouno said.
The army has faced criticism for its treatment of media outlets since it took power.
For example, this month Reporters Without Borders said several private media groups had been blocked from covering the interim prime minister’s inauguration ceremony on October 8.
Former special-forces commander Colonel Mamady Doumbouya launched a coup on September 5, ousting elected president Alpha Conde after months of brewing discontent against his government.
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Doumbouya defied broad condemnation of the putsch and was sworn in as interim president on October 1.
He has nevertheless promised to restore civilian rule after a transition period of unspecified length, and to unite the politically fractious nation of 13 million people.
Conde, 83, first won office in 2010 and was re-elected in 2015. But last year, he pushed through a new constitution enabling him to run for a third term in October 2020.
The move sparked mass demonstrations in which dozens of protesters were killed. Conde won the election but the political opposition maintained the poll was a sham.
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Source: AFP
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