CONAKRY, Guinea
Private media and online outlets in the West African state of Guinea on Tuesday launched a one-day boycott of news in protest at press and internet restrictions by the ruling junta.
Espace TV and Kalac TV posted
an image of two hands pushing apart steel bars against a backdrop of the
national colours of red, yellow and green, with "A Day Without Press"
written underneath.
Other news outlets shared
visual variations on the same theme, while radio stations played a selection of
sombre music.
The protest was announced
Monday after the ruling military shut down two radio stations owned by the
Afric Vision group, limited access to popular websites and social media, and
threatened to close any media that "undermines national unity."
Telecommunications Minister
Ousmane Gaoual Diallo has denied any crackdown against Afric Vision or blocking
of the internet.
The chronically unstable state
has been run by the military since 2021, when President Alpha Conde, the
country's first freely elected leader, was overthrown.
The junta has promised, in the
face of international pressure, to restore civilian rule by the end of 2024,
purportedly to give it enough time to carry out institutional reforms.
But it has arrested a number
of opposition leaders and launched prosecutions against others after last year
banning all demonstrations.
The opposition has called for
fresh demonstrations in the capital Conakry on
Wednesday and Thursday.
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