Guinean police prevent MPs from accessing parliament headquarters in Bissau

This Wednesday, Guinean police prevented some deputies from gaining access to the parliament headquarters in Bissau, using tear gas grenades thrown into the air to disperse people in the vicinity of the building.

Armando Mango, a spokesman for the 54 deputies seeking access to the parliament premises, told reporters at the headquarters of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) that the police actions “are illegal.”

For about 30 minutes, rapid response police (RIR) lobbed tear gas grenades at the roads leading to parliament headquarters “and even detained some of the leaders” of PAIGC, a party source said. Patrice Lumumba Primary School, located next to parliament, had to interrupt classes and remove children from classes due to smoke from tear gas nearby.

Guinean President Humaro Sissoko Embalo dissolved parliament on the 4th, citing a serious institutional crisis in the country as a result of shootings between military personnel on the 1st, which the head of state considered an attempted coup.

Parliamentary leader Domingos Simões Pereira, President of PAIGC and also of the Platform for Inclusive Alliance (PAI – Terra Ranca), winner of the last legislative elections with an absolute majority, called for the resumption of parliamentary work this Wednesday. It was from this point of view that 54 deputies of the PAI – Terra Ranca tried to gain access to the premises of the parliament, which, according to Armando Mango, “remains untouched” in the light of the Constitution of Guinea-Bissau, which, as he emphasized, prevents its dissolution 12 months after the elections .

“It was the police authorities who interrupted this continuation, this is an illegal thing that we will consider, what will be the reaction to this action and the subsequent responsibility. We, as representatives of the people, believe that we must continue to work because the Assembly (Parliament) was not dissolved,” noted Armando Mango. To the press secretary of PAI deputies, Terre Ranque.

What is happening “is an attempt to dissolve” the parliament, which, according to him, should continue to function as long as it respects the rules and the Constitution of Guinea-Bissau. “That’s what brought us there. They saw that we were met with tear gas, but that doesn’t surprise us because we are determined to represent our people, because we are convinced that there should be a democratic rule of law in this country,” he stressed. . Mango.

The MP, a Portuguese-educated lawyer, noted that “the entire global legal class” follows the thesis of PAI Terra Ranka MPs that parliament will not be dissolved. Members of the majority in parliament, which they consider undissolved, welcomed the end of Armando Mango’s press conference as “hurray for democracy and down with dictatorship.”

Guinea-Bissau has been experiencing moments of political tension since the 1st, when clashes involved elements of the armed forces, and since the National Guard removed two government members under investigation for corruption from judicial police cells. Returning to the country after a foreign mission, the Guinean president said it was an attempted coup and accused parliament of becoming the center of destabilization of the country.

Umaro Sissoko Embalo dissolved parliament and the government after the elections, and on Tuesday reappointed Geraldo Martins as prime minister of a new executive that has not yet been formed, but which he says is a presidential initiative and to which the head of government reacts before you and not by any party.