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Thousands Protest Against Guinea-Bissau PM
Friday, 22 July 2011 02:49
(Bissau) - Thousands took to the streets of Bissau Tuesday for the second rally in five days to demand the resignation of Prime
Minister Carlos Gomes Junior, accused of hindering an assassination probe.Thirteen opposition parties were involved in organising the protest that drew some 15,000 people, according to organisers -- more than the 10,000 who gathered for the first rally on July 14.
The protesters demanded justice for ex-president Joao Bernardo Vieira and other figures assassinated in 2009 in the small west African nation with a history of instability since independence from Portugal in 1974.
Vieira and former army chief General Batista Tagme Na Waie were assassinated in March 2009, and two other high-profile politicians, Baciro Dabo and Helder Proenca, were killed three months later.
Authorities have said the investigation has reached a dead-end due to a lack of evidence.
"The prime minister is the main suspect in the assassinations," opposition leader Cherif Balde said, urging Gomes to allow a thorough investigation.
Braima Sori Djalo, another opposition leader, said the premier should leave his post "so that he can be brought before the courts".
"We will maintain the pressure," he added.
A source close to the presidency said President Malam Bacai Sanha, who is not in the country for medical reasons, had written to opposition leaders to ask them not to tarnish the image of the country.
"If the opposition has any proof, let them present it," said Oscar Barbosa, spokesman of the ruling African Party for the Independence of Guinea Bissau.
The country is classified by the United Nations as one of the world's poorest, coming in at 175 out of 177 on the Human Development Index.
Source: (AFP)
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