By RFIPosted on 16-01-2020Modified on 16-01-2020 at 22:44
As civil society and the opposition intensify their mobilization against a draft new constitution, the French Minister for Foreign Affairs on Wednesday (January 15th) called for calm.
" The commitment of President Alpha Condé to request a reform of the Constitution does not seem to us to be necessarily shared neither by its population nor by its neighbors, " said Jean-Yves Le Drian, the head of French diplomacy. Until then, France has opted for discretion on this matter.
This call for appeasement, the Minister expresses it in a very specific framework: it is not a "declaration", but a position pronounced in response to a question asked by the Affairs Committee foreign, minimizes a deputy.
But on the merits, the concern to respect the Constitution has been raised on several occasions. For several months, Paris has been chatting behind the scenes directly, by sending messages to President Alpha Condé, indicates a French parliamentarian. " The Minister of Foreign Affairs avoids the public power relationship, there is a desire not to give lessons, " said this source.
So why express this concern openly now? Certainly because of the tension, which has escalated in recent days , and the impending legislative elections. " It was time to hear an official raise the alarm, " rejoices an opposition activist, who hopes that other voices within the West African sub-region will also be raised.
Can this diplomatic message also change the situation? Some observers hope that these remarks by the French diplomacy chief encourage the Guinean president to clarify the timetable for the referendum on the new Constitution . Because until then, no technical modality and no date have been provided to the general public.
On the same subject
Protests in Guinea: Situation Concerned Human Rights Watch
New Constitution in Guinea: a necessary improvement or a political maneuver?
“Unlimited mobilization” in Guinea: timid return to calm after clashes
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