Senegal: arrest of opponents demonstrating against the postponement of the presidential election
In Senegal, a few days after the postponement of the presidential election to December 15 by President Macky Sall, the time has come for the organization of the opposition and civil society who are contesting the legality of this decision.
Senegalese activist Guy Marius Sagna at the headquarters of his Frapp France Dégage movement, in Dakar, March 25, 2021. AFP - SEYLLOU
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Activists from the Bassirou Diomaye Faye coalition, the candidate who replaces opposition figure Ousmane Sonko, tried to launch a campaign caravan in the Parcelles assainies district, in the Dakar suburbs, Tuesday February 6, 2024, explains our correspondent to Dakar,
Théa Ollivier
. But as soon as they arrived there, they were blocked and a few people were arrested, including deputies Abass Fall and Guy Marius Sagna. Blocked in his car, he told RFI just before his arrest that he “
considered that the postponement of the election was illegal and therefore that the electoral process continued
”.
Meanwhile, a large number of presidential candidates met all morning to organize a “
collective response
”. The objective is to find new strategies with disparate actions throughout the territory while attempts at gatherings have been systematically dispersed by the police. For this, opposition leaders are ready to broaden the fight and involve everyone, whether civil society or unions. “
We are entering into a balance of power which does not exclude a general strike
,” indicates Cheikh Diop, union leader who explains that synergies are being put in place.
Cut of the private channel WALF TV
The very popular television channel Walf TV was first suspended on Sunday February 4, 2024, before its license was permanently withdrawn on Monday. Several organizations, including Amnesty International, have denounced an attack on freedom of expression and the rights of the press. On the 4th floor of the press group's building, the directors of the three media – radio, print and television – are in the middle of a crisis meeting, says our correspondent in Dakar,
Léa-Lisa Westerhoff
. For Cheikh Niass, CEO of the group, the withdrawal of Walf TV's operating license remains unacceptable: “Closing
a television, for me, amounts to killing democracy purely and simply.
»
Between 2021 and 2023 already, the news channel, very popular and specialist in live broadcasts, has been suspended three times, but never to the point of definitive closure. For Pierre Édouard Faye, information director, this is proof that a milestone has been reached in recent days: “
Senegal had become a democratic showcase. There, it is shameful that we are currently razing the walls in our country.
»
Assane Gueye, head of the evening shift, writes the conductor of his diary on paper. Walf TV was suspended on Sunday after the broadcast of a live broadcast on the opposition's attempted demonstration, the journalist defends the relevance of his channel: "
Walf is a sentinel, Walf does his job, shows what is there on the ground, despite the difficulties, whatever is happening. For them, it was necessary to close Walf to blind the Senegalese.
»
Tuesday February 6, the Coordination of Press Associations condemned the cutting of the Walf TV signal and requested the return of its license. In the meantime, the television channel continues to operate, but on the Internet.
Read alsoSenegal: the presidential majority divided after the postponement of the presidential election
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