Guinean-Canadians in Montreal protest possible third presidential term

Guinean-Canadians in Montreal protest possible third presidential term
CHEK

MONTREAL — Guinean-Canadians are taking to the streets to protest the president’s bid to seek another term in their home country.

Community members took part in a noonday demonstration near downtown Montreal on Saturday, which followed a march by tens of thousands in the streets of Guinea’s capital two days earlier and a protest in Ottawa last week.

Hamidou Bah, Canadian co-ordinator of the coalition behind the marches, says the group is opposed to President Alpha Conde’s plans to revise the constitution to allow himself a third term in office.

Bah says he has sent more than a dozen emails to Canadian lawmakers requesting action to prevent a “power grab” and more violence.

Protester Alpha Diallo, a 40-year-old financial adviser who arrived in Canada 10 years ago, says the ongoing turmoil in Guinea cost his younger cousin his life earlier this year.

Last week, protests in the West African country’s capital of Conakry saw at least nine people killed and hospitals overwhelmed with scores of patients wounded by gunshots.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 26, 2019.

The Canadian Press

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