DOWN WITH THE COUP IN GUINEA-BISSAU!

WE MUST TAKE TO THE STREETS TO OVERTHROW THE DICTATORIAL REGIME LED BY UMARO SISSOCO EMBALÓ!

We demand respect for the will of the people as expressed at the ballot box.

On the afternoon of Wednesday, November 26, Guinea-Bissau Television (TGB), the Bissau-Guinean public broadcaster, announced “the creation of a military command that is taking control of the country, suspending the constitution and the ongoing electoral process until the right conditions are in place for a return to normality.” This was how the coup d’état in Guinea-Bissau was announced. For us, it is necessary, first and foremost, to be clear: this is a self-coup by Umaro Sissoco Embaló and the military leadership, upon realizing their defeat in the presidential elections of November 23, through the unequivocal expression of the Bissau-Guinean people rejecting their dictatorial project.

The history of Guinea-Bissau has been marked by a tireless struggle for freedom and popular sovereignty. From the anti-colonial resistance to the democratic advances of recent decades, the Guinean people have repeatedly shown that they do not accept living under authoritarian regimes. Sissoco Embaló’s self-coup is therefore part of a desperate attempt to erase the memory of that struggle and impose a political setback that will not be tolerated.

As we have said throughout the six years of Sissoco’s dictatorship, no regime of this kind falls through the ballot box. This means that only popular mobilization and organization can guarantee a people’s democratic freedoms and political rights of association. Sissoco has disregarded the constitution and the separation of powers in Guinea, attempting to establish himself as the sole leader of the country. This is not the first time that this regime has disregarded the will of the people: it already did so in the legislative elections, where, having been resoundingly defeated, it dissolved the National People’s Assembly of Guinea-Bissau in 2023, where the opposition organized in the PAI-Terra Ranka coalition had an absolute majority, a clear violation of Guinean constitutional law. Sissoco then appointed his own president of the Assembly and his own government, consolidating his absolutist power and dealing a severe blow to the Guinean opposition and the will of the people.

In these elections, the regime had already maneuvered to prevent a repeat of the 2023 defeat. The participation of the opposition coalition was forbidden. Even so, the Guinean population responded massively by supporting the opposition-backed candidate, represented by Fernando Dias, former vice president of the National Assembly dissolved in 2023. Thus, Sissoco and his allies have no alternative but to resort to armed force to remain in power.

We forcefully denounce the ongoing coup d’état and call on soldiers and junior officers to follow the will of the people and refuse to obey the orders of the coup leaders. The traitorous military leadership are imposing a curfew and control of communications, as well as the media and communication networks, with the main aim of preventing popular mobilization against the coup. It is necessary to draw attention to, hold accountable, and denounce all those in the international community who have supported—and continue to support—the dictatorial regime that holds the Guinean people hostage, and we demand that they take a stand in favor of the restoration of democratic freedoms in Guinea-Bissau, respecting the will of the people expressed in these elections.

We also call for international solidarity, especially from African peoples and the Portuguese-speaking community (PALOP), to stand up against this attack on democratic freedoms. The struggle of the Bissau-Guinean people is part of a broader battle against authoritarianism and for the affirmation of human dignity. It is imperative that international organizations, social movements, and progressive parties take a clear stand in support of democratic freedoms and popular sovereignty in Guinea-Bissau.

All those who attack the Bissau-Guinean people and working class must be held accountable.

The people and the working class must not demobilize and must remain firm and determined in defending their will. In this regard, it is essential that all popular organizations, trade unions, and other members of civil society take a stand and join the demonstrations called for this Thursday, the 27th, demanding the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners.

Finally, we call in particular on the movements representing workers in Guinea-Bissau, such as the UNTG and affiliated trade unions, to call a general strike to paralyze the country, showing the total unwillingness of the population to live under a new military regime.

Unity and struggle against the coup!

Sissocó out! Down with the coup!

Long live the struggle of the heroic Guinean people!