Around three dozen Guinean activists gathered today in front of the Assembly of the Republic, in Lisbon, to protest against the presence of the President of Guinea-Bissau, Umaro Sissoco Embaló, at the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of April 25.
Armed with white carnations, placards reading “Sissoco Embaló Dictator” or “Marcelo side by side with a dictator — April values oppressed in Guinea-Bissau” and black t-shirts denouncing politically motivated deaths, arrests and kidnappings, activists began to gather mid-morning to warn of what they consider to be a degradation of Guinea-Bissau’s democracy and a Portuguese invitation that “whitewashes” the country’s current political reality.
“Given the political context in Guinea-Bissau of a dismantling of the democratic freedoms that have been won, we felt there was a need to criticize the Portuguese state for an invitation addressed to the current President of Guinea-Bissau, Mr. Umaro Sissoco. Anyone who is paying attention to the political situation is aware of the chaos that is being created at the moment, in order to allow him to continue in power,” Youssef, a Guinean activist in the diaspora and spokesperson for those who gathered in Lisbon today, told Lusa.
