After a day of violence during which security forces clashed with protestors in several Conakry suburbs, union leaders on Monday evening presented Guinean President Lansana Conte with an ultimatum to either reform his government or face mass nationwide demonstrations.

The National Confederation of Guinean Workers (CNTG) and the Guinean Workers Union (USTG), which last Wednesday called an indefinite and widely observed national strike, met with Conte on Monday night and demanded he hand over all his presidential powers, name a new prime minister, and authorise that person to name a new government, according to a senior union leader who attended the meeting.

The unions said the new candidate should not come from the military, which is still effectively headed by Conte, a former colonel now in his 70’s who seized power in 1984 in a coup.

“We asked the president to nominate a new prime minister and give him power to run the country because we now know the president’s health has deteriorated and he is no longer in charge of the day to day administration of the state,” said the union official, who requested anonymity.

The ultimatum marks a serious turn in the small, impoverished country led by Conte, one of the region’s longest-serving rulers. Regional analysts and civil society in Guinea have been warning since 2005 that Guinea’s spiralling national economy, growing inequality and rampant corruption have put the nation on the brink of the same kind of institutional failure and factionalism that plunged its neighbours Liberia and Sierra Leone into conflict in the 1990s.

Ibrahima Fofana, secretary general of the USTG, confirmed later on Monday that the union had demanded that Conte change the government and warned the unions would mobilise widespread protests if Conte refuses to act by Tuesday.

“If the president doesn’t respect the proposition, he is inviting a general movement and we will invite all Guineans to actively participate in demonstrations,” Fofana said.

The unions’ demand and ultimatum marks a significant shift from their policy in two other strikes in the capital, Conakry, last year of backing away from calling for protests. The unions have won support throughout Guinea, and the strike action has shut down almost all business and activity in most towns and cities.

Day of clashes

The union ultimatum follows a day of clashes between Guineans and state security services in some of Conakry’s poorest suburbs.

Intermittent automatic weapons fire was heard in the Matoto, Hambaleye, Koloma and Bambeto Cosa districts of Conakry from around 10 AM onwards after armed police, gendarmes and the Guinean military moved in to fight stone throwing youths who had set up makeshift barricades of burning tyres.

Fighting had died down by midday but there were dozens of tear gas canisters, bullet casings and stones littering the streets after the clashes. There were no reports of dead or wounded, and witnesses said the police were mostly shooting above the heads of people in the crowds.

Local residents nonetheless accused the gendarmes and police of using excessive force, breaking into houses and stealing food, money and mobile phones. “The military came, they beat me, destroyed my house and threw all my food on the floor,” said Marian Silla from the Koloma district.

The police commissariat in Conakry refused to comment on the accusations of excessive force on Monday afternoon.

Corinne Dufka, senior West Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch (HRW), warned the Guinean security forces still have a “culture of impunity” which led to widespread looting and attacks on civilians during similar operations in Conakry last year. HRW has accused the state security services of committing rapes during those operations but there were no reports of sexual assaults on Monday.

“There have been several incidents over the last several years in which the security forces have killed demonstrators and also gone into neighbourhoods during civil disturbances and perpetrated crimes themselves. There is a real culture of impunity, so we are urging the police to act within the law and to use restraint,” Dufka said.

Violence was also reported in the Matoto and Hamdalaye suburbs on 10 January, the first day of the strike. Then too, barricades of burning tyres were set up, and security officers were brought in.

Several of Conakry’s suburbs have effectively become no-go areas for police and most Guineans. Ruled by armed gangs, the level of violence, including with guns, have led locals to dub the run-down districts “The Gulf” and “Baghdad” after war-zones in the Middle East.

Civil society under fire

Leaders of Guinea’s political opposition called last week for a campaign of peaceful civil opposition to start on Monday, backed by the unions, and two NGOs had also planned to hold peaceful protests in Conakry despite a government order against demonstrations. The ensuing violent protests on Monday were not backed by any of the strike coordinators or unions.

On Sunday, police briefly arrested 12 members of the National Council of Civil Society Organisations (CNOSCG) youth organisation, one of the groups that had planned the peaceful protest. CNOSCG members said the 12 were discovered making placards to carry. Organisers subsequently cancelled Monday’s peaceful demonstration, which had been expected to take the form of a prayer meeting.

At least another 80 people from throughout Conakry were arrested on Sunday, diplomatic sources said. IRIN correspondents there saw three military trucks of prisoners being driven away from the Bamboto district on Monday morning.

“Everyone who was arrested overstepped the bounds of the strike because they attacked the police and tried to break into shops. They will face justice,” said a police official who identified himself as Superintendant Mansare on Guinean national radio on Monday afternoon.

Guinea’s unions have called the strikes to protest what they say is a rising cost of living and growing hardship among ordinary Guineans as inflation has topped 30 percent, fuel prices have tripled, and basic road, water and communications infrastructure has crumbled.

The country achieved just two percent growth last year despite having extensive reserves of precious metals and growing foreign investment. It is ranked among the most corrupt countries in the world, according to international corruption monitoring groups.

In two strikes last year, the unions called for the government to take action to curb the cost of living and stabilise the economy, as well as to raise the minimum wage. Union leaders say they called off the strikes after promises from the government that were not honoured.

In this latest strike the unions have explicitly linked the country’s economic decline to its leadership and said they will not stand down until their demands are met.