A planned meeting by exiled Guinean opposition figures in Senegal was called off on Thursday after organisers said Senegalese authorities directed them to cancel the event, which had been organised to highlight alleged human rights abuses in Guinea.
The gathering in Dakar was intended to commemorate two years since the disappearance of activists Oumar Sylla, widely known as Fonike Mengue, and Mamadou Billo Bah, both outspoken critics of Guinea’s military-led government.
Their disappearance has remained a source of concern among opposition groups and civil society organisations.
According to organiser Alseny Farinta Camara, the venue withdrew its booking shortly before the event after informing him that it could no longer host the meeting.
Camara said he was later contacted by police and asked to report to the Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DST).
Camara, who coordinates the Guinea branch of the civil society movement Tournons La Page (Turn the Page), said officials instructed him to cancel the meeting.
Invited to the Directorate of Territorial Surveillance headquarters, he said he was told to call off the event so as not to create a diplomatic issue.
The cancellation prompted criticism from Guinean opposition figures living abroad. Speaking during a press conference in Paris, National Front for the Defence of the Constitution (FNDC) leader Ibrahima Diallo described the decision as disappointing, arguing that Senegal has historically provided refuge to political exiles.
“Senegal has always been a place of asylum,” Diallo said, calling the cancellation regrettable.
Guinea has experienced growing political tensions since General Mamady Doumbouya seized power in a military coup in 2021.
Since then, authorities have suspended several political parties and media organisations, prohibited public demonstrations and taken action against opposition leaders and civil society activists, with many arrested, convicted or forced into exile.
The cancellation of the Dakar meeting has added to concerns among rights advocates over shrinking civic space for Guinean opposition voices, both inside the country and abroad.
As calls for accountability over enforced disappearances continue, campaigners say they remain determined to keep international attention focused on the human rights situation in Guinea.
