La Francophonie Suspends Guinea From Organisation Over Military Coup

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - La Francophonie (OIF), an organisation of French-speaking countries, has suspended Guinea's membership due to the military takeover and called for the release of President Alpha Conde, who was captured during the coup.

On 16 September, the OIF held an extraordinary session in Paris to discuss the situation in Guinea.

"In a resolution adopted unanimously, the CPF [Permanent Council of La Francophonie] strongly condemned these events [in Guinea] and decided, under the provisions of the Bamako Declaration, to suspend the Republic of Guinea from La Francophonie, while maintaining the Francophone multilateral cooperation programs, in particular those in support of the process of restoring constitutional and democratic order," a statement read.

The organisation demanded the release of Conde and the establishment of a transitional civilian government. It also praised the regional and international efforts, particularly, that of the Economic Community of West African States, to restore stability in Guinea.

The seizure of power by the military in the Western African nation took place on 5 September, when a group of rebels stormed the presidential palace in the capital of Conakry, detained the president, declared dissolution of the parliament, nullified the constitution and imposed a nationwide curfew.