Militants arrested in Senegal

Wednesday, November 17, 1993 - 11:00

Militants arrested in Senegal

A number of Senegalese trade union and socialist militants were arrested and many people were wounded on November 4, when a peaceful demonstration of several thousand people, protesting against a projected 15% reduction in wages in the public sector, was repressed by the police.

Union and political leaders were then rounded up and interred in Camp Abdou Diesse. Among them are Landing Savane, parliamentary deputy of the African Party for Democracy and Socialism (PADS); Bouba Diop of the Federation for Education and Research; Amadou Guiro (PADS), who is also a long-time leader of the Fourth International; Abdoulaye Faye (PADS); Ousman Gom (PADS).

For several weeks, there have been mass demonstrations and strikes against the austerity policies of the Socialist Party regime of Abdou Diouf.

The PADS is a fairly new political party that arose out of a fusion of a number of smaller socialist groups. Now a major opposition party, it has gained a hearing in the population, and has several deputies in parliament. Members and supporters lead a number of trade unions.

From GLW issue 123