March 24 strike
On March 24, 1976, the Congolese Trade Union Confederation organized a major strike. The strike was called in the back-drop of a helicopter accident in which the president, Marien Ngouabi, was injured. The CSC demanded the rehabilitation of the Central Committee of the Congolese Party of Labour.
The strike was violently repressed by the regime. Several key personalities, such as Pascal Lissouba, Pierre Nzé, Anatole Kondo and Jean-Jules Okabando, were arrested. However, there had been no clear linkages between Lissouba and the other three arrested personalities. Once Ngouabi reassumed power from the interim leader, Jean-Pierre Thystère-Tchicaya, the four were sent for re-education in the villages and spared from imprisonment.
