(Updates with army chief broadcast, unions, paragraphs 7-11) By Saliou Samb CONAKRY, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Guinea's parliament on Friday refused a request from President Lansana Conte to extend martial law in a rare act of defiance against his autocratic rule over the West African country. The period of martial law, imposed nationwide 11 days ago to quell violent protests accompanying a general strike, was due to expire later on Friday, but the president had asked the National Assembly to prolong it, citing security concerns. "The assembly deputies present unanimously refuse to renew martial law," National Assembly President Aboubacar Sompare told parliament after a vote on Conte's request. This meant the martial law measures, which gave the military sweeping powers of search and arrest and imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew, would cease at midnight on Friday. Union leaders say Conte, a reclusive diabetic in his 70s who has ruled since 1984, is unfit to govern. They are demanding he appoint a new, neutral head of government with powers to hire and fire his own ministers. They had argued Conte's plan to extend martial law would serve only to radicalise popular opposition to him and said their strike would continue until he named a new prime minister. Later on Friday, Guinea's army chief of staff, Kerfalla Camara, ordered an end to the labour stoppage. "The military authority decides that work should restart on Monday, February 26 ... and that (school and university) classes should restart on Thursday, March 1," he said in a broadcast on state television and radio. "Businessmen and administrative authorities are invited to resume their activities," he added, saying the armed forces would protect people and property. Union leaders rejected the military chief's order. "The chief of staff wants to take the place of the unions. We are continuing our strike movement until a consensus premier is named," union negotiator Boubacar Biro Barry said. OPPOSITION HAIL VOTE Earlier, the opposition hailed the parliament vote as a historic victory. "It is the first time that such a controversial decree has been rejected unanimously," parliamentary opposition leader Ousmane Bah told Reuters. Strike leaders relaunched their stoppage after Conte chose a close ally, Eugene Camara, as prime minister despite having agreed to name a consensus figure as part of an earlier deal. More than 120 people, mostly unarmed civilians, have been killed since the beginning of the year in clashes between security forces and protesters. The imposition of martial law restored some calm to the former French colony, keeping protesters off the streets by giving the army the right to shoot looters and troublemakers. The unrest in Guinea has raised concerns that growing protests could shatter a fragile peace in the wider region, particularly in neighbouring Sierra Leone and Liberia, which are just starting to recover from civil wars. Nigeria's former military ruler General Ibrahim Babangida, who is leading a delegation from the West African regional body ECOWAS for the second time in a week, met union leaders on Friday to push for a negotiated settlement. Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf told Reuters during a visit to Rwanda that Conte must work with all parties to stop the political crisis deteriorating into bloodshed and threatening neighbour states like her own country. (Additional reporting by Arthur Asiimwe in Kigali)
