The area occupied by Guinea today was included in several large West
African political groupings, including the Ghana, Mali, and Songhai
empires, at various times from the 10th to the 15th century, when
the region came into contact with European commerce. Guinea's
colonial period began with French military penetration into the area
in the mid-19th century. French domination was assured by the defeat
in 1898 of the armies of Almamy Samory Touré, warlord and leader of
Malinke descent, which gave France control of what today is Guinea
and adjacent areas.
France negotiated Guinea's present boundaries in the late 19th and
early 20th centuries with the British for Sierra Leone, the
Portuguese for their Guinea colony (now Guinea-Bissau), and Liberia.
Under the French, the country formed the Territory of Guinea within
French West Africa, administered by a governor general resident in
Dakar. Lieutenant governors administered the individual colonies,
including Guinea.
Led by Ahmed Sékou Touré, head of the Democratic Party of Guinea
(PDG), which won 56 of 60 seats in 1957 territorial elections, the
people of Guinea in a September 1958 plebiscite overwhelmingly
rejected membership in the proposed French Community. The French
withdrew quickly, and on October 2, 1958, Guinea proclaimed itself a
sovereign and independent republic, with Sékou Touré as President.
Under Touré, Guinea became a one-party dictatorship, with a closed,
socialized economy and no tolerance for human rights, free
expression, or political opposition, which was ruthlessly
suppressed. Originally credited for his advocacy of cross-ethnic
nationalism, Touré gradually came to rely on his own Malinke ethnic
group to fill positions in the party and government. Alleging plots
and conspiracies against him at home and abroad, Touré's regime
targeted real and imagined opponents, imprisoning many thousands in
Soviet-style prison gulags, where many perished. The regime's
repression drove more than a million Guineans into exile, and
Touré's paranoia ruined relations with foreign nations, including
neighboring African states, increasing Guinea's isolation and
further devastating its economy.
Sékou Touré and the PDG remained in power until his death on April
3, 1984. A military junta--the Military Committee of National
Recovery (CMRN)--headed by then-Lt. Col. Lansana Conté, seized power
just one week after the death of Sékou Touré. The CMRN immediately
abolished the constitution, the sole political party (PDG) and its
mass youth and women's organizations, and announced the
establishment of the Second Republic. In lieu of a constitution, the
government was initially based on ordinances, decrees, and decisions
issued by the president and various ministers.
Political parties were proscribed. The new government also released
all prisoners and declared the protection of human rights as one of
its primary objectives. It reorganized the judicial system and
decentralized the administration. The CMRN also announced its
intention to liberalize the economy, promote private enterprise, and
encourage foreign investment in order to develop the country's rich
natural resources.
The CMRN formed a transitional parliament, the "Transitional Council
for National Recovery" (CTRN), which created a new constitution (La
Loi Fundamental) and Supreme Court in 1990. The country's first
multi-party presidential election took place in 1993. These
elections were marred by irregularities and lack of transparency on
the part of the government. Legislative and municipal elections were
held in 1995. Conté's ruling Party for Unity and Progress (PUP) won
76 of 114 seats in the National Assembly, amid opposition claims of
irregularities and government tampering. The new National Assembly
held its first session in October 1995.
Several thousand malcontent troops mutinied in Conakry in February
1996, destroying the presidential offices and killing several dozen
civilians. Mid-level officers attempted, unsuccessfully, to turn the
rebellion into a coup d'état. The Government of Guinea made hundreds
of arrests in connection to the mutiny, and put 98 soldiers and
civilians on trial in 1998. A number of them were executed.
In mid-1996, in response to the coup attempt and a faltering
economy, President Conté appointed a new government as part of a
flurry of reform activity. He selected Sidya Touré, former chief of
staff for the Prime Minster of the Côte d'Ivoire, as Prime Minister,
and appointed other technically minded ministers. Touré was charged
with coordinating all government action, taking charge of leadership
and management, as well as economic planning and finance functions.
In early 1997, Conté shifted many of the financial responsibilities
to a newly named Minister of Budget and Finance.
In December 1998, Conté was reelected to another 5-year term in a
flawed election that was, nevertheless, an improvement over 1993.
Following his reelection and the improvement of economic conditions
through 1999, Conté reversed direction, making wholesale and
regressive changes to his cabinet. He replaced many technocrats and
members of the Guinean Diaspora that had previously held important
positions with "homegrown" ministers, particularly from his own
Soussou ethnic group. These changes led to increased cronyism,
corruption, and a retrenchment on economic and political reforms.
Beginning in September 2000, the Revolutionary United Front (RUF)
rebel army, backed by Liberian President Charles Taylor, commenced
large-scale attacks into Guinea from Sierra Leone and Liberia. The
RUF, known for their brutal tactics in the near decade-long civil
war in Sierra Leone, operated with financial and material support
from the Liberian Government and its allies. These attacks destroyed
the town of Guéckédou as well as a number of villages, causing
large-scale damage and the displacement of tens of thousands of
Guineans from their homes. The attacks also forced the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to relocate many of the 200,000
Sierra Leonean and Liberian refugees residing in Guinea. As a result
of the attacks, legislative elections scheduled for 2000 were
postponed.
After the initial attacks in September 2000, President Conté, in a
radio address, accused Liberian and Sierra Leonean refugees living
in the country of fomenting war against the government. Soldiers,
police, and civilian militia groups rounded up thousands of
refugees, some of whom they beat and raped. Approximately 3,000
refugees were detained, although most were released within the year.
In November 2001, a nationwide referendum, which some observers
believe was flawed, amended the constitution to permit the president
to run for an unlimited number of terms, and to extend the
presidential term from 5 to 7 years. The country's second
legislative election, originally scheduled for 2000, was held in
June 2002. President Conté's Party of Unity and Progress (PUP) and
associated parties won 91 of the 114 seats. Most major opposition
parties boycotted the legislative elections, objecting to inequities
in the existing electoral system. Guinea has more than 60 registered
political parties of which six are represented in the National
Assembly.
In 2006 and 2007, Guinea's labor union alliance launched a series of
historic, increasingly violent labor strikes. Whereas the unions'
demands during the March and June 2006 strikes were primarily
economic, the January 2007 strike was more political. Security
forces were responsible for the deaths of several protestors in June
2006. The 2007 strike also turned violent after President Conté
ignored the unions’ demand that he resign from office. Nationwide,
protesters began barricading roads, throwing rocks, burning tires,
and skirmishing with police. Violence peaked on January 22 when
several thousand ordinary Guineans poured into the streets,
primarily in the capital, calling for change. Guinean security
forces and the military's "red beret" presidential guard reacted by
opening fire on the peaceful crowds.
On January 27, 2007, unions, employers associations, and the
government entered a tripartite agreement to suspend the strike.
President Conté agreed to name a new "consensus" prime minister,
with delegated executive powers. For the first time, the new prime
minister of Guinea would carry the title of "head of government" and
exercise certain powers previously held by the president of the
republic. However, President Conté's February 9 appointment of a
longtime associate, Eugène Camara, as Guinea's new prime minister
sparked another wave of violence and protests. In an attempt to
quell the violence, on February 12 President Conté declared a "state
of siege," which conferred broad powers on the military, and
implemented a strict curfew. According to media reports, the
following days saw military and police forces scour Conakry and
towns in the hinterlands where they committed serious human rights
abuses.
When Guinea's National Assembly rejected Conté's effort to extend
the "state of siege," it became clear that the popular protests had
widespread support, even among leaders of Conté's own ruling party.
Soon after, an Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
delegation led by former Nigerian President Babangida announced that
President Conté had agreed to name a new "consensus" prime minister
in consultations with the unions and civil society. Lansana Kouyaté
arrived in Conakry on February 27, 2007, just hours after being
announced as the new Prime Minister and head of the government.
Security forces are believed responsible for having killed at least
137 people and injuring more than 1,700 others during the
strike-related violence in January and February 2007.
During his premiership, Kouyaté faced constant speculation that the
president and his associates opposed his reform efforts. His failure
to alleviate social and economic conditions contributed to the
steady decline of his popularity. After 15 months in office,
President Conté replaced Kouyaté with Ahmed Tidiane Souaré, a former
minister of mines from a previous cabinet. The Souaré administration
quickly began to reinstate presidential loyalists.
Despite his failing health, in December 2003, President Conté easily
won a third presidential term against a single, relatively unknown
candidate after the opposition parties boycotted the elections.
Conté insisted in a late 2006 interview that regardless of his
health he would remain in office until his term ended in 2010. His
death on December 22, 2008 sparked an immediate coup d’état by
elements of the military. |
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