Guinea Hotels Auberges and Rooms

Guinea

Republic of Guinea

Geography
Area: 245,860 sq. km. (95,000 sq. mi.), about the size of Oregon.
Cities: Capital--Conakry. Other cities--Guéckédou, Boké, Kindia, N'Zérékoré, Macenta, Mamou, Kankan, Faranah, Siguiri, Dalaba, Labe, Pita, Kamsar.
Terrain: Generally flat along the coast and mountainous in the interior. The country's four geographic regions include a narrow coastal belt; pastoral highlands (the source of West Africa's major rivers); the northern savanna; and the southeastern rain forest.
Climate: Tropical.

People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Guinean(s).
Population (2002 census): 8,444,559, including refugees and foreign residents. Refugee population (2006 est.): 60,000 Liberians and Ivoiriens. Population of Conakry: 2 million. Population of largest prefectures--Guéckédou (487,017), Boké (366,915), Kindia (361,117), N'Zérékoré (328,347), Macenta (365,559).
Annual growth rate (2002 census): 3.5%.
Ethnic groups: Peuhl 40%, Malinke 30%, Soussou 20%, other ethnic groups 10%.
Religions: Muslim 85%, Christian 8%, traditional beliefs 7%.
Languages: French (official), national languages.
Education: Years compulsory--8. Enrollment--primary school, 64.32% (male 78.71%, female 69.03%); secondary, 15%; and post secondary, 3%. Literacy (total population over age 15 that can read and write)--44.2% (male 58.74%, female 26.38%).
Health (2002): Life expectancy--total population 54 years. Infant mortality rate (2002)--98/1000.
Work force (2002, 4.5 million): Agriculture--76%; industry and commerce--18%; services--6%.

Government
Type: Republic.
Constitution: 1990; amended 2001.
Independence: October 2, 1958. Anniversary of the Second Republic, April 3, 1984.
Branches: Executive--elected president (chief of state); prime minister (head of government); cabinet of civilian ministers. Legislative--elected National Assembly (114 seats). Judicial--Supreme Court.
Administrative subdivisions: Region, prefecture, subprefecture, rural district.
Political parties: Pro-government--Party for Unity and Progress (PUP). Opposition--Rally for the Guinean People (RPG), Union for Progress and Renewal (UPR), Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea (UFDG), Union for Progress of Guinea (UPG), Union of Republican Forces (UFR).
Suffrage: Universal over age 18.
Central government budget (2006): $642 million.

Economy
GDP (2005 est.): $3.38 billion.
Annual economic growth rate (2005 est.): 3.3%.
Per capita GDP (2005 est.): $363.40.
Avg. inflation rate (2005): 30.9%.
Natural resources: Bauxite, iron ore, diamonds, gold, water power, uranium, fisheries.
Industry (30.9% of GDP): Types--mining, light manufacturing, construction.
Agriculture (19.5% of GDP): Products--rice, cassava, fonio, millet, corn, coffee, cocoa, bananas, palm products, pineapples, livestock, forestry. Arable land--35%. Cultivated land--4.5%.
Trade (45.1% of GDP): Exports (2005)--$806.6 million: bauxite, alumina, diamonds, gold, coffee, pineapples, bananas, palm products, coffee. Major markets--European Union, U.S., Commonwealth of Independent States, China, Eastern Europe, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Morocco.
Official exchange rate (May 2006): Approximately 4833 Guinean francs=U.S. $1.
Fiscal year: January 1-December 31.

GEOGRAPHY
Guinea is located on the Atlantic Coast of West Africa and is bordered by Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, Mali, Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. The country is divided into four geographic regions: A narrow coastal belt (Lower Guinea); the pastoral Fouta Djallon highlands (Middle Guinea); the northern savannah (Upper Guinea); and a southeastern rain-forest region (Forest Guinea). The Niger, Gambia, and Senegal Rivers are among the 22 West African rivers that have their origins in Guinea.

The coastal region of Guinea and most of the inland have a tropical climate, with a rainy season lasting from April to November, relatively high and uniform temperatures, and high humidity. Conakry's year-round average high is 29oC (85oF), and the low is 23oC (74oF); its average annual rainfall is 430 centimeters (169 inches). Sahelian Upper Guinea has a shorter rainy season and greater daily temperature variations.

PEOPLE
Guinea has four main ethnic groups:

Peuhl (Foula or Foulani), who inhabit the mountainous Fouta Djallon;
Malinke (or Mandingo), in the savannah and forest regions;
Soussous in the coastal areas; and
Several small groups (Gerzé, Toma, etc.) in the forest region.
West Africans make up the largest non-Guinean population. Non-Africans total about 10,000 (mostly Lebanese, French, and other Europeans). Seven national languages are used extensively; major written languages are French, Peuhl, and Arabic.

HISTORY
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 the 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 hundreds 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 Conte, 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. Conte'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'etat. The Government of Guinea made hundreds of arrests in connection to the mutiny, and put 98 soldiers and civilians on trial in 1998.

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 Cote 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 re-elected 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 Gueckedou 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 by year's end.

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.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
Guinea is a constitutional republic in which effective power is concentrated in a strong presidency. Government administration is carried out at several levels; in descending order, they are: eight regions, 33 prefectures, over 100 subprefectures, and many districts (known as communes in Conakry and other large cities, and villages or "quartiers" in the interior). District-level leaders are elected; the president appoints officials to all other levels of the highly centralized administration. The president governs Guinea with the assistance of an appointed council of civilian ministers typically led by a prime minister.

The failing health of President Conté has been a cause of continuing concern. In late 2003, Conté fell ill during a trip to Japan and had to receive medical treatment in Morocco. However, in December 2003 Conté easily won a third presidential term against a single, relatively unknown candidate after the opposition parties boycotted the elections. On January 19, 2005, President Conte's motorcade was fired upon by unknown assailants. Two bodyguards were wounded but the President was not harmed. President Conté was medically evacuated twice in 2006 to receive emergency treatment in Geneva, Switzerland. However, in a late 2006 interview Conté stated that despite his health he would remain in office until his term ended in 2010.

Throughout 2005, the government maintained an open dialogue with the opposition parties, 16 of which participated in the December 2005 nation-wide elections for local and rural councils. Opposition leaders were allowed to campaign freely, and were allowed equal access to government-run media. The ruling PUP won 31 of 38 municipalities and 241 of 303 local councils. Though the elections were viewed as flawed, they were still much improved over previous elections due to the use of transparent ballot boxes and other reforms.

In late February and early March 2006, Guinea's main labor union alliance launched a historic general strike demanding wage increases and union participation in Guinea's economic and social policy. Though the unions only won a modest salary increases, the strike established them as a credible, unified, and powerful force in Guinea. After firing Prime Minister Cellou Dallein Diallo in April 2006, Conté reorganized the government on May 29, 2006 under six "Ministers of State," each of whom would oversee several of the ministries. Rather than appointing a new prime minister, the new government was led by Minister for Presidential Affairs Fodé Bangoura.

Due in part to the government's inability to control Guinea's rising inflation, the trade unions launched a second general strike in June 2006. The second general strike was marked by more intense and widespread violence, which resulted in the deaths of several protesters at the hands of security forces. In December 2006, President Conté personally released from prison two of his close associates, Mamadou Sylla and Fodé Soumah, who had been under investigation for embezzling funds from Guinea's Central Bank. Later that month, Conté--just days after dismissing Ibrahima Keira, the Minister of Transportation, who was allegedly connected to the central bank controversy--reversed the decision and reinstated Keira. These actions by President Conté highlighted his autocratic style and disregard for the separation of powers, and prompted the labor unions to halt ongoing dialogue and to recommence the general strike on January 10, 2007.

Whereas the unions' demands during the March and June 2006 strikes were primarily economic, the January 2007 strike began with a political tone. In addition to their economic agenda for improved wages and retirement benefits, the unions demanded that the two prisoners be returned to jail and that Conté rescind his decision to reinstate the Minister of Transportation. The unions gave President Conté their list of written demands and called for his retirement on January 16. The next day, protesters began barricading roads, throwing rocks, burning tires, and skirmishing with police, following President Conté's dismissal of the unions' political demands for change. The violence throughout Guinea peaked on January 22 when several thousand ordinary Guineans poured into the streets calling for change. Guinean security forces and the military's "red beret" presidential guard reacted by opening fire on the peaceful crowds and killing dozens in Conakry and throughout Guinea.

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. The government also agreed to new price controls for rice and fuel, as well a one-year ban on the exportation of food and fuel. 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.

On February 23, 2007 for the first time in Guinea's history the National Assembly rejected a Conté initiative and refused to extend the "state of siege" declaration. That rebuke by the National Assembly clarified that the popular protests had widespread support, even among leaders of the PUP, Conté's own majority party. Concurrently, an ECOWAS delegation led by former Nigerian President Ibrahima Babangida and ECOWAS Secretariat President Ibn Chambas arrived to mediate. Two days later, ECOWAS special envoy and former Nigerian President Babangida announced that President Conté had agreed to name a new consensus prime minister from lists of acceptable candidates submitted by the unions and civil society. Lansana Kouyaté arrived in Conakry on February 27, just hours after being announced as the new Prime Minister and head of the government. After a month of wide-ranging consultations with Guinea's civil society, political parties, and religious communities, the new cabinet of ministers was announced on March 28 following a nationally televised address by Prime Minister Kouyate.

Guinea