Guinea-Conakry

Tradução - Interpretação Consecutiva I - 2º semestre 2005/2006

Escola Superior de Tecnologia e Gestão

Teacher: João Paulo Galvão

Theme: Guinea-Conakry

Work made by: Sérgio Hugo Lopes Branco

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Index

Introduction___________________________________4 History_____________________________________5 Geography__________________________________8 Population_________________________________ 9 Economy e resources_________________________10 Culture____________________________________11 Environment _______________________________12Conclusion___________________________________13Bibliography__________________________________14Annexe______________________________________ 15

1. Guinea-Conakry Map______________________162. Guinea-Conkry Flag_______________________163. Guinea-Conkry Coat of Arms_______________ 164. Lansana Conté (fotography)_________________175. Guinea-Conakry Localization Map___________ 176. General facts about Guinea-Conakry__________17

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Introduction

This work, made within the compass of the consecutive interpretation discipline (“Interpretação Consecutiva I”), aims to analyze the main historical, political, geographic, demographic, economic, cultural and environmental facts of Guinea, a Western Africa country. Guinea is also known as Guinea-Conakry, to avoid confusion with Guinea-Bissau.

As a former colony and African country, Guinea-Conakry shares several characteristics with other African nations, but it also has its own specificities.

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History

The area covered by the modern state of Guinea has seen itself incorporated into a succession of empires across the centuries. The earliest of these was the "Ghana Empire" which came into being around 900. This was followed by the Sosso kingdom in the 12th and 13th centuries. The Mali Empire came to power in the area following the Battle of Kirina in 1235, defeating the Sosso kingdom. The Mali Empire prospered until internal problems weakened it, allowing its states to seize power in the 15 th century. Chief among these was the Songhai state which became the Songhai Empire. This empire exceeded its predecessors in territory and wealth, but it too fell prey to internal wrangling and civil war and was eventually toppled at the Battle of Tondibi in 1591. After this the area fragmented until an Islamic state was founded in the 18 th century, bringing some stability to the region.

Europeans first came to the area as part of the slave trade, beginning in the mid-15th century with the Portuguese sailors. Later, the Fula tribe conquered the Fouta Djallon region. This tribe had a very important role in the implantation of Islamic religion, especially when Fulas’ emir began a holy war intending to convert all the population of the territory to Islam (1725 -19th century).

In the 18th century, French explorers started to penetrate the Nunez River. Despite that, the Portuguese controlled most trade routes until the 19th century. In this century, France established itself, definitively, in Nunez. It was there that France started making efforts to make Guinea its protectorate. That would happen in 1849. The territory received the name of South Riviera and was co-administrated along with Senegal. French domination was assured when they defeated the warrior of the malinke people Sanory Touré and his troops. That fact gave the French control of the present Guinea territory, as well as adjacent regions. Between the end of the 19th century and beginning of the following century, France set out present Guinea borders with the British and Portuguese territories at the time, which are today, respectively, Sierra Leone and Guinea-Bissau. In 1890, South Riviera separated itself from Senegal, becoming the name of French Guinea. In 1895, it integrated French West Africa. The capital Conakry was founded on Tombo Island in 1890.

The colony was enlarged in the early 20th century with lands of the Niger River right bank, parts of Sierra Leone and Liberia interior regions.

Guinea’s status shifted in 1946 to French ultramarine territory. This would not last much as, in 1958, tired of colonialism, Guinea became the only colony that rejected association with the 5th French Republic. Therefore, all the ties with the colonial power were broken, especially due to Ahmed Sékou Touré’s action (who later would become President). Touré was the Democratic Party of Guinea (PDG) leader and won 56 of the 60 sits in the 1957 territorial elections. They represented a great victory to him as the Guinean decided, by great majority, to reject the proposal to be part of a French Community. The French leave as soon as they could and on 2 Oct., 1958 Guinea achieve independence. This same year Guinea became a UN member. Without French backing, Touré asked countries like the Soviet Union, China or the U.S.A. for economic help.

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Under Touré dictatorship, Guinea was a one-party Marxist socialist republic. He pursued broadly socialist economic policies and suppressed opposition and free expression with little regard for human rights, besides having crushed political opposition. Tens of thousands of people disappeared, or were tortured and executed, during his 26-year regime.

Guinea cultivated close relations with the Soviet Union but expelled the Soviet ambassador in 1961 for alleged interference in the country's internal affairs. Touré also advocated African unity and steered the country into a union (largely symbolic) with Ghana in 1958; Mali joined in 1961. In the late 1960s, Guinea sought improved relations with the West, although its basic international posture was one of nonalignment. Touré fostered Pan-Africanism.

Touré had been believed to defend a nationalism without ethnic barriers, but he gradually became more dependent on his own ethnical group, the malinke, to fill in positions in his government. Claiming coup d’état attempts from in and outside Guinean borders, Touré regime wanted to punish real and imaginary enemies and locked up thousands in prisons where hundreds would die. The repression lead more than one million people to the exile and Touré ruined the relationship between Guinea and foreign countries, including neighbour countries. Guinea’s economic isolation increased, and later, its economy was devastated. Eventually, Touré's isolationist policies, brutal suppression of political opponents, and economic failures lost him public support and led to 1977 riots. These led to some relaxation of state control of the economy. A softening of Touré's policies was evident towards the end of his tenure; he abandoned Marxism, normalized relations with France, and secured aid packages from both France and Arab nations.

After the death of Sékou Touré, on 26 March, 1984, a time of political instability began. This made a military coup bring the Military Committee of National Recovery (CMRN) to power under Col. Lansana Conté, on 3 April, 1984. Lansana Conté immediately turned away from his predecessor's economic policies but continued to keep a close grip on power. With Conté as president, the CMRN set about dismantling Touré's oppressive regime, abolishing the authoritarian constitution, dissolving the sole political party and its mass youth and women's organizations, and announcing the establishment of the Second Republic. The socialist experiment was abandoned - without reversing poverty. The new government also released all political prisoners and committed itself to the protection of human rights. The CMRN also reorganized the judicial system, decentralized the administration, and began to liberalize the economy, promote private enterprise, and encourage foreign investment in order to reverse the steady economic decline under Touré's rule by developing the country's natural resources.

In late 1989, the government promise political multiparty elections. Consequently, in 1990, Guineans approved by referendum a new constitution that inaugurated the Third Republic, and a Supreme Court was established. In 1991, the CMRN was replaced by a mixed military and civilian body, the Transitional Council for National Recovery (CTRN), with Conté as president and a mandate to manage a 5-year transition to full civilian rule. The CTRN drafted "organic" laws to create republican institutions and to provide for independent political parties, national elections, and freedom of the

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press. Political party activity was legalized in 1992, when more than 40 political parties were officially recognized.

Guinea did not hold democratic elections until 1993. In December that year, Conté was elected to a 5-year term as president in the country's first multi-party elections, which were marred by irregularities and lack of transparency on the part of the government, as well as by scores of killings in the election campaign. To calm down his oppositors, Conté gave them some positions in the government. At the same time he repressed the street protests.

In 1995, parliamentary elections were held and the President’s party won once again. As a result, the accusations of manipulation came back. Conté was reelected in 1998, but the vote was denounced by opposition groups as rigged. In 1999, he was criticized because he sent an important opposition leader to jail.

From the mid- to late 1990s, Guinea received close to 400,000 refugees from the civil wars in Sierra Leone and Liberia. Beginning in the late 1990s, Guinea saw the gradual suspension of foreign aid to Conté's government. The loss of aid has hurt Guinea's economy. In 2000-2001, Guinean villages along the borders of Liberia and Sierra Leone were raided by foreign rebels, and the Guinean army counterattacked across the border in retaliation.

The constitution was amended in 2001 to permit the president to run for a third term. At the same time the presidential term was extended from five years to seven. Critics say both measures guarantee a lifelong presidency. In December 2003, Conté was reelected and the opposition candidates boycotted the election. He won with 95% of the votes.

Fighting erupted between ethnic groups in the Forest Region (SE Guinea) in mid-2004. The hostilities were aggravated by an influx of combatants from nearby Liberia, and the region remained unsettled through 2005. In January 2005, there was an attempt to assassinate Conté, apparently as part of a failed coup. Former Liberian leader Charles Taylor was later accused of backing the plot in revenge for Conté's support for the rebels who forced Taylor from power.

Guinea still faces very real problems and according to the International Crisis Group, a European think-tank, is in danger of becoming a failed state.

Geography

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The Republic of Guinea (French: République de Guinée), also called 'Guinea Conakry,' to avoid any possible confusion with Guinea Bissau, its northern neighbour, is a nation in West Africa. It borders Guinea-Bissau and Senegal on the north, Mali on the north and north-east, the Côte d'Ivoire on the south-east, Liberia on the south, and Sierra Leone on the west. The coastline faces the Atlantic Ocean.

The name Guinea (geographically assigned to most of Africa's west coast, south of the Sahara desert and north of the Gulf of Guinea) originates from Berber and roughly translates into 'land of the blacks.'

Conakry, besides being the country’s capital, is the largest town in the Republic of Guinea. It is located in the southwest and is an Atlantic port. Around 1852 thousand people live in Conakry.

The other main cities are Kankan (55 000 inhab.), Nzérékoré (45 000 inhab.), Kindia (39 000 inhab.) and Kissidougou (31 000 inhab.) (1995).

The country is divided into four geographic regions: a narrow coastal belt (Lower Guinea); the pastoral Fouta Djallon highlands (Middle Guinea); the northern savanna (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 highest point in Guinea, Mont Nimba at 5,748 feet (1,752 m), is located in this region.

The climate is tropical, generally hot and humid, with a monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds and a dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds. In Conakry, the average maximum temperature is of 29º C and mimimum of 23ºC. In Upper Guinea, the rainy-season is shorter.

There are 200 miles (320 km) of coastline.

Guinea is divided into 7 administrative regions and subdivided into 34 prefectures. The national capital, Conakry, ranks as a special zone.The administrative regions include: Boké, Faranah, Kankan, Kindia, Labé, Mamou, Nzérékoré, and Conakry.

Population

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In July 2002, Guinea-Conakry had a population of 7,775,065 people. The density of population was of 30 inhab./ km2. Guinea is estimated to have 9,690,222 people in July 2006.

At that same time, the birth rate is predicted to be of 41.76 births/1,000 population and the death rate of 15.48 deaths/1,000 population. The life expectancy at birth is low: 49.5 years. Men are expected to live 48.34 years and women 50.7 years (2006 est.).

The literacy (people over 15 that can read and write) rate is of 35.9%. The gap between male and female population is worrying: 49.9% of men can read and write, meanwhile only 21.9% of women can do it.

As in other developing countries, young people (0-14) are a large part of the population: 44.4%. Adult population (15-64) represents 52.5% of the total population. Only in the 3.2% of population with 65 or over there is an important difference between the number of men and women: around 170 thousand women and 130 thousand men.

There is high infant mortality rate: 90 deaths/1,000 live births

In 1999, the labor force was of 3 million people: 80% worked in agriculture, 20% in industry and 20% in services.

The main ethnical groups are the Pheul (40%), the Manlinke (30%), the Soussou (20%) e and the Kissi (7%).

The Muslims are the majority (85%). There are also Christians (8%) and people with indigenous beliefs (7%).

The official language is French, though each tribe has its own language. Arabic is also spoken.

In the 2005 List of countries by Human Development Index (HDI), made in 2005 (with 2004 data), Guinea is at number 156, among 177 countries. That position represents low human development.

Economy and resources

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Guinea possesses major mineral, hydropower, and agricultural resources, yet remains an underdeveloped nation. The country possesses over 30% of the world's bauxite reserves and is the second-largest bauxite producer. The mining sector accounted for about 75% of exports in 1999. Besides bauxite, the country explores gold and diamond mines, of which production has increased significatively. Copper and magnesium are also explored.

Long-run improvements in government fiscal arrangements, literacy, and the legal framework are needed if the country wants to move out of poverty. Fighting along the Sierra Leonean and Liberian borders, as well as refugee movements, have caused major economic disruptions, aggravating a loss in investor confidence. Foreign mining companies have reduced expatriate staff. Panic buying has created food shortages and inflation and caused riots in local markets.

Guinea is not receiving multilateral aid. The IMF and World Bank cut off most assistance in 2003. Growth rose slightly in 2004, primarily due to increases in global demand and commodity prices on world markets. Reconstruction and expansion of substructures or rural development are the main results of the assistance to Guinea. The public administration has also been improved. The present GDP is US$ 2100.

Culture

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Like other West African countries, Guinea has a rich musical tradition. The group Bembeya Jazz became popular in the 1960s after Guinean independence. The Vancouver-based guitarist Alpha Yaya Diallo hails from Guinea and incorporates its traditional rhythms and melodies into his original compositions, for which he has won two Juno Awards.

National TV (that broadcasts in French, English and regional languages) and radio are government-controlled, as well as the only daily newspaper. They make short coverage of the opposition action.

Consequently, after much international and oppostion pressure, the government open the TV and radio network to private entities in 2005.

A restrictive press law allows the government to censor publications. Over a dozen newspapers only publish weekly or sporadicly. Most criticize the government. High prints costs are also an obstacule.

National colours of Guinea are red, yellow and green, the pan-african colours. They are displayed vertically, in three equally wide stripes. They are the same as those of Ghana (which are displayed horizontally). Their adoption symbolizes "the continuity of the human emancipation movement". In a speech, Sékou Touré [first president from independence to his death - 1958-1984] explained the meaning of the colours. "Red: the colour of blood, symbol of our anti-colonialist martyrs. It is the sweat that runs over the ivory body of farmers, factory workers and other active workers. It is the wish for progress. Therefore red matches perfectly the first word of our motto: "Travail" (Work). Yellow: the colour of Guinean gold and African sun. It is the source of energy, generosity and equality for all men to which he gives light equally. Therefore yellow matches perfectly with the second word of our motto: "Justice". Green: the colour of the African vegetation. 85% of the population are farmers living in the countryside, which is ever covered with a green coat. Green symbolizes prosperity which will surely arise from the wide wealth of soil and subsoil, and the difficult life of the countryside masses in our country. Therefore, green will confirm the meaning of the third word of the motto: "Solidarite'" (Solidarity)".

Environment

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Guinea has no national parks. As a result, to preserve and to protect the environment is not easy. The groups of elephants and other animals suffer from the destruction of their places, as well as fromfurtive hunting.

Baboons and hyenas are the common animals in the country, since wild boars,

several species of antelopes and leopards are rarely seen.

Conclusion

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Guinea-Conakry, as well as most African countries, is still a developing nation, as the UN Human Development Index (HDI) shows.

Although Guinea has not had any major armed conflict since its independence in 1958, consecutive economic floatation, foreign countries’ refugees’ crisis and the so-called “restrictive democracy” regime do not allow a bigger progress. With only two presidents as an independent nation, Sekou Touré and Lansa Conté, whose term of office started in 1984 and still lasts today, Guinea politics are worrying, despite the democratic concessions in the early 1990s. Still, when compared to its neighbours, Guinea has been a stable country.

Bibliography

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MANUEL, Alexandre (director), Grande Enciclopédia do Conhecimento, vol. 8, Círculo de Leitores (licença editorial cedida a Jornal de Notícias)

Digital Suppor:

Diciopédia 2004, Porto Editora MultimédiaNota: pesquisas efectuadas: “Guiné”; “Conacri”; “Império do Mali”

Internet:

http://africanelections.tripod.com/gn.html

http://afrika.no/index/Countries/Guinea/index.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinea

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Guinea

http://flagspot.net/flags/gn.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/country_profiles/1032311.stm

http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Country_Specific/Guinea.html

http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/gv.html

http://www.ethnologue.com/show_map.asp?name=GN&seq=10

http://www.mbendi.co.za/land/af/gu/p0005.htm

http://www.tradeport.org/countries/guinea/01grw.html

http://www.who.int/countries/gin/en/

Nota: all the pages checked on April 7, 2006

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Annexe

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1. Guinea-Conakry Map

2. Guinea-Conakry Flag

3. Guinea-Conakry Coat of Arms

Guiné Conakry

This article is part of the series:Politics and government of

Guinea

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4. Present president, Lansana Conte 5. Guinea-Conakry Localization Map

6. General facts about Guinea-Conakry

Guiné Conakry

Capital Conakry9°30′N 13°43′W

Largest   city Conakry

Official   language(s) French (official), Pulaar, Kissi, Kpelle, Maninka, Susu, Toma

Government PresidentPrime Minister

RepublicLansana ContéCellou Dalein Diallo

Independencefrom France 2 October 1958

Area - Total  - Water (%)

 245,857   km²  (75th)94,926 sq mi Negligible

Population - July 2005 est. - Density

 9,467,866 (85th)38.5/km² (133th)99.7/sq mi 

GDP (PPP) - Total - Per capita

2005 estimate$20.74 billion (113th)$2,200 (173th)

HDI (2003) 0.466 (156th) – low

Currency Guinean franc (GNF)

Time zone - Summer (DST)

GMT (UTC0)(UTC)

Internet TLD .gn

Calling code +224

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