Yearbook 2008
Guinea. According to
Countryaah reports, the mass protests in 2007 meant that President Lansana Conté was forced to give in to the trade unions and
the political opposition, among other things by giving the
new Prime Minister Lansana Kouyaté greater influence. In
2008, however, it became clear that the president and the
circle around him have largely succeeded in retaining their
grip on power. Dissatisfaction with the government's policy
and increasingly tough economic conditions triggered a
series of protests during the year, which in some cases led
to fierce clashes between often young protesters and the
security forces. However, the discontent expressions did not
become as extensive as the year before.
In April, fuel prices increased overnight by 60 percent
after the government abolished state subsidies. The
following month, Prime Minister Kouyaté was dismissed by a
decree from President Conté. It was speculated that it was
Kouyate's attempt to negotiate with foreign mining companies
on his own that led to the dismissal. Bauxite accounts for
most of the country's export earnings.
Economist Ahmed Tidiane Souaré, who was previously
Minister of Mines and Schools, was appointed new head of
government. A few days later, militants revolted in three
locations, demanding that they receive outstanding wages
(the soldiers claimed that some of them had not been paid
for several years), the right to cheaper rice and that the
defense minister would resign. The presidential guard was
deployed against the soldiers, and at least six people were
killed. In June, a settlement was concluded that gave the
insurgents higher wages and all the private soldiers were
promoted. New violence, which required several casualties,
erupted at the end of the same month when striking police
officers demanded pay raises and better conditions. Later,
teachers and health care workers also went on strike for
better conditions.
The new government that took office on June 23 had 36
members. Ten of Kouyaté's ministers were allowed to keep
their posts.
For several weeks in October, there were also unrest in
the mining towns of Boké and Mambia where the people
protested that they had not received part of the profits
from the mining operations. Freight trains loaded with
bauxite were prevented from reaching the ports.
High fuel prices triggered new protests in Conakry in
November. The government's decision to cut prices by 20
percent failed to appease the protesters, who believed that
even greater reductions should be possible when
international oil prices were halved since July 2007. At
least one person was killed in clashes between protesters
and riot police. Behind the protests was also a general
dissatisfaction with the fact that so few changes have been
implemented since the unrest in 2007.
The parliamentary elections that would have been held at
the end of the year were postponed indefinitely in November.
President Conté, who has been ill for a long time, passed
away on December 22. The following day, a group of younger
officers, led by Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, took power in
a bloodless coup. Juntan promised free elections by 2010,
and pledged to fight corruption and renegotiate mining
contracts so that its profits would benefit the poor
population to a greater extent. The coup was condemned
internationally, and on December 29, G. was temporarily
excluded from the African Union (AU), which demanded that
new power holders be appointed in accordance with the
Constitution. However, the coup makers received support from
Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade. Within the country, the
coup was particularly welcomed by many young Guineans. On
December 30, the country got a civilian head of government:
the banker Kabine Komara.
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