Guinea, a West African country of 10 million people, obtained her independence from France 50 years ago. But just like many African countries, its people remain one of world’s poorest with 40% living below the poverty line despite having diamond, gold, iron and half of the world’s reserves of the raw materials used to make aluminum.
Post-independence history of Guinea has been characterized by military dictatorship, repression, poverty and a succession of wars fought along its borders in the 1990s and early 2000s in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast. Guinea- Conakry (as it is often called to distinguish it from its neighbour, Guinea Bissau) is home to 24 ethnic groups and has its capital in Conakry. Ironically, it was the only French colony to opt for independence in 1958. President Sekou Toure governed Guinea from 1958 until his death in 1984. Toure was dictatorial as he allowed no opposing views.
Lansana Conte took over in 1984 after Toure’s death and ruled Guineain the same dictatorial manner until he also expired in 2008. The first elections since independence were only held in 1993 but were widely believed to have been manipulated by Conte. Although the President of the National Assembly was to take over power pending fresh elections ,Camara, 44, an army captain, seized power in December, 2008 just hours after the death of Lansana Conte. Camara announced that the constitution had been set aside and that the country was under the rule of a military junta. He initially said he would not stand in elections scheduled for January but recently indicated that he may have changed his mind.
