[Guinean news] Protests in Kankan

Guineenews reports protests were held in Kankan demanding the departure of the region's administrative authorities. Protesters called for the resignation of the governor and the prefet, both military men, for being unable to resolve a shortage of gasoline that has hit Kankan in the last week. The mayor, for his part, was reproached for bad management of public resources. The marches were mostly peaceful, but reports indicate that some youths threw rocks and otherwise damaged property.


Update: Guineenews has just reported that President Alpha Conde has named 15 new prefets, including a new one for Kankan.

When the World Calls: The Inside Story of the Peace Corps and Its First Fifty Years

Stanley Meisler has recently published a history of the Peace Corps entitled When the World Calls: The Inside Story of the Peace Corps and Its First Fifty Years by Beacon Press of Boston. Meisler was an early deputy director of the Peace Corps and long-time foreign correspondent for The Los Angeles Times. Meisler has also written books on the United Nations and its former secretary general Kofi Annan. For more information, visit the author's website: www.stanleymeisler.com/

Drugs trafficking and Guinea

This article from The New York Times about the much-publicized Wikileaks’ diplomatic cables reports the influence of narco-traffickers in Guinea during the regime of Lansana Conté. With neighboring Guinea-Bissau often referred to as Africa’s first narco state and with parts of Mali also used by the drugs traffickers, it’s unlikely that their influence has completely disappeared with the end of Conté’s reign.

{Guinean news] Conde names new PM

Guinea's newly-installed president Alpha Conde has named Mohamed Said Fofana as his government's new prime minister. Fofana was formerly director of economic research in the country's commerce ministry.

On a related note, a couple of good articles on Guinea's democratic transition include Guinea: Tyranny to Democracy (Liberia's The Analyst) and Guinea's Election An Example to All (VOA).

[Guinean news] Alpha Conde inauguration (video)

The Guinean state television broadcaster RTG's news program offered coverage of Alpha Conde's swearing in as Guinea's first democratically elected president (courtesy of Guineenews).

[Guinean news] Alpha Conde inaugurated while Ivorian refugees flee into Guinea

Former political prisoner Alpha Conde was sworn in today as Guinea's first democratically elected president. He took the oath of office at Conakry's Palais du peuple in front of numerous heads of state, including the presidents of South Africa and Liberia.

The country's outgoing military leader Gen. Sekouba Konate described the inauguration as an 'act of rebirth' for the country.

Agence France Presse noted that the ceremony included a minute's silence in memory of the 157 opposition supporters massacred by forces loyal to former junta leader Captain Moussa Dadis Camara at a stadium in the capital in September 2009, a tragedy widely seen as the real beginning of Guinea's democratization process.

Guinea's election was accepted peacefully, if grudgingly, by the losing candidates. However, the same can not be said of neighboring Cote d'Ivoire, where an election controversy has provoked fears of another civil war in the country. Such tension has provoked over 200 Ivorian refugees so far to flee to Guinea, according to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.

[Guinean news] Dadis to attend Conde investiture?

The Guineenews weekly press review discusses media speculation that deposed junta leader Moussa Dadis Camara may attend the swearing in of the new president Prof. Alpha Conde. Dadis has not been seen in public since being wounded in an assassination attempt in Dec. 2009.

Also, the Guinean government has lifted the state of emergency and re-opened the country's borders; both measures had been imposed to ease post-electoral violence.

[Guinean news] Condé declared winner by court; Diallo accepts defeat

RPG leader Alpha Condé has been officially declared winner of the Guinean presidential election by the country's Supreme Court.

Crucially, UFGD leader Cellou Dalein Diallo accepted the Court's decision, although he did contend that they didn't take his complaints into account.

[Guinean news] State of emergency declared

Both Guinéenews and Radio France Internationale are reporting that Gen. Sékouba Konaté has declared a state of emergency in Guinea following post-electoral violence which has claimed several lives. Gen. Konaté declared that the state of emergency would last until definitive election results were announced by the Supreme Court.

[Guinean news] Conde declared winner by Electoral Commission

Long-time opposition leader Alpha Conde has been declared the winner of the presidential runoff election by Guinea's Independent National Electoral Commission. The body credited the RPG leader with 52.5 percent of the vote compared to 47.5 percent for UFDG leader and former prime minister Cellou Dalein Diallo.

However, it remains to be seen whether Diallo's supporters will accept the result, after the party withdrew from the vote counting procedure.

Following the announcement of Conde's victory, gunshots were reportedly heard in several parts of Conakry. However, Diallo made a public appeal, urging Guineans to 'avoid violence' while the Supreme Court investigated allegations of electoral irregularities.