Freedom in the World 1998 - Guinea

1998 Scores

Status: Not Free
Freedom Rating: 5.5
Civil Liberties: 5
Political Rights: 6

Overview

President Lansana Conté was returned to office in a December presidential election that lacked credible opposition as state patronage and media strongly backed the incumbent. Harassment of political opponents and disregard for the rule of law continued to mark dominance of the long-serving president and his ruling Progress and Unity Party (PUP). A wave of arrests followed the election, including that of the official third place finisher, Alpha Conde. Security forces, including the elite presidential guard, enjoyed impunity for past and ongoing human rights abuses.

Oppositionists, independent media and non-governmental organizations seeking to expand the limited democratic space faced resistance from a clique of President Conté's cronies, mostly from his own Susu ethnic group, which dominates the country's political and economic life. The lack of a strong electoral challenge to President Conté's grip on power could encourage armed anti-government activity from dissidents who are reportedly based in neighboring Liberia and Sierra Leone. An array of insurgencies opposed to various governments in the region operate along Guinea's frontiers. Guinea dispatched about 500 troops to battle a military mutiny in Guinea-Bissau. President Conté himself seized power in a 1984 coup, and was nearly toppled by a 1996 army mutiny. Amidst general looting in Conakry, the capital, Conté, rallied loyal troops and re-established his rule. Legislative polls in June 1995 were deeply flawed, and Guinea remains far from achieving either a genuine democratic transition or respect for human rights and the rule of law.

Under Ahmed Sékou Touré and his Guinea Democratic Party, Guinea declared independence from France in 1958. Alone among France's many African colonies, it rejected the domination of continued close ties with France. France retaliated quickly, removing or destroying all "colonial property" and enforcing an unofficial but devastating economic boycott. Sékou Touré's one-party rule became highly repressive after an early effort to introduce egalitarian laws. Guinea was increasingly impoverished under his disastrous Soviet-style economic policies, and today, the country ranks near last on international social development indicators.

Guinean politics and parties are largely defined on ethnic bases. President Conté's ruling PUP is strongly Susu; the Rally of the Guinean People (RPG) party is mostly Malinké; and both the Party for Renewal and Progress (PRP) and the Union for the New Republic (UNR) party are Fulani-dominated. Ethnicity, patronage, and nepotism provide the subtext to almost every political debate. Ethnic wars in neighboring states raise fears of similar conflict and national disintegration among Guinea's seven million people. Today, the country hosts about over 500,000 refugees, mostly from Sierra Leone, Senegal, and Guinea-Bissau.

Political Rights and Civil Liberties

The Guinean people's constitutional right to freely elect their government is not yet respected in practice. President Conté's December re-election, with 54.1 percent of about 2.7 million votes reported, was unconvincing, although broad manipulation of the electoral process and opposition disunity likely made more blatant forms of vote-rigging unnecessary to ensure another five year presidential term. Union for Progress and Renewal party leader Mamadou Ba placed second with 24.6 percent of the vote. The Higher Council on Electoral Affairs which replaced the Independent Electoral Commission in September was neither autonomous nor powerful enough to level the electoral landscape, although the polls were an improvement over past elections. Electoral manipulation and fraud in the 1993 presidential polls made a mockery of the vote. The June 1995 national assembly elections were more open. A total of eight opposition parties won just enough seats to deny the PUP the two-third's majority required to enact constitutional changes; but the ruling PUP's share of seats in the 114-member assembly was probably fraudulently inflated far above the proportion of votes it received.

The president retains decree power that could eviscerate the parliamentary process. While nominally independent, the judicial system remains infected by corruption, nepotism, ethnic bias and political interference, and lacks resources and training. Minor civil cases are often handled by traditional ethnic based courts. A new State Security Court, whose proceedings may be secret and whose verdicts cannot be appealed, was established in June 1997. Arbitrary arrests and detention are common, and persistent maltreatment and torture of detainees is reported. Conditions in the country's prisons, which are harsh and sometimes life-threatening, were denounced in January by a delegation of the International Observatory of Prisons (OIP).

Several statutes restrict freedom of association and assembly in apparent contravention of constitutional guarantees. The government may ban any gathering that "threatens national unity." Registration requirements seem insignificant obstacles to political party formation, and at least 46 have been recognized. But many opposition politicians have been harassed or arrested; the RPG party is a special target. Several leaders and activists of the UNR were jailed in June after police clashed with protesters. Several human rights groups, such as the Guinean Organization for the Defense of Human Rights (OGDH), and many non-governmental groups operate openly. Various groups promoted civic education projects, although such efforts seem to have little impact on those in power. Constitutionally-protected religious rights are respected in practice, although the main body representing the country's Muslims, who comprise over 80% of the population, is government-controlled. Christian missionaries operate freely.

The government has wide powers to bar any communications that insult the president or, in its opinion, disturb the peace. All broadcasting as well as the country's largest and only daily newspaper are state-controlled, and offer little coverage of the opposition and scant criticism of government policy. The print media has little impact in rural areas where incomes are low and illiteracy high. Several weekly newspapers in the capital, Conakry, offer sharp criticism of the government despite frequent harassment. A restrictive press law allows the government to censor or shutter publications on broad and ill-defined bases. In 1998, several foreign journalists from West African countries working in the independent media were expelled. Parliamentary proposals to open broadcasting were rejected by the president, and a reformist information minister, Michel Kamano, was dismissed in 1997.

Women have far fewer educational and employment opportunities than men, and many societal customs discriminate against women. Constitutionally protected women's rights are often unrealized. Spousal abuse and other violence against women is said to be prevalent. Female genital mutilation as a traditional rite is widely practiced.

The constitution provides the right to form and join unions. However, about 80 per cent of Guinea's seven million people are subsistence farmers. Only a very small formal sector exists and about one-twentieth of the work force is unionized. Several labor confederations compete in this small market and have the right to bargain collectively. Labor grievances are regularly heard by a labor court in the capital as well as in civil courts elsewhere.

Privatization efforts affecting the country's bauxite industry – which provides about 90% of export earnings – other mining concerns, and various state enterprises continued. New IMF loans and debt rescheduling are opening the way for new, private international lending and investment. However, endemic corruption and the concentration of power around President Conté remain serious obstacles to investment and economic growth.