When the West African nation of Guinea gained its independence in 1958, hopes for a free and prosperous future were high. However, during the next fifty years troubled leaders would turn this resource-rich country into one of the poorest countries in the world. Gross economic inequality and civil-military political strife caused experts to wonder if [...]
Read more...As the world watches the events unfold in Guinea, from 60-168 civilian deaths and unprecedented violence against women by men in military uniform to an assassination attempt on the leader of the military government, the BEFORE Project reaffirms its commitment to working for peace and preventing large-scale systemic country-wide violence.
In May 2009 BEFORE and [...]
September was devastating for Guineans. Men in military uniforms, perhaps even from the Presidential Guard, fired on thousands of civilians at a political rally. Local human rights organizations have the death toll as high as 160 with hundreds more injured, but the Guinean military government reports 57 deaths, mostly due to stampeding crowds. Everyday witness [...]
Read more...25 years.
That’s how long Lansana Conte ruled the West African country of Guinea-Conkary. Yet toward the end of those two and a half decades, as Conte became ill and battled death, many warned that political violence could break out when Conte died.
The BEFORE Advisory Committee for West Africa responded to those warnings by [...]
The recent assassinations of the President and Army Chief of Staff in Guinea-Bissau earlier this year thankfully did not triggered further violence.
However, there are signs of turmoil within the country. Under Constitutional law Guinea-Bissau needs to now hold presidential elections. As presidential candidates vie for political power and balance varying pressures, tensions are rising [...]
With a volatile history, politics in Guinea-Bissau can be highly partisan, unstable and even violent. In 2005 a diverse group of local leaders, called the Citizens Good Will Task Force (CGWTF), came together to help Guinea-Bissau through its 2005 Presidential elections.
1,200 t-shirts with the message “My Vote is Not for Sale” were produced and [...]
What would happen if the press was paid by politicians and didn’t have access to job training?
Journalists wouldn’t be able to objectively report on certain issues for fear of upsetting a political leader and not getting paid that month.
Or even if it was acceptable to report on an issue, it would be difficult to cover [...]
Read more...Two days prior to a conflict assessment team leaving for Guinea-Bissau in 2004, the Chief of Staff of Guinea-Bissua’s Armed Forces was killed by his own men. Shortly thereafter, a new Chief of Staff was named: General Baptista Tagme Na Waie, a well-admired but sometimes controversial freedom fighter from Guinea-Bissau’s war of independence with Portugal. [...]
Read more...BEFORE’s approach is very promising as its focus on working with local actors to prevent political violence can be useful in many people in my region. In my home country of Nigeria, violence erupted many times just
Read more...In May 2008 I was selected by the West Africa Steering Committee to lead the BEFORE assessment mission to Guinea-Conakry. Having been there on an assignment as the US Ambassador in the 90s, I was
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