Guinea-Bissau: Struggles for Stability

Guinea-Bissau is an ethnically diverse nation of 1.5 million people in West Africa. Since gaining independence in 1974 from Portugal, four military coup d’états have taken place as the people of Guinea struggled to transition from a single party-system with a tumultuous democratization process.

In late 2003, data indicated that Guinea-Bissau was in “potential crisis,” with some signs of minor violence. There was a considerable lack of international support and attention to the warning signs that Guinea-Bissau was at risk of serious trouble.

Guinea-Bissau appeared to be a forgotten country.

Yet after an assessment trip, it was found that local people were receptive to a violence prevention project. BEFORE’s former implementing partner in Guinea-Bissau, the Canadian International Institute for Applied Negotiation (CIIAN), forged ahead and named the project “The International Peace and Prosperity Project” (IPPP) from 2005-2009, reflecting on the hope and needs of the people.

The task however would be a difficult one. Guinea-Bissau is one of the world’s poorest countries. In the 1990’s multi-party politics proved difficult for the country, mainly due to a declining economy. Criticism of the government for economic mismanagement, corruption, rising-prices and deteriorating social conditions led to popular discontent, political tension and socio-economic instability, marked by massive strikes in almost all sectors in the late 1990s. In the midst of weak political and administrative structures, the country struggled to find a stable environment for economic development. Drug-traffickers were attracted by the weaknesses of Guinea-Bissau’s state institutions and today nearly forty tons of cocaine go through Guinea-Bissau to Europe every year.

Early Successes

There was a great need for stability as certain politicians exploited popular discontent and mobilizing inter-ethnic hostilities. Mass violence was a strong possibility and a number of Bissau-Guineans asked BEFORE and its partners to send for an immediate alert to the international community. Programs have been successful in stimulating and supporting local initiatives. Some of these key initiatives are:

• Contributing to the reconciliation movement in Guinea-Bissau by facilitating reconciliation dialogues with political elites, supporting a women’s dialogue with the armed forces, and collaborating on the ECOWAS/CPLP/UNOGBIS-sponsored Reconciliation process;
• Supporting various Security Sector Reform activities, including development of a Defense Strategy Paper and providing security consultants;
• Mobilizing Search for Common Ground to develop a media project directed at cultivating a culture of peace in Guinea-Bissau; and
• Increasing awareness of Guinea-Bissau’s condition in the international community by issuing several alerts about potential violence-triggering crises, sponsoring representatives from Guinea-Bissau to attend several international conferences and continuing to undertake extensive international lobbying by liaising with different government representatives.

To learn more about how BEFORE and its partners responded to local needs, read our Guinea-Bissau Program Evaluation or these stories about BEFORE’s work in Guinea-Bissau.

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History at-a-Glance

• 1956 – Amilcar Cabral and Raphael Barbosa establishes the African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde (PAIGC).
• 1961-1973 – PAIGC initiates and continues an armed independence struggle against the Portuguese colonial government.
• 1974 – After a bloodless military coup in Portugal deposes its dictatorship, Guinea-Bissau gains independence when the new Portuguese government withdraws from all its colonies.
• November 1980 – Jao Bernando “Nino” Vieira leads a military coup against President Luis Cabral. Vieira becomes president and makes an attempt to lead the country towards market economy and multiparty system.
• 1994 – Guinea-Bissau holds it first multi-party elections; President Vieira remains in power.
• 1998 – General Ansumane Mané forms the popularity and militarily supported Military Junta for the Consolidation of Democracy, Peace and Justice (MJCDPJ) and begins an armed struggle with the aim to overthrow the Vieira government.
• 1999 – The internal conflict rages for a year then ends with the ousting of President Vieira in May.
• 2000 – Kumba Yala, of the Social Renewal Party (SRP), wins Presidency in a multi-party election.
• 2003 – A bloodless military coup takes place and ousts Kumba Yala from power.
• 2005 – Vieira returns from exile and wins the Presidential elections.
• 2006 – Fighting breaks out between Guinea-Bissau soldiers and a Senegalese secessionist group, the Movement for Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC), who had made bases in Northern Guinea-Bissau.
• November 2008 – PAIGC wins a majority in Guinea-Bissau’s parliamentary elections in November, but two days after the results of parliamentary elections is released gunfire breaks out as a small group attacks President Vieira’s home in the early hours.
• December 2008 – The country settles into a relative post-election peace. However, tensions among the country’s elites are reported to be growing.
• March 2009 – Army Chief General Batista Tagme ni Waie is killed in an army barracks bombing. Several hours later newly elected President João Bernardo Vieira is assassinated at the Presidential Palace. Parliamentary speaker Raimundo Pereira was sworn into office as interim head of state the day after Vieira’s death. There has been no subsequent violence in the country. Elections for the new president are said to be held within 60 days, as outlined by the constitution.
• June 2009 – Peaceful presidential elections, internationally declared orderly and free, are held but no candidate receives the majority of votes. Top two candidates João Bernardo “Nino” Vieira and Malam Bacai Sanhá prepare for a run-off.
• July 2009 – Local leaders work to strongly encourage presidential candidates to peacefully accept the elections results – regardless of the winner. Malam Bacai Sanhá wins the run off and João Bernardo “Nino” Vieira promises to support the new government.
• April 2010 – After months of calm and progress toward stability, former general Antonio Indjai and other soldiers briefly detain democratically-elected Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Junior and the Chief of Armed Forces General Jose Zamora Induta. After several hundred people pour into the streets of Bissau to protest the detentions, Prime Minister Gomes is soon set free and resumes his duties.
• June 2010 – General Antonio Indjai is appointed as the new Army Chief of Staff.
• August 2010 – EU announces it is temporarily closing its security sector reform program, citing a lack of respect for rule of law.
• October 2010 – Bubo Na Tchuto is reinstated as head of the Guinea-Bissau Navy, despite suspected involvement in a failed coup attempt against former President Joao Bernardo Vieira in 2008 and accusations of being a narcotics kingpin.
• November and December 2010 – Several training courses on human rights, gender, and criminal investigation procedures are held as part of the training program for the future police in Bissau.
• February 2011 – Bissau-Guineans prepare for the “Paths to Consolidation Peace and Development” Conference by attending a two-day workshop, organized by the BEFORE Project and the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNOGBIS), to improve their facilitation techniques and knowledge on how to facilitate a conflict analysis.
• March 2011 – ECOWAS leaders approve $63 million US dollars to support security sector reforms in Guinea-Bissau.
• July 2011 – Legal experts from Guinea-Bissau, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Gambia and Nigeria begin drafting the by-laws that would govern a regional association for judges. The association will support regional update on the latest developments of contemporary law, streamline regional policies, contribute to the implementation of the international law, and promote the respect for jurisprudence in member states.