The tragic and deadly events of September 28, 2009 at the stadium in Conakry resulted in a climate of mistrust between the civilian women and women of the military that threatened the 2010 presidential elections. Ms. Nanfadima Magassouba, the Minister of National Solidarity and the Promotion of Women and Children, saw this and put out a request for support. In early 2010, BEFORE and its local and international partners quickly responded to this request. The resulting project, the Women’s Caravan for Reconciliation, National Unity and Social Peace, was focused on mitigating any potential electoral violence and promoting national reconciliation. The Women’s Caravan consisted of a series of dialogues, media campaigns and reconciliation efforts with local military and civilian women’s groups in major cities throughout Guinea.

The Women’s Caravan involved more than 950 women from varying regions, organizations, and backgrounds, and facilitated their reconciliation through participatory dialogue and meetings across the country. Response from Guineans was encouraging, and the Women’s Caravan received attention from the international media and officials from within the Guinean government, including Minister Magassouba. To read the final and complete report on the Women’s Caravan in French, click here.

This process of this participatory dialogue led to many recommendations and an action plan from the Women’s Caravan participants. In line with the recommendations from the Women’s Caravan and the follow-up activities, BEFORE is currently working with local partners to institutionalize women’s participation in the political sphere, protect their rights and foster a more sustainable peace process.

Simandou Project
Guinea has begun to settle these disputes, starting with the $10 billion Simandou project, which Beny Steinmetz Group Resources Ltd. (BSGR), Vale, Rio Tinto and Chinalco, have been fighting over since 2008. In the case of Simandou, the government revoked half of Rio Tinto’s ownership of the mine due to slow and inadequate progress and sold the two blocks to BSGR, Israeli diamond billionaire Beny Steinmetz’s natural resources company, who in turn partnered with Brazilian mining giant Vale, the world’s largest miner of iron ore. The other two blocks remained under Rio Tinto and their Chinese state-owned partner, Chinalco. Many of these mining companies have seen record-breaking net profits in 2010, with Vale tripling their net profit to $17.26bn (revenue of $26.48bn) and Rio Tinto tripling their net profit to $14.32bn (revenue of $23.5bn).

On April 22, 2011 Rio Tinto, agreed to pay the government of Guinea $700 million and rights of up to a 35% stake in Simandou’s concessions to resolve all outstanding issues with their remaining half of the mine, in order to start iron ore shipments by mid-2015. The Simandou project is expected to create 4,000 full-time jobs when production begins. A new rail line and port, to aid in exporting the iron ore, were also part of the agreement, and the Guinea government has a right to take up to a 51% stake in both projects. The agreement further stipulates that the terms of the settlement will not be affected by the upcoming review of, or any future changes in, the mining code.

Mining Reforms
Guinea and mining companies will discuss a new mining code during a conference and exhibition from May 10 through May 12. This conference will create a space for dialogue between the mining corporations and Guinea’s new government on issues such as mining policy, legal reform, and Guinea’s development. President Condé will be implementing a policy that gives Guinea at least a one-third stake in mining projects. This policy is aimed at rectifying the paradox of Guinea being one of the poorest countries in the world, yet one of the richest countries in terms of natural resources, as Guinea’s Minister of Mines, Mohamed Fofana, told the Financial Times last month.

Map of mining projects and corporate stakeholders in Guinea.

When: Thursday, April 14, 2011
What: Article on BEFORE’s Follow-Up Workshop to Consolidate Peace in Guinea
Where: Guinéenews, or translated into English

On April 14th 2011, fifty-five local political, civil society and business representatives gathered at the People’s Palace in Conakry to review BEFORE’s National Action Plan for Peace in Guinea. Developed in 2009 National Action Plan for Peace in Guinea, in the light of recent social, political and economical developments, including the democratic election of Alpha Condé.

BEFORE’s CEO Heinz Krummenacher, BEFORE’s partner Ms. Elizabeth Coté, Director of IFES-Guinée, and Hadja Mariama Sow, President of the Guinea Council on National Transition (CNT), opened the workshop.

Many Guineans are hopeful the country will continue on its path of stability and growth despite the challenges ahead. To help Guineans foster lasting peace, take action today. You can make a difference.

President-Elect Conde takes his oath to become Guinea's first democratically-elected president.

As thousands of people and more than 13 Heads of State from South Africa, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Sierra Leona, Liberia and Senegal to name a few, headed to the inauguration ceremony of Guinea’s first democratically-elected president, traffic paralyzed the city of Conakry. The inauguration was also broadcast live on across the country on radio and state television.

The swearing-in ceremony of Alpha Condé begin at 11: 00 am at the People’s Palace, the headquarters of the National Assembly which a military junta dissolved in late 2008. A minute of silence was held in memory of the 157 people massacred by forces loyal to former junta leader Captain Moussa Dadis Camara on September 28, 2009.

Preparations for the celebration, which included squads of women sweeping the area around the People’s Palace and arranging an official luncheon and cocktail hour with visiting heads of state, were done by a committee composed of members of the government and the ‘Arc-en-ciel’ (Rainbow) Alliance that rallied around Condé during the run-off presidential election in November.

A New Era for Guinea
The inauguration of former opposition leader and professor signaled the official end of more than half a century of military rule in the west African nation.

During his speech, Condé said “I say loud and clear: poverty and underdevelopment in the Republic of Guinea does not have be our destiny.” Despite massive bauxite reserves and mineral resources, the majority of Guineans do not have access to education, clean water or formal jobs.

Newly-sworn in President Conde with General Sekouba Konate, the man credited with bringing Guinea through its political crisis.

Alluding to the divisive events of the run-off presidential election, Condé also made a clear call for national unity, “The change we advocate is not led by a political party, nor is it against an ethnic group, or a social or socio-economic class.”

Guinea’s former interim leader Sekouba Konaté, who took power in January 2010 and is largely credited for leading the country through its democratic transition, stepped down last week and urged the army to back Condé and remain apolitical. Konaté described the inauguration as “Guinea’s act of rebirth” and called for “an end to impunity” in the country.

For a closer look at the formerly media-shy Condé and more information on BEFORE’s work to support Guinea’s historic transition to peace and democracy, visit these posts.

Although the election day itself was orderly, with only several delays in the arrival of election materials, the days following the election were tense as people waited for the results. With support from the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the larger international community, ballots from across the country were quickly collected by the Guinean Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI).

After counting the ballots as transparently as possible for nearly two weeks, CENI announced that Condé had received 1,474,666 votes, or 52.52% of the votes, in the country’s 28 districts, against Diallo’s 1,333,666 votes, or 47.48% of the vote.

As the results were made public, violent clashes between supporters of Condé and Diallo broke out across the country. The Guinean interim government was quick to respond to the small outbreaks of violence, interim President Sékouba Konaté proclaimed a national state of emergency, and the candidates themselves asked their supporters to peacefully accept the election results. Independent Guinean sources report the situation has improved and Guineans are again going back to their normal daily lives.

Both presidential candidates have filed official complaints, alleging elections fraud on November 7th, and Guineans are awaiting the final decision of the Supreme Court to rule on the official winner of the presidential election.

In an effort to stem growing tension, violent clashes and fear, Guinea’s interim government, civil society, women’s, religious and youth leaders launched a number of peacebuilding initiatives across the country. Whether working with women or youth, the central message to voters in Guinea bas been one of reconciliation and the peaceful acceptance of the results of the election.

Even the presidential candidates themselves made several public declarations to respect the elections process and pleas to their supporters to maintain peace and calm. Two days prior to the election Condé and Diallo released a joint statement stating,

“We reiterate our commitment to put the best interests of our Nation in front of any other consideration and to spare no effort to preserve our traditional values for peace and tolerance.”

The Vote
On Sunday, November 7th Guineans banded together to hold the much-anticipated presidential run-off election. Civilians, government officials, and members of the military alike went out in great numbers to vote for the country’s first democratically-elected leader since independence from France more than 52-years ago. In all, 70% of the 4 million registered voters calmly cast their ballots.

From the start of the Election Day, the newly appointed Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) President Siakia Toumany Sangaré, a Malian General and elections expert, ensured that polling stations opened early in the morning and stayed open late if materials were missing or temporarily unavailable.

The Results

Guinean election officials tabulate some election results at Matoto's City Hall in Conakry, Guinea, Tuesday Nov. 9, 2010. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

In the months since, incidents of violence have ebbed and flowed as internal tensions and legitimate obstacles, such as fires, stolen computers, and the death of the elections commission head, have delayed the run-off presidential election. Despite these setbacks, leaders in Guinea are working together for a peaceful future. Through consensus and collaboration, a new date has been set, Sunday, November 7th, for the run-off election.

Rumors and Reality
On Friday, October 22nd, international, regional and local media outlets began to report on incidents of violence throughout Guinea. Although it is of vital importance to focus international attention on any and all human rights abuses or ethnic-based violence by the government, some media reports have over-simplified complex events. The reality has been a bit more nuanced than the typical story of ethnic-based violence and state abuse of power.

To begin with, Guineans are proud that they as a country have not resolved their ethnic differences and conflicts through civil war. Guineans do see social, political and economic differences along ethnic lines, but they do not necessarily see ethnicity as a reason to attack or hate someone. It’s true that during some of the election-related violence, different ethnic groups were pitted against each other; but is it also true that supposedly warring ethnic groups have come to each others’ rescue. For instance, in the towns of Kouroussa and Siguiri shops belonging to ethnically Peul owners were saved from looters by members of the Malinké, an ethnic group said to be violently clashing with Peuls.

Second, while members of the police in Conakry did use excessive and brutal force on civilians in late October, police are also restoring order elsewhere in the country. In the region of Kankan, for example, police rapidly intervened when groups of frustrated youth flooded the city’s marketplace. The police were able to ensure that no one was injured and there was no property damage. Local authorities and community Elders also restored order within 24 hours in Kouroussa, where four fatalities were actually the result of a panicked truck driver who accidentally lost control of his vehicle.

Moving Forward Despite the Challenges
In the midst of all these political and social challenges, Guinea is moving forward to prepare for the presidential elections. BEFORE’s international partner, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, reports that most of the electoral materials arrived safely throughout the country. Only a few of the voter registration lists and materials have been mixed up among various polling stations. In additional to addressing the logistical details of the election, authorities around the country are holding an increasing number of awareness-raising meetings in public space and places of worships to ease tensions and dispel inflammatory rumors.

BEFORE would like to thank the National Council of Civil Society Organizations of Guinea for doing their part to foster peace in Guinea by uncovering the truth behind the reports that are coming out of the country.

You too can do your part to foster peace in Guinea, by taking action today.

The original date for the run-off election was set for September 19th, but the run-off was postponed due to a series of unavoidable and significant events:

• A week prior to the run-off, the president, Ben Sekou Sylla, and the director, Boubacar Diallo, of the Independent National Election Commission (CENI) were sentenced to a year in prison for election fraud in the first round of the presidential election.
• After the news of the election fraud convictions became public, spontaneous political clashes resulted in the death of one person and the injury of 50 more people.
• Sadly, Ben Sekou Sylla died of natural causes in a Paris hospital a few days later, leaving CENI without a president.
• Two fires in elections buildings, caused by faulty electrical wiring, destroyed essential election materials.