Chronology of Guinea Jan 2003 - Aug 2005

2003

January

14 January: UNDP and Foreign Ministry sign a financing agreement for a capacity building and poverty reductions programmes for the amount of USD 3 million.

April

21-23 April: First visit to Guinea of UN Special Representative for West Africa, Ahmed Ould Abdallah

July

2-3 July: UN Security Council mission visits Guinea to enquire on peace and security in the West-African sub-region

16 July: International Monetary fund (IMF) mission concludes that Guinea's economy has deteriorated in the last semester, notably in providing water and electricity

22 July: Creation of an inter-ministerial committee to oversee political dialogue ahead of presidential elections in December 2003

30 July: Guinea is ranked 157th out of 175 countries in the UN Human Development Index.

September:

5-15 September: Joint IMF/World Bank/ EU mission says economy continues to deteriorate

9 September: Creation of Comité National de Suivi de l'Action Humanitaire (CNSAH- National Committee for Humanitarian Action)

13 September : Incumbent President Lansana Conté is designated as his party's candidate for the December polls

15 September: 33 political parties submit memorandum to Government, including release of political prisoners, free access to state media, freedom of movement and to assembly as measures to ensure free and fair elections in December

23 September: Le Front republicain pour l'Action Démocratique (FRAD- Republican Front for Democratic Action), a coalition of five opposition parties, announces its boycott of political dialogue

October:

15-25 October: President Conte on private visit to Cuba

Humanitarian agencies report that there are 142,371 Liberian refugees, 33,102 Sierra Leonean refugees, 6,726 Ivorian refugees and 100,719 guinean returnees from Côte d'Ivoire who are living in Guinea, of which 63% are living in camps

November

3 November: FRAD announces that it will not participate in the December elections

9 November: National Assembly grants amnesty to opposition leader Alpha Conde

December

8 December: Beginning of wave of arrest within the army for threatening state security

21 December: Presidential elections

2004

JANUARY

8 January: President Conte is declared winner with over95% of votes; Heads of States from Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, Mali, Sierra Leone, Gambia attend investiture ceremony on 19 January

FEBRUARY

10-16 February: Student strike at the University of Conakry pressing for better studying and living conditions

17 February: Increase in price of basic food commodities

23 February: Former Foreign Minister, Francois Louceny Fall, nominated Prime Minister

MARCH

14 March: Death in Paris of Siradiou Diallo, leader of the opposition party Union pour le Progres et le Renouveau (UPR)

23 March: Dissolution of the National Council for the Private Sector

29 March: Three members of the opposition party Union des Forces Republicaines are arrested for threatening state security

APRIL

10 April: Opposition leader Sydia Toure and Bah Mamadou prevented from traveling abroad

29 April: Prime Minister Fall resigns, citing "institutional obstacles"

30 April: President Laurent Gbagbo of Cote d'Ivoire visits Guinea

MAY

10 May: Dissolution of the National Committee against Corruption

11-13 May: IMF-World Bank- EU mission deems that economy has slightly improved over the last six months

18-20 May: Second state visit by Ivorian President Gbagbo, prompting numerous speculations and interpretations in Guinea

JUNE

1-4 June: Ambassadors from the ACP-EU grouping travel to Guinea to enquire on the authorities' willingness to renew dialogue with EU

15 June: Government officially recognizes a deficit in the supply of rice

16 June: Ethnic violence in N'Zerekore between the two major groups in the area, Konianke and Guerze

JULY

6 July: President Conte condemns the rise in the price of rice

7 July: Rice price increase leads to looting of warehouses in Conakry

8-9 July: Undisclosed number of young men, suspected of leading the looting, are arrested

13 July: Government and rice traders agree to sell rice at 40,000 GNF per 50 kg bag, a price which include a 11,000GNF government subsidy

14 July: Opposition produces a plan calling for the resignation of President Conte and the creation of a transiton government of national unity that would lead the country until elections in 18 months

20 July: Resumption of negociations with EU

21 July: Charges of plotting against the Head of State are dropped against Sydia Toure and three other opposition members

AUGUST

31 August: FRAD boycotts official ceremony on resumption of national political dialogue

SEPTEMBER

3 September: Summit on the West African Monetary Union

9 September: UNICEF donates USD to Government to combat cholera outbreak

OCTOBER

20 October: Creation of a steering committee for the National Agency Against Corruption

30 October: UNHCR begins voluntary repatriation programme of Liberian refugees living in Guinea

NOVEMBER

Early November: One dead and several wounded in clashes between security forces and local population following an increase in the price of electricity in the town of Pita

13 November: Launching of CAP 2005 for Guinea; 14 other CAP would be launched officially in New York and Berlin

19-20 November: State visit by President Ahmaf Tejan Kabbah of Sierra Leone

26 November: University of Conakry students strike again, demanding better living and studying conditions

26 November: Presidential decree Mr. Alhousseyne Thiam, hitherto humanitarian advisor at the Ministry of Territorial Administration, director of the Service National de l'Action Humanitaire (SENAH).

DECEMBER

9 December: Former minister for fisheries, Cellou Dallein Diallo, is nominated Prime Minister. Macro-economic reforms, improvement of water, electricity, transport and telecommunications public services, corruption are cited as his short term priorities

2005

JANUARY

5 January: First meeting between Prime Minister, Government and the entire political class to renew dialogue

10-23 January: Teachers go on strike, demanding 100% increase in salaries. They settled for a 30% raise.

19 January: Failed assassination attempt on President Conte

30-31 January: UN High Commissioner for refugees, Ruud Lubbers, visits Guinea

FEBRUARY

20 February: Joint EU-US Government mission to evaluate progress in Liberian repatriation programme

20 February: Deputy Managing Director of IMF visits Guinea

25 February: Launch of West African vaccination campaign against polio

MARCH

9 March: Japan grants non-reimbursable loan of USD 3 million for health and agriculture sectors

APRIL

6 April: Clash between Forces Nouvelles elements and Guinean soldiers at the border

19-21 April: OCHA Donor Support Group on mission to Guinea to assess humanitarian situation

27 April: Japan grants non-reimbursable loan of USD 2.8 million for "Food Aid" programme

MAY

3 May: Ms. Mbaranga Gasarabwe takes over as UNDP Resident Representative and Humanitarian Coordinator

14 May: Authorities increase fuel price by 50%

15 May: Civil and military inmates escape from Conakry's main prison

23-24 May: World Bank organizes workshop to review project portfolios

JUNE

1 June: Council of Ministers approves a bill to liberalise television and radio media

3 June: World Bank allocates USD 25 million for a national health programme

15 June: International Crisis Group, publishes new report on entitled "Stopping Guinea's slide"

16 June: Guinea and Mali sign a bilateral agreement to combat child trafficking

16-21 June: Inter-agency needs assessment in Guinea Forestière

JULY

3 July: Alpha Condé, leader of the Rassemblement du Peuple Guinéen opposition party, return to Conakry after a two-year stay in France

20-24 July: UN system and government hold workshop to prepare CCA/UNDAF

21 July: Flare-up of ethnic tensions in Kankan following the accidental killing of a Mandingo by a Fulani

27-28 July: Summit of Heads of States of the Mano River Union and Côte d'Ivoire

End of July: Departure of the French, Japanese, German and Canadian ambassadors