 Guinea - national flag
The flag was officially adopted at independence in 1958. As a former French
colony, the country chose a flag with three vertical stripes. The colors are the
colors of both the Pan-African and Guinea's Democratic Party. Red stands for the
blood that has been sacrificed in the freedom struggle. Yellow symbolizes the
natural riches and sunshine, green Guinea's vegetation. The colors also refer to
the national language of choice: work, justice, solidarity.
- Countryaah:
What does the flag of Guinea look like? Follow this link, then you will see
the image in PNG format and flag meaning description about this country.
Guinea - history
The area has been populated for approx. 30,000 years, and agriculture has
existed for approx. 3000 years. Around the year 900 AD. large groups of susu
migrated from the desert areas of the north and pushed the indigenous
inhabitants, the Baghas, out to the coast. A number of susuko kingdoms
gained increasing importance in the 1200s, and the area was incorporated into
the Mali kingdom. From the middle of the 1400s. the Portuguese established
trading posts, and a large export of ivory and especially slaves began. This
continued until the mid-1800s. During the 1500-t. the Fulani gained control
of the Fouta Djalon area, and in 1725 they started a holy war with the aim of
converting the inhabitants of the plateau to Islam.. Fulani maintained power
over the area until the 1800s; in 1849 France declared the coastal areas a
protectorate under the name Rivières du Sud, in 1881 the Almy (Emir) of
Fouta Djalon placed its land under French protection, and in 1890 the area
became a French colony under the name French Guinea. In the years that followed,
the colony expanded further despite resistance, especially in Fouta Djalon and
in the south.
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AbbreviationFinder: Check three-letter abbreviation for each country in the world,
such as GIN which represents the official name of Guinea.
In 1946, Guinea's status changed from a colony to an overseas territory, and
in 1958, de Gaulle offered autonomy, which was rejected by Sékou Touré of the
PDG, Parti démocratique de Guinée., who wanted complete
independence. Independence came on 2.10.1958 after a preliminary referendum. In
anger at the result, France cut off all cooperation, causing Guinea to face
serious problems on independence. Sékou Touré became the country's first
president, and soon after, the PDG became the only legal party. As a result of
France's stance on independence, the West hesitated to enter into diplomatic
relations with Guinea, assisting the Eastern Bloc for the first few years until
mistrust arose between Touré and the Soviet Union. Thereafter, Guinea became
increasingly isolated, and Touré more and more dictatorial. On November 22,
1970, a group of exiled Guineans, led by Portuguese officers, attempted an
invasion near Conakry, but the invasion failed.
Touré remained in power until his death in 1984, after which a military
government led by Lansana Conté followed; it banned PDG. A new constitution was
adopted after a referendum in 1990, and in 1993 Conté won the presidential
election. In 1995, parliamentary elections were held, which were won by the
President's Party, Parti d'unité et du progrès. Following rumors of
election fraud, the opposition chose to boycott parliament. In 1996, parts of
the army revolted in Conakry, wreaking havoc in the capital.
- Songaah:
See song and lyrics about Guinea
President Conté was re-elected in 1998 and 2003, most recently with an
overwhelming 95% of the vote. The election was boycotted by the opposition.
Riots and war in neighboring Liberia and Sierra Leone have plagued Guinea,
not least in the form of large refugee flows and acts of war on Guinean
territory. It has contributed to Guinea's ailing political and economic life,
exacerbated by ethnic tensions. After Conté's death in December 2008, army
officers carried out a coup. Moussa Dadis Camara became the leader of the
military junta and declared himself president. Although the coup was condemned
by large sections of the international community, it was initially welcomed by
many Guineans, hoping for an end to the widespread corruption that had taken
place under Conté's rule.
In December 2009, Dadis Camara was shot dead and left the country the
following year. In November 2010, Alpha Conde (b. 1938) became president in the
first democratic election since independence. However, there is still unrest in
the country and Alpha Conde has been the victim of an assassination attempt,
presumably by military circles.
Guinea was hit by the West African Ebola outbreak in 2014, which put a brake
on the country's economic development.
Guinea - economy
The economy has been marked by change since 1984, when a military coup
followed the death of President Sékou Touré. 200,000 Guineans in exile returned
home in a matter of months, and the economy was liberalized.
In 1987, Guinea reached a loan agreement with the World Bank and the IMF; at
the same time, a so-called structural adjustment program was introduced. Price
controls were removed, foreign trade liberalized, and 10,000 civil servants were
fired with great political unrest as a result. Since then, GDP has risen
considerably, through foreign acquisitions of the former state-owned
enterprises (including in the mining sector). Subsequent conflicts have led to
economic stagnation; the country is estimated to have received 600,000 refugees
from the wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone. In addition, 70,000 Guineans were
displaced from the border areas during unrest in 2001. The country has received
assistance through the program for particularly indebted, poor countries, HIPC (Heavily Indebted Poor Countries), under the World Bank and the IMF.
The country's low degree of development is illustrated of extremely low
energy consumption and an industrial sector that contributes only 5% of GDP. The
energy supply for the demanding aluminum smelting comes from a number of
hydropower plants, while the oil supply is covered by imports.
On the export side, foreign trade is dominated by the changing patterns of
the international aluminum industry, while France is the most important trading
partner.
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