about guinea

official name: Republic of Guinea
capital: Conakry
head of state: President Lansana Conte
state: multi party
population: 9,467,866
independence: France in 1958
languages: French (official), native tongues (Malink�, Susu, Fulani)
religion: Muslim 85%, Christian 8%, indigenous beliefs 7%
currency: Guinean franc (GNF)
media: Guinea News

legal wise

status of homosexuality: illegal
age of consent: 15
laws covering homosexual activity: The relevant sections of the Penal Code are set out below in English translation:

Guinea Conakry

Paragraph 3: Public Indecency

Article 325: Any idecent act or act against nature committed with an individual of the same sex will be punished by six months to three years of imprisonment and a fine of 100 000 to 1 000 000 Guinean francs.

If the act was committed with a minor under 21 years of age, the maximum penalty must be pronounced.

If the act was consummated or attempted with violence, the guilty person will be condemned to five to ten years of imprisonment.

Article 326: A public indecency is defined as any intentional act committed publicly and likely to offend the decency and the moral sentiments of those who are its inadvertent witnesses.

Article 327: Any person that has committed a public indecency will be punished by three months to two years of imprisonment and a fine of 50 000 to 450 000 Guinean francs or simply by one of these two punishments.

When an indecent act is committed by a group of iindividuals, the penalties described in the first paragraph of the current article will be doubled.

(Source: - Bernard Scholl - 14 June 1999) ILGA. French original

background information and government attitudes:
Beginning in 900, the Susu migrated from the north and began settling in the area that is now Guinea. The Susu civilization reached its height in the 13th century. Today the Susu make up about 20% of Guinea's population. From the 16th to the 19th century, the Fulani Empire dominated the region. In 1849, the French claimed it as a protectorate. First called Rivi�res du Sud, the protectorate was rechristened French Guinea, and finally, in 1895, it became part of French West Africa.

Guinea achieved independence on Oct. 2, 1958, and became an independent state with S�kou Tour� as president. Under Tour�, the country was the first avowedly Marxist state in Africa. Diplomatic relations with France were suspended in 1965, with the Soviet Union replacing France as the country's chief source of economic and technical assistance.

Prosperity came in 1960 after the start of exploitation of bauxite deposits. Tour� was reelected to a seven-year term in 1974 and again in 1981. He died after 26 years as president in March 1984. A week later, a military regime headed by Col. Lansana Cont� took power.

In 1989, President Cont� announced that Guinea would move to a multiparty democracy, and in 1991, voters approved a new constitution. In Dec. 1993 elections, the president's Unity and Progress Party took almost 51% of the vote. In 2001, a government referendum was passed that eliminated presidential term limits, thus allowing Cont� to run for a third term in 2003. Despite the trappings of multiparty rule, Cont� has ruled the country with an iron fist.

Guinea has had ongoing difficulties with its neighbor Liberia, which was embroiled in a long civil war during the 1990s and again in 2000�2003. Guinea had taken sides against rebel leader Charles Taylor in Liberia's civil war and was part of the Nigerian-led ECOMOG forces that intervened in the crisis. As a consequence, President Cont�'s relations with Taylor remained sour after Taylor became Liberia's president in 1997. The fighting in Liberia spilled over the border into Guinea on several occasions. Sierra Leone's recent civil war also caused problems for neighboring Guinea. Already burdened by an inadequate infrastructure and a weak economy, an influx of nearly 300,000 refugees from Sierra Leone has overwhelmed the country.

In Dec. 2003 President Cont� was reelected to a third term. In April 2004, after two months on the job, Prime Minister Lonseny Fall resigned and went into exile, claiming that the president would not allow him to govern effectively. President Cont� is in poor health, and many fear a power struggle should he die or be deposed.

communication

main lines in use: 26,200 (2003)
cellular telephones: 111,500 (2003).
Radio broadcast stations: AM 4 (one station is inactive), FM 1 (plus 7 repeaters), shortwave 3 (2001).
Television broadcast stations: 6 low-power stations (2001).
Internet hosts: 380 (2004).
Internet users: 40,000 (2003).

links and contacts
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