Guinea (1986-89): 1) Treatment over 3 years, especially since 1 January 1989, of the Malinke tribe. 2) Treatment of former government officials under Touré by new régime under Conté
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 October 1989 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | GIN2669 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Guinea (1986-89): 1) Treatment over 3 years, especially since 1 January 1989, of the Malinke tribe. 2) Treatment of former government officials under Touré by new régime under Conté, 1 October 1989, GIN2669, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ac7d4f.html [accessed 8 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
1) The Malinke (also Mninka, Mandingo or Mandingo) extend from Northeastern Guinea to Southeastern Senegal into Mali [ Rabart J. 1985, "Afrique extrême-occidentale", in: L'état du monde 1985, F. Gèze, ed., Paris and Montréal: La Découverte and Boréal: 303.]. The Malinke are cultivators and pastors, and were in the past at the head of the vast Mali empire [ Goetz P.W. ed. 1989, The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, (Micropaedia), vol.7, Chicago et al.: Encyclopaedia Britannica: 737.]. The Malinke in Guinea constitute about 30% of the population [Kurian G.T. ed. 1987, Encyclopedia of the Third World, vol.I, New York and Oxford: Facts on File: 785.].
Ahmed Sékou Touré was a member of the Malinke, a tribe which was allegedly ill-treated after General Lansana Conté of the Soussou tribe took power in April 1984 [ Legum C. ed. 1987, Africa Contemporary Record 1985-86, New York and London: Africana: B47; General Conté's régime was denounced as "Soussou racism" by an angered crowd on 21 June 1986 (page B47, first paragraph of "Political Affairs").]. On 4 July 1985, a coup attempt by the Malinke against Conté's régime was defeated and hundreds of Malinke were arrested and allegedly tortured [Legum, 1987: B48.]. Following numerous allegations of executions of high-ranking Malinke rebels, the government announced in May 1987 that sixty supporters of former President Sékou Touré were sentenced to death [ "Sixty Touré Supporters Sentenced to Death in Guinea", Reuters, 6 May 1987, AM Cycle.]. Ethnic strain continued throughout 1986, as President Conté continued to favour his own tribal group, the Soussou of Boxé region [ Legum C. ed. 1988, Africa Contemporary Record 1986-87, New York and London: Africana: B43.]. By late 1987 and 1988, unrest was mostly related to the Army's internal politics and to a worsening of the economy [ Africa South of the Sahara 1989, London: Europa: 544.].
No information specific to the treatment of the Malinke tribe since 1 January 1989 is yet available in the Documentation Centre of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada in Ottawa.
2) Former government officials under Sékou Touré have been arrested, put on trial and convicted since General Conté's coup d'état of April 1984 [ Amnesty International, 1989, Report 1988, London: AI: 43-45.]. Diarra Traoré, the Malinke leader of the July 1985 coup attempt, is reported to have been killed a few days later [ Diané C. 1986, "Attention au coup d'Etat ethnique", Jeune Afrique, no.1319, 16 April 1986: 14.]. Sékou Touré's family members were held in prison after the former President's death in April 1984 [ "Widow and Son of Former Guinea Leader Quietly Freed", Reuters, 2 January 1988, AM Cycle.]. As mentioned in question 1, the perpetrators of the July 1985 coup attempt, among whom figured former government officials and supporters of Sékou Touré's régime, were secretly tried and many were sentenced to death [ "Sixty Touré Supporters Sentenced to Death in Guinea", Reuters, 6 May 1987, AM Cycle.].
