Guinea: Coordination of the Democratic Opposition (CODEM) and the government's attitude toward its members (July 2003)

No information on the current existence of the Coordination of the Democratic Opposition (Coordination de l'opposition démocratique, CODEM) could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

Established in July 1995, the Coordination of the Democratic Opposition (CODEM) was an anti-government coalition that consisted of 12 political opposition parties including the Rally for the Guinean People (Rassemblement du peuple de Guinée, RPG), the Party for Renewal and Progress (Parti du renouveau et du progrès, PRP), the Democratic Party of Guinea-African Democratic Rally (Parti démocratique de Guinée-Rassemblement démocratique africain, PDG-RDA) and the Union for the New Republic (Union pour la nouvelle république, UNR) (West Africa 17‑23 July 1995, 1124). The Political Hand Book of the World: 1999, available in all Regional Documentation Centres, provides a brief overview of the CODEM's history from 1995 to 1998.

In reference to Guinea, a report by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) indicated that the CODEM consisted of Alpha Condé's RPG, the Union for Progress and Renewal (Union pour le progrès et le renouveau, UPR) and the People's Party of Guinea (Parti du peuple de Guinée, PPG) (United States 17 Jan. 2001). However, an article from Africa No. 1 of 19 August 2002 made reference to [translation] "the former CODEM," but did not provide further details. Without specifying whether this new coalition had replaced the CODEM, an article published in Afrique-Express on 18 June 2002 stated that six political parties in Guinea – including the RPG and the UPR – had joined to form the Republican Front for Democratic Change (Front républicain pour l'alternance démocratique, FRAD), which called for [translation] "a boycott of the 30 June [2002] legislative elections." Another source noted that the FRAD is a coalition of opposition political parties whose objectives include preventing election fraud (IRIN 9 June 2003).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Afrique-Express. 18 June 2002. No. 251 "Guinée : six partis politiques d'opposition créent le FRAD." [Accessed 14 July 2003]

Africa No. 1 [Libreville, in French]. 19 August 2002. "Guinea: ‘Tense' Relations Reported Between Opposition Party, Some Media Outlets." (BBC International Report 20 Aug. 2002/Dialog)

Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN). 9 June 2003. "Guinea: Government Bans Opposition Conference, Denies Entry to Foreign Participants." [Accessed 11 July 2003]

Political Handbook of the World: 1999. 1999. Edited by Arthur S. Banks and Thomas C. Muller. Binghamton, NY: CSA Publications.

United States. 7 January 2001. United States Agency for International Development (USAID). "Guinea: Political Fora Open the Door to Dialogue." [Accessed 11 July 2003]

West Africa [London]. 17-23 July 1995. "Guinea: Anti-government Coalition."

Additional Sources Consulted

Africa Confidential

Africa Research Bulletin

Dialog

IRB Databases

Keesing's Record of World Events

Political Parties of the World. 2002

Resource Centre country file. Guinea

West Africa

Internet sites, including:

Africatime

Allafrica

Amnesty International

BBC Africa

Boubah.com

Guinée actualités

FIDH

Human Rights Watch (HRW)

IRIN

La Lance [Conakry]

MISNA