Current treatment of members of the Rally of Guinean People (RGP) by authorities; procedure to obtain membership card and attestation; RGP's main office location and the ethnic groups it represents (1998-June 2001) [GIN37089.E]

Information on the current treatment of members of the Rally of Guinean People (RGP) and on the procedure to obtain membership card or attestation for that party could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

Reports indicate that Alpha Condé, the RGP leader was freed under a Guinean presidential pardon on 18 May 2001 (BBC 19 May 2001; Jeune Afrique/L'intelligent 29 May-4 June 2001, 18; IRIN-WA 25 May 2001). He was arrested in 1998 and "charged with endangering state security, recruiting mercenaries and plotting to kill President Lansana Conte" (ibid.).

Based essentially on "personal knowledge and direct observation in Guinea during the October 12 to November 14 1998 period," a USAID report notes the following.

Ethnic groups in Guinea historically have lived together in peace. However, there are some concerns that multiparty democracy could alter this situation since most supporters of the major opposition parties are from the same ethnic group and region as the leaders of these parties. For example, the Peulh, who predominate in the Moyenne Guinée Region, generally lend their support to the UNR (Union pour la Nouvelle République) presidential candidate, Ba Mamadou. In a like manner, the Malinke-dominated region, the Haute Guinée, supports the RGP party head, Alpha Conde.
In this way, these two major opposition parties are considered the Peulh (UNR) and Malinke (RGP) parties, respectively (USAID n.d.).

According to WebGuinée, RGP's headquarters is located in the Capital Conakry (11 Dec. 1999). The source does not provide details of the address.

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


BBC. 19 May 2001. "Guinea Opposition Leader Freed." http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/africa/newsid_1339000/1339595.st [Accessed 12 June 2001]

Jeune Afrique/L'Intelligent. 29 May-4 June 2001. Kpatindé, F. No 2107. "Guinée : Alpha Condé sort considérablement renforcé de ses vingt-neuf mois de détention. Et son objectif n'a pas changé : la conquête du pouvoir. Et Maintenant."

Integrated Regional Information Network for West Africa (IRIN-WA).

25 May 2001 "IRIN-WA Weekly Roundup 73 Covering the Period 19-25 May 2001." http://wwww.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf/s/4E5C90683CACED1B85256A5B0050E5DE [Accessed 12 June 2001]

United States of America. US Agency for International Development (USAID). N.d. "Guinea: Potential Sources of Conflict and Instability." http://www.usaid.gov/regions/afr/conflictweb/reports/gersony/rpt_guinea.html [Accessed 12 June 2001]

WebGuinée. 11 December 1999. "Société ; partis politiques : Partis politiques et associations autorisés en 1992 par arrêté du Ministre de l'Intérieur et de la Sécurité." http://www.guinee.net/politique/po...me-republ/partis/partis/-polit.html [Accessed 13 June 2001]

Additional Sources Consulted


Africa Confidential 2000-2001.

Amnesty International. 2001. Annual Report. Electronic Version.

Country Reports 2000. 2001.

Jeune Afrique/L'Intelligent. 2001.

La Lettre hebdomadaire de la FIDH. 2000-2001.

LEXIS/NEXIS.

Resources Centre country file. Guinea. 2000-2001.

West Africa 2000-2001.

Websites, including:

Alpha Conde.

Amnesty International Online.

La Chronique.

Fédération internationale des ligues des droits de l'homme (FIDH).

Guinée.Net.

GuinéeNews.

Human Rights Watch (HRW).

La Lance.

The Lynx.

MiriNet Guinée.

L'Observateur.

Panafrican News Agency (PANA).

Search engines, including:

Dogpile.

Google.

Hotbot.

Lokace.

Lycos.