Timeline Guinea-Bissau
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CIA Factbook: http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/pu.html
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West coast of Africa, west of Guinea. Formerly
Portuguese Guinea.
(WSJ, 1/2/98, p.8)(WUD, 1994, p.629)
Guinea-Bissau is about the size of Massachusetts.
(AP, 9/16/03)
1956 Aristides
Pereira (1924-2011) co-founded of the African Party for the
Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde, or PAIGC, which operated in
secret in Guinea-Bissau and in Cape Verde.
(AP, 9/22/11)
1974 Guinea-Bissau, a former
Portuguese colony, became independent after a decade-long war.
(SFC, 5/15/99, p.A14)(AP, 10/6/03)
1975 May 25, ECOWAS Treaty1 was
signed. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was
formed in Nigeria with 15 members that included: Benin, Burkina
Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea,
Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone,
and Togo.
(www.sec.ecowas.int/sitecedeao/english/achievements.htm)
1980 Nov 13, A military coup
led by Joao Bernardo Viera deposed President Luis Cabral of the
Republic of Guinea-Bissau.
(www.onwar.com/aced/data/golf/guineabissau1980.htm)
1994 Guinea-Bissau held
democratic elections.
(AP, 10/6/03)
1998 Jan, Brig. Gen’l. Ansumane
Mane was fired amid allegations of smuggling arms to separatists in
Senegal.
(SFC, 6/15/98, p.A12)
1998 Jun 9, Senegal and Guinea
sent troops to aid Pres. Vieira in Guinea-Bissau. Rebels led by
Ansumane Mane had just staged a coup to end the 18-year rule of
Pres. Vieira, who was accused of corruption.
(SFC, 6/10/98, p.A9)
1998 Jun 11, Between 1,500 and
2,000 foreigners, mostly Portuguese, were evacuated by ship from the
capital of Guinea-Bissau, where civil war raged.
(AP, 6/11/03)
1998 Jun 12, Some 200 people
drowned as they fled the country by boat.
(SFC, 6/15/98, p.A12)
1998 Jun 14, In Guinea-Bissau
the fighting intensified and thousands of people sought escape
routes.
(SFC, 6/15/98, p.A12)
1998 Jun 16, Senegal fired
artillery into Guinea-Bissau to support Pres. Vieira.
(WSJ, 6/17/98, p.A1)
1998 Jul 5, Heavy fighting
covered the capital in smoke. A regional intervention force was
being prepared.
(WSJ, 7/6/98, p.A1)
1998 Jul 11, In Guinea-Bissau
Radio Bombolon mixed music and junta rhetoric and featured the Iva
and Ichy local hit duo.
(SFC, 7/11/98, p.A10)
1998 Jul 26, Army rebels and
the government agreed to a cease-fire and promised to open peace
talks.
(SFC, 7/27/98, p.A10)
1998 Oct 21, In Guinea-Bissau
heavy artillery fire rocked the capital and rebels claimed to have
captured Bafata, the 2nd largest town.
(SFC, 10/22/98, p.C5)
1998 Nov 2, In Guinea-Bissau
the government and rebels signed an agreement to end the 5-month
civil war.
(SFC, 11/3/98, p.C12)
1999 Feb 1, In Guinea-Bissau
thousands fled the capital as fighting intensified between rebels
and loyalists. At least 15 people were reported killed. Most of the
6,000 member army joined the rebellion to depose Pres. Joao Bernardo
Vieira.
(SFC, 2/2/99, p.A9)
1999 Feb 2, In Guinea-Bissau a
grenade destroyed a church and killed 3 people. 35 people were
reported killed since fighting began Jan 31.
(SFC, 2/3/99, p.A10)
1999 Feb 3, In Guinea-Bissau
Pres. Joao Bernardo Vieira agreed to a cease fire with rebel leader
Ansumane Mane.
(SFC, 2/4/99, p.A12)
1999 May 7, Renegade troops
forced the surrender of the 600-man presidential guard and ousted
Pres. Joao Bernardo Vieira, who sought refuge in the Portuguese
Embassy.
(SFC, 5/8/99, p.C14)
1999 May 14, In Guinea-Bissau
Malan Bacai Sanha (52), former head of parliament, was declared the
3rd president.
(SFC, 5/15/99, p.A14)
2000 Jan, In Guinea-Bissau
Kumba Yala won the presidency with 72% of the vote.
(Econ, 9/20/03, p.46)
2002 Guinea-Bissau Pres. Kumba
Yala dissolved Parliament and delayed elections 3 times.
(AP, 10/6/03)
2003 Sep 14, In the West Africa
country of Guinea-Bissau the army launched a coup, arresting the
president and ordering government ministers detained. Verissimo
Correia Seabre and fellow senior officers arrested the elected
president, Kumba Yala.
(AP, 9/14/03)
2003 Sep 16, Guinea-Bissau's
army chief of staff who overthrew the West African nation's
president has won an agreement from political leaders to have
presidential powers until new elections are held.
(AP, 9/16/03)
2003 Sep 28, In Guinea-Bissau
senior army officers, who staged a recent coup, installed
Henrique Rosa as civilian president and Artur Sanha as prime
minister to govern the West African country until elections. Civil
servants hadn't been paid in nearly a year and teachers hadn't been
paid in two. Soldiers were getting bags of rice instead of
paychecks.
(AP, 9/29/03)(AP, 10/6/03)
2003 Guinea-Bissau’s population
was about 1 million. Its average annual per capita gross domestic
product was about $180.
(AP, 9/16/03)
2004 Mar 8, Guinea-Bissau
soldiers released deposed Pres. Kumba Yala from house arrest, six
months after he was ousted in a bloodless coup on Sep 14.
(AP, 3/9/04)
2004 Sep 15, Eight French
speaking African countries began retiring over 1 billion in decaying
currency with new CFA francs. Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau,
Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo had until Dec 31 to turn
in old bills for new ones.
(SFC, 9/15/04, p.C8)
2004 Oct 6, In Guinea-Bissau
soldiers recently back from a U.N. peacekeeping mission and angry
over unpaid wages staged a revolt, surrounding a main military
building in the West African nation's capital.
(AP, 10/6/04)
2005 Jun 19, Guinea-Bissau
began its first presidential election since a 2003 coup, with 13
contenders vying to become the West African country's leader. The
candidates include the man the military ousted two years ago.
(AP, 6/19/05)
2007 Jan 3, China's Foreign
Minister Li Zhaoxing arrived in the central African nation of
Guinea-Bissau for cooperation talks. His 7-nation tour reflected
Chinese interest in Africa.
(AP, 1/4/07)
2007 Jan 10, Former
Guinea-Bissau PM Carlos Gomes Jr. sought asylum at the local UN
office, three days after he said President Vieira was behind the
assassination of an ex-military commander last week.
(AP, 1/10/07)
2007 Jan, Guinea-Bissau
officials learned that Whoopi Goldberg (51) had taken a DNA test
that indicated her ancestors came from the indigenous Papel and
Bayote tribes. They soon extended to her a formal invitation to
visit.
(SFC, 2/8/07, p.A2)
2007 Apr 17, Guinea-Bissau's
new PM Martinho Ndafa Cabi announced an opposition-dominated
government after being chosen to lead the poor west African nation
following a political crisis.
(AFP, 4/17/07)
2007 Jun 9, Recent large
seizures of cocaine confirmed that Guinea-Bissau had become a major
drug distribution hub. The cocaine from Latin America arrived by
boat and plane and was sent on to markets mostly in Europe.
(Econ, 6/9/07, p.54)
2007 Aug 6, South Africa stated
its readiness to assist Guinea Bissau in tackling drug trafficking
as the tiny west African nation has been used as a transit hub for
European-bound cocaine.
(AP, 8/6/07)
2007 Nov 1, A top UN official
said South American traffickers are moving billions of dollars worth
of cocaine through Guinea-Bissau, amid growing demand in Europe, an
amount so large it dwarfs all other economic sectors combined and
could destabilize the coup-prone country.
(AP, 11/3/07)
2007 Dec 19, Donors pledged
millions of dollars at a conference in Spain to help Guinea Bissau,
which a top UN official called "under siege" by drug cartels who
might even sway the country's future polls.
(AFP, 12/19/07)
2008 Aug 8, Guinea Bissau's
army announced it had arrested rear admiral Jose Americo Bubo Na
Tchute, the head of the navy, over an attempted coup.
(AFP, 8/9/08)
2008 Aug 12, Security forces in
Gambia arrested Rear Adm. Bubo Na Tchuto, the suspected leader of an
alleged plot to topple the government in nearby Guinea-Bissau.
(AP, 8/12/08)
2008 Nov 16, Guinea Bissau,
seen as a major African drugs hub, went to the polls for
parliamentary elections, which observers hoped would bring stability
to the West African nation. The African Party for the Independence
of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), which has been dominant since
independence from Portugal in 1974, is favorite to win the election.
(AP, 11/16/08)(AFP, 11/17/08)
2008 Nov 23, In Guinea Bissau
mutinous soldiers fought their way into the fortified residence of
President Joao Bernardo Vieira's in a 3-hour gunbattle but did
not hurt the head of state.
(AP, 11/23/08)
2009 Jan 10, In Guinea-Bissau a
boat carrying passengers on the Geba River capsized in strong winds,
leaving 42 people missing.
(AP, 1/13/09)
2009 Mar 2, In Guinea-Bissau
soldiers assassinated President Joao Bernardo "Nino" Vieira in his
palace hours after a bomb blast killed his rival. A pre-dawn
gunfight at the palace erupted hours after armed forces chief of
staff Gen. Batiste Tagme na Waie, a longtime rival of the president,
was killed by a bomb blast at his headquarters. The military
insisted no coup was taking place.
(AP, 3/2/09)
2009 Mar 3, Lawmakers in
Guinea-Bissau voted to uphold the constitution by which parliament
speaker Raimundo Pereira succeeds as interim president, following
the assassination of the head of state. Pereira took the oath of
office.
(AFP, 3/3/09)(SFC, 3/4/09, p.A2)
2009 Jun 5, Authorities in
Guinea-Bissau said they foiled an attempted coup, and security
forces killed two people allegedly involved, including a candidate
in the upcoming presidential ballot. Guinea-Bissau's intelligence
service said the coup plot was masterminded by former Defense
Minister Helder Proenca and that presidential candidate Baciro Dabo
was also involved. Both men died in separate shootings.
(AP, 6/5/09)(SFC, 6/6/09, p.A2)
2009 Jun 28, Guinea-Bissau held
elections for a new leader to replace the late President Joao
Bernardo "Nino" Vieira, who was assassinated more than three months
ago. The population of Guinea-Bissau stood at about 1.5 million.
Leading a pack of 11 candidates were three former presidents seeking
to retake the post. The election was marked by one of the lowest
turnouts ever. If no candidate wins an overall majority in the first
round, the election will go to a run-off between the two
highest-placed contenders on July 28.
(AP, 6/28/09)(AFP, 6/29/09)
2009 Jul 5, Guinea-Bissau said
the second round of presidential elections has been brought forward
to July 26 to enable farmers to continue harvesting unhindered.
(AFP, 7/5/09)
2009 Jul 26, Guinea-Bissau
voters went to the polls for a presidential runoff between two
former heads of state. The West African country’s veteran
leader was assassinated in March. On July 29 election officials
announced that Malam Bacai Sanha was the new president. Sanha took
63.39% of the runoff vote, beating opponent Kumba Yala, who took
36.69%.
(AFP, 7/26/09)(AP, 7/29/09)
2010 Feb 26, Sierra Leone and
five other west African countries (Mauritania, Senegal,
Guinea-Bissau, Gambia and Guinea) signed onto an action plan in
Freetown for sustainable mangrove management.
(AFP, 2/27/10)
2010 Apr 1, In Guinea-Bissau
renegade soldiers seized the head of the armed forces and briefly
detained PM Carlos Gomes Jr. in an apparent coup attempt in the
tiny, coup-plagued African nation where the president was
assassinated last year. Hours later, the mutinous soldiers released
the prime minister, but the head of the armed forces Zamora Induta
remained under guard at a military base while Antonio Ndjai, his No.
2, appeared to be in control.
(AP, 4/1/10)
2010 May 31, French President
Nicolas Sarkozy opened a France-Africa summit saying Africa will
fuel world economic growth for decades to come and must have a
stronger voice in global affairs. Guinea Bissau's Pres. Malam Bacai
Sanha, among the 38 African leaders attending the summit in Nice,
called for an international effort to help him fight drug
trafficking in his west African country.
(AP, 5/31/10)(AFP, 5/31/10)
2010 Jul 22, The UN Security
Council pressed for effective actions to combat the growing threat
of drug trafficking and organized crime in the west African nation
of Guinea-Bissau.
(AFP, 7/22/10)
2011 Jun 29, Guinea-Bissau’s
economy ministry said the World Bank is to allocate 6.4 million
dollars (nearly 4.5 million euros) to help it fight poverty and
boost growth.
(AFP, 6/29/11)
2011 Jul 13, In Guinea-Bissau
health workers began a five-day strike to press demands pay bonuses
and better working conditions in the west African country.
(AFP, 7/13/11)
2011 Jul 19, In Guinea-Bissau
thousands took to the streets of Bissau for the second rally in five
days to demand the resignation of PM Carlos Gomes Junior, accused of
hindering an assassination probe. The country is classified by the
United Nations as one of the world's poorest, coming in at 175 out
of 177 on the Human Development Index.
(AFP, 7/19/11)
2011 Aug 5, In Guinea-Bissau
thousands took to the streets of Bissau for the third rally in three
weeks to demand the resignation of PM Carlos Gomes Junior, who is
accused of hindering an assassination probe.
(AFP, 8/5/11)
2011 Aug 31, Guinea-Bissau
Pres. Malam Bacai Sanha was (64) evacuated to neighboring Senegal
for medical care.
(AFP, 9/1/11)
2011 Sep 18, Guinea-Bissau's
diabetic Pres. Malam Bacai Sanha returned home after being
hospitalized in Senegal.
(AP, 9/19/11)
2011 Nov 22, The president of
Guinea-Bissau, Malam Bacai Sanha (64), was hospitalized in Senegal's
capital Dakar and will later be transferred to Paris for treatment.
(AFP, 11/24/11)
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