SUMMARY
The conflict over government in Guinea-Bissau was triggered by the dismissal of General Ansumane Mané by President Vieira. Later on, General Mané formed the Military Junta for the Consolidation of Democracy, Peace, and Justice. The junta challenged the government, which could only avoid defeat by relying on foreign troops. Following negotiations and a peace agreement, the rebels made a final push and ousted President Vieira, thus ending the conflict.
IN DEPTH
The build-up to the conflict
In the early 1990s, Guinea-Bissau, like so many other African countries, embarked on a democratization process. The early days of multi-party politics proved difficult for the country, mainly due to a deteriorating economic situation. Guinea-Bissau was one of the world's poorest countries, and the introduction of an IMF negotiated Structural Adjustment Program hit the already struggling population hard. The government soon came under severe criticism for economic mismanagement, corruption, rising prices, and deteriorating social conditions. Thus, in the late 1990s, popular discontent was rampant, leading to political tension and socio-economic instability, marked by massive waves of strikes in almost all social sectors.
Another problem for the government was how to control the country's armed forces. From the mid-1990s onward, there were clear indications of growing discontent within the military. One of the main reasons for this was the government's change of official policy towards the Senegalese separatist region Casamançe, bordering northern Guinea-Bissau. The separatist rebels in Casamançe, MFDC (Mouvement des forces démocratiques de Casamance; Movement of the Democratic Forces of the Casamance), has strong historical and ethnic ties to Guinea-Bissau, and the latter had for years provided support to the rebels. Apart from the near official support for the Senegalese rebels, a cross-border operation had been active for decades, with MFDC trading cannabis for arms. Many army officers in Guinea-Bissau were involved in this lucrative business, which was endangered when President Vieira in 1995 promised to fight the rebellion in the cross-border region. This complete change in policy was a precondition for Guinea-Bissau to be allowed to enter the CFA franc zone. At the time, it appeared as if the president distanced himself completely from the cooperation with MFDC.
In early 1998, President Vieira dismissed General Ansumane Mané, accusing him of gunrunning to Casamançe. It has later been disclosed that Mané was made a scapegoat and that the president himself, together with his presidential guard, condoned and ran the illicit arms transactions. In June 1998, amidst popular unrest due to the deteriorating economic condition and a political crisis, Vieira sent troops to arrest Mané, and fighting erupted. The majority of the population, disillusioned with the politics of Vieira, supported Mané and his troops, and the armed conflict was soon a fact.
Conflict dynamics and regional connections
Just after the fighting had erupted, Ansumane Mané formed the Military Junta for the Consolidation of Democracy, Peace and Justice and proclaimed himself head of it. The main aim of the junta was for President Vieira to resign, and it also called for a transitional government to be set up and for free and fair elections to be held. The junta enjoyed the support of large parts of the army, and soon up to 90% of the country's armed forces had defected and joined the junta in its struggle. The government side in the conflict was thus severely weakened by these defections. As the conflict continued, it became increasingly clear that for the rebels, the government side was primarily the president, whom they wanted to oust. Thus, even though a government of national unity was formed in early 1999, including both rebels and representatives from the previous government, the conflict against the president continued, albeit muted for the time being.
The conflict in Guinea-Bissau had a clear regional dimension in its origin as well as in its outplay. Due to President Vieira's stance of denying support to the rebel side in the Casamançe conflict, Senegal sent 2000 troops in aid of the Vieira government only 48 hour after the rebellion was launched. Also, Guinea, the country's southern neighbor, sent 1500 troops in a bid to help Vieira. The presence of these troops, which remained in the country until February 1999, was soon the only thing preventing Manés rebel forces from a quick victory. The military junta also received foreign assistance in line with these regional alliances, as MFDC (Mouvement des forces démocratiques de Casamance; Movement of the Democratic Forces of the Casamance) sent hundreds of troops to help Mané.
The fighting occurred in bouts between June 1998 and May 1999. The junta, at the outset, confiscated most of the army's weapons and munitions, as well as the air force base, thus gaining a clear upper hand in the fighting during the initial stage of the conflict. They also used the communication network of the Guinea-Bissau army, forcing the loyalist troops and their Senegalese and Guinean allies to set up a new communications system. During the first weeks of the conflict, most activities occurred in the capital, Bissau, where heavy fighting took place, leading to an exodus of around 200 000 Bissau residents. Fighting soon spread to the rest of the country, however, as Manés troops took control of practically all areas, apart from the center of Bissau, around the presidential palace, which the government side managed to hold only with the aid of Senegalese troops. Following a lull in the fighting from late July and onwards due to a ceasefire, new battles were reported around the country in October. After only a few days of fighting, it stood clear that almost all the armed forces had defected, wherefore Vieira was forced to open up for dialogue with the junta. A new bout of the fighting occurred in January 1999, leading to numerous fatalities and some 250 000 IDPs. The last bout of the fighting took place in Bissau in May 1999, when the junta troops finally ousted President Vieira, setting the palace ablaze and once again forcing civilians in large numbers to flee the capital.
Negotiations, Vieira's surrender and the end of the conflict
Efforts to end the conflict between the government and the Military Junta for the Consolidation of Democracy, Peace and Justice through dialogue were initiated in July 1998, and mediation by the Community of Portuguese-speaking countries (CPLP) made the parties agree to a truce. Two months later, on 25 August, the parties met on Cape Verde under the auspices of both CPLP and ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States). Following negotiations, an agreement was reached to transform the truce into a formal ceasefire. The accord also called for the reopening of the international airport and for the deployment of foreign troops to supervise the ceasefire. In September continued negotiations held in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, broke down when the rebels set up the withdrawal of all foreign troops as a pre-condition to a peace agreement, and the government demanded the establishment by Senegal of a buffer zone within Guinea-Bissaus territory, along its northern border.
In October 1998, renewed talks were held in Banjul, Gambia, where the rebels conceded not to seek the resignation of president Viera. Subsequently, on 1 November the parties signed the Abuja Peace Agreement. The accord had been mediated by ECOWAS, which was also included in the stipulations of the agreement, as it provided for an ECOMOG (Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group) interposition force to be deployed in the country. Furthermore, the agreement stipulated a government of national unity, comprising both rebels and members of the present government, to be formed and for elections to be held no later than March 1999. In late 1998, as talks on the formation of the government of national unity were underway, the first ECOMOG troops arrived in the country. After hostilities had resumed in January, negotiations were held on a number of occasions through February, resulting in the announcement of the government of national unity and the complete withdrawal of the Senegalese and Guinean troops. However, fighting once again broke out in May, and on 10 May 1999, President Vieira signed an unconditional surrender, thus ending the conflict.
Since the ousting of former president Viera, the situation in Guinea-Bissau has normalized but remained tense. After a period of military rule under Mané, democratic elections were held, and the country once again returned to civilian rule. However, relations between the new civilian government under President Kumba Yalá and the military in general and the junta, in particular, have been strained, and Yalá has had great difficulties in controlling the armed forces. Until late 2000 Mané continued to act autonomously and refused all civilian involvement in military questions. In November that year, after leading a failed armed uprising, Mané fled Bissau but was killed a few days later. These events checked the power of the junta.
