Newspapers in Guinea-Bissau
The spread of daily newspapers in Guinea-Bissau is very small (5 newspaper excl. Per 1,000 residents, 2000). Nô Pintcha is the only daily newspaper and has an edition of about 6,000 copies.
State-owned Radiodifusão nacional broadcasts radio in Portuguese in a national channel. However, the distribution is limited, with 44 radio receivers per 1,000 residents (2000). With the assistance of Portugal, television is under construction.
Culture
According to ALLUNITCONVERTERS, Guinean film director Flora Gomes, educated in Havana, has received international attention. His 2012 Republica de Mininus (Children’s Republic) movie is about a small country that is ruled by children since all adults have disappeared.
With inspiration from the film, a new domestic children’s rights organization Republica di Mininus Hoje (RdMH) was formed and a special children’s parliament was established. He has also made the documentary As Duas Faces da Guerra, together with Diana Andringa, where they interview veterans from Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde and Portugal about colonialism, the liberation struggle and what happened next.
One of the foremost music styles in the country is called gumbe. It blends indigenous rhythms with West Indian and Portuguese tones. Singer Manecas Costa has talked internationally.
Almost all Guinean literature is written in Portuguese. Poetry had a dominant role in what was written in the 1990s, much of which was about the struggle against Portuguese colonial power and thoughts of what was to come then. Among the more prominent authors are Amilcar Cabral, the hero of the liberation struggle, the poet and musician José Carlos Schwartz, and Waldir Araújo, who now lives in Portugal but who mainly writes about his homeland, Carlos Lopes and Abdulai Silá who wrote the first novel published in Guinea -Bissau.
2017
December
The army chief escapes attempted murder
December 25
Military sources report to AFP news agency that six soldiers arrested in mid-December accused of attempted murder of the country’s army chief, General Biague Na Ntam. The sources do not describe any details of the murder attempt. The six soldiers are being detained on an air base awaiting a military trial, the chief of the country’s highest military court, General Daba Na Walna, said.
Ecowas threatens to impose sanctions
December 16th
Unless Guinea-Bissau resolves the protracted political crisis within two months, the Ecowas regional cooperation organization will impose sanctions on the country. That message is being conveyed at Ecowa’s summit in Nigeria.
The opposition rejects the president’s crisis plan
13th of December
The opposition rejects President Vaz’s crisis plan to launch new talks ahead of a regional summit. It has now been over a year since the parties agreed on a peace plan mediated by Guinea’s President Alpha Condé. But the new prime minister appointed by Vaz in December 2016 has not been approved by the National Assembly, as a majority of PAIGC members opposed the appointment of Umaro Sissoco Embaló.
October
Protesters demand that the government resign
November 27th
Several attempts have been made to resolve the political crisis in the country, but the deadlock remains. In Bissau, thousands of opposition supporters are now gathering to demand the resignation of the government. The protesters could have been even more had the security forces not prevented a large number of people from participating.
September
Record price of cashew nuts
September 23
High world market prices of cashews result in a substantial increase in farmers’ income. This happens since President Vaz imposed a temporary halt on all cashew nuts sales in May, when it was found that buyers in Senegal paid more than twice as much for the nuts there as compared to Guinea-Bissau. Since then, foreign buyers, from China, India and Mauritania, have returned to the Guinean market.
No wages for “ghost workers”
September 22
The authorities set salary payments in September to one third of all 13,000 public servants. This is because of suspicions that they are so-called ghost workers, that is, people who do not work for the state but who still receive pay. This can be about people who have died, retired or others.
May
UN plea for end of political crisis
May 11
The UN Security Council expresses concern over the political stalemate in Guinea-Bissau and calls on President Vaz to appoint a prime minister with broad political support. The Council refers to the “Cooperation Government” agreement (see September 2016), according to which the major parties will agree on the Prime Minister’s post. Umaro Sissoco Embalo, who was appointed at the end of 2016 is not accepted by PAIGC because the party was not asked.
January
Accusations of corruption
January 6
President Vaz accuses former Prime Minister Pereira of forfeiting € 100 million. He calls on the judiciary to investigate the matter.
