According to ezinereligion, in 2007, Guinea-Bissau had a population of approximately 1.6 million people. The country’s economy was largely based on agriculture and fishing, with cashew nuts being the primary export. Foreign relations were mainly with other African nations, as well as Portugal, the United States and other European countries. In terms of politics in 2007, Guinea-Bissau was a semi-presidential republic headed by President João Bernardo Vieira who had been in power since 2005. The main opposition party at the time was the Party for Social Renewal (PRS) led by Kumba Yala.
Yearbook 2007
Guinea Bissau. According to CountryAAH, Bissau is the capital city of Guinea-Bissau. Former Navy chief Mohamed Lamine Sanha, who was accused of planning a coup against the government in 2006, was murdered outside his home in the capital in January. Former Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Júnior accused in radio president João Bernardo Vieira of being involved in the act and accused him of wanting to gain access to people involved in the coup against him in 1999. Gomes Júnior claimed his life was in danger and fled to UN premises in Bissau. He remained there for two weeks until a restraining order against him was withdrawn.
On March 20, Prime Minister Aristides Gomes lost a vote of no confidence in Parliament. He resigned nine days later and was replaced by Martinho Ndafa Kabi of PAIGC (African Independence Party of Guinea and Cape Verde). Kabi then formed a four-party government. His own party had split during the 2005 presidential election, when one faction supported Vieira and one opposed him.
- According to abbreviationfinder: PU is the 2-letter acronym for the country of Guinea-Bissau.
In July, Vieira announced that parliamentary elections would be held at the same time as the 2009 presidential election, a year later than planned. He motivated this with the need to reduce the cost of holding elections and to make them better organized.
More and more reports came about that Guinea-Bissau had become a transit country for the smuggling of cocaine between Latin America and Europe. The smugglers often took advantage of uninhabited islands in the Bijagós archipelago. It was questioned what had happened to a large seizure of several hundred kilos of cocaine made in 2006. The then Prime Minister Aristides Gomes claimed that he had ordered the drugs to be burned. According to the UN Drugs and Crime Agency, UNODC, large quantities of cocaine had been found in April at a military airport.
In September, the International Journalism Federation (IFJ) accused the government of harassing journalists who reported on the drug trade. Journalists had accused high-ranking people, including in the military, of being involved in traffic.