Siradiou Diallo
Encyclopedia
Siradiou Diallo a Fulani
, was a Guinea
n journalist and politician of the opposition party Union for Progress and Renewal
. He was a candidate during the Guinean presidential election, 1993
but only received 11.86% of the vote. He also stood for presidency in the Guinean presidential election, 1998
and the Guinean presidential election, 2003
.
, a highland region in the centre of the country. His father, Elhadj lbrahima Gassama Diallo, was a government official, before and after the country's independence. His mother was Thierno Hadiatou Bah, was the eldest daughter of the reigning family of Dalaba
. Diallo was the eldest son of a family that included 21 siblings. His paternal grandparents was Thierno Cellou Diallo, the leader of Pilimini (a village in Koubia Prefecture
) and Bah Assiatou Thierno, eldest daughter of the venerable Thierno Aliou Bhoubha N'diyan.
Diallo received his initial education at Koranic Kottyou Timbi Touni in Pita Prefecture
. He attended elementary school in Labé, graduating in 1951. After attending the 7th World Scout Jamboree
in Bad Ischl
, Austria, he spent four years studying in the capital of Guinea and in 1955, he entered École normale supérieure William Ponty
. The first two years working on his baccalaureate were spent in Sébikotane Arrondissement
in Senegal
. He completed his baccalaureate in 1958 in Dakar
with a Bachelor in philosophy. In 1959, he was enrolled at the University of Dakar
Faculty of Arts and Humanities and Faculty of Law and Economics. Later, he studied economics at the University of Poitiers
and Paris
.
, rising to the position of Editor in chief
.
Parallel to his journalistic activities, he organized the Coalition of Guineans from outside (EGR), a group made up of Guineans exiled and traumatized by the terror regime of Sékou Touré. While he held the position of secretary general of the EGR, he was also suspected to be a double agent for Touré. Diallo founded, among others, the Comité de Réflexion sur la Démocratie en Guinée (CRDG). After Toure's death in 1984, Diallo returned to Guinea. In 1991, he became secretary general of the Parti du Progrès Guinée (PGP) and founded a year later, the Parti du Progrès et du Renouveau (PRP) ("Revival and Progress Party"). The pressure of the growing opposition created the bloodless coup which led to President Lansana Conté
coming to power. In the uneasy presidential election in Guinea of 1993, Diallo was a candidate for president and one of Conté's main rivals. He accused the government of electoral fraud. From 1995, Diallo was a deputy in the National Assembly of Guinea
.
In the Guinean presidential election, 1998
, Diallo's Union pour la Nouvelle Republique (UNR) joined forces with Mamadou Bah and Union pour le Progrès et le Renouveau (UPR) ("Union for Progress and Reform"). Diallo became the leader of the UPR, a Fulani supported party and worked towards engagement with the electoral process. The joint bid in Fulbe by the politicians, however, intensified ethnic conflict. At the same time, this alienated the 1998 planned expulsion of over a hundred thousand people, most of whom were Fulani, from a district of Conakry
, the Fulbe from the Conté regime. There were violent protests and clashes between the population, opposition and police.
In the parliamentary elections in 2002, Diallo's UPR was the only opposition party to participate, and it won 20 of the 114 parliamentary seats. He stood again for presidency in the Guinean presidential election, 2003
, participating in a national election tour. Among other issues, he opposed the charge finding that the UPR had conducted a secret agreement with the government. The elections, however, were boycotted by all major opposition parties, including the UPR, due to lack of fairness.
Diallo denounced political fatalism. He died on March 14, 2004 in Paris at the age of 68 years from a cardiac arrest
.
Fula people
Fula people or Fulani or Fulbe are an ethnic group spread over many countries, predominantly in West Africa, but found also in Central Africa and Sudanese North Africa...
, was a Guinea
Guinea
Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...
n journalist and politician of the opposition party Union for Progress and Renewal
Union for Progress and Renewal (Guinea)
The Union for Progress and Renewal is an opposition political party in Guinea. In the parliamentary election held on 30 June 2002, the party won 26.63 % of the popular vote and 20 out of 114 seats. A section of the party boycotted the 2002 election, and it later formed the Union of Democratic...
. He was a candidate during the Guinean presidential election, 1993
Guinean presidential election, 1993
Presidential elections were held in Guinea on 19 December 1993. They were the first since the country returned to multi-party politics in 1990, and the first to feature more than one candidate. The result was a victory for Lansana Conté of the Party of Unity and Progress, who won 51.7% of the vote....
but only received 11.86% of the vote. He also stood for presidency in the Guinean presidential election, 1998
Guinean presidential election, 1998
Presidential elections were held in Guinea on 14 December 1998. The result was a victory for incumbent President Lansana Conté of the Party of Unity and Progress, who won 56.1% of the vote. Voter turnout was 71.4%.-Results:...
and the Guinean presidential election, 2003
Guinean presidential election, 2003
A presidential election was held in Guinea on 21 December 2003. Incumbent Lansana Conté won over 95.6% of the vote after most opposition parties boycotted the election....
.
Early years
Diallo was from Labé, located in Fouta DjallonFouta Djallon
Fouta Djallon is a highland region in the centre of Guinea, West Africa. The indigenous name is Fuuta-Jaloo...
, a highland region in the centre of the country. His father, Elhadj lbrahima Gassama Diallo, was a government official, before and after the country's independence. His mother was Thierno Hadiatou Bah, was the eldest daughter of the reigning family of Dalaba
Dalaba
Dalaba is a town and sub-prefecture in the Dalaba Prefecture in the Mamou Region of Guinea.It was once home to a sanatorium, and to Miriam Makeba, who last visited the town in 1988, when she came to see her niece, N'Tombi Makeba, who lived in Miriam's house for a number...
. Diallo was the eldest son of a family that included 21 siblings. His paternal grandparents was Thierno Cellou Diallo, the leader of Pilimini (a village in Koubia Prefecture
Koubia Prefecture
Koubia is a prefecture located in the Labé Region of Guinea in the Fouta Djallon mountains. Fulas are the majority ethnic group in the region with Fula as the primary language. The capital is Koubia...
) and Bah Assiatou Thierno, eldest daughter of the venerable Thierno Aliou Bhoubha N'diyan.
Diallo received his initial education at Koranic Kottyou Timbi Touni in Pita Prefecture
Pita Prefecture
Pita is a prefecture located in the Mamou Region of Guinea. The capital is Pita. The prefecture covers an area of 4,320 km.² and has an estimated population of 266,000.-Sub-prefectures:The prefecture is divided admininstratively into 12 sub-prefectures:...
. He attended elementary school in Labé, graduating in 1951. After attending the 7th World Scout Jamboree
7th World Scout Jamboree
The 7th World Scout Jamboree was held August 3 to 12, 1951 and was hosted by Austria at Bad Ischl. The attendance was 12,884 from 61 different parts of the world, with 675 German Scouts given a warm welcome as official participants in a World Jamboree for the first time...
in Bad Ischl
Bad Ischl
Bad Ischl is a spa town in Austria. It lies in the southern part of Upper Austria, at the Traun River in the centre of the Salzkammergut region. The town consists of the Katastralgemeinden Ahorn, Bad Ischl, Haiden, Jainzen, Kaltenbach, Lauffen, Lindau, Pfandl, Perneck, Reiterndorf and Rettenbach...
, Austria, he spent four years studying in the capital of Guinea and in 1955, he entered École normale supérieure William Ponty
École normale supérieure William Ponty
École William Ponty was a government teachers' college in what is now Senegal. The school is now in Kolda, Senegal, where it is currently known as École de formation d’instituteurs William Ponty. It is associated with the French university IUFM at Livry-Gargan.-Notable alumni:Many of the school's...
. The first two years working on his baccalaureate were spent in Sébikotane Arrondissement
Sébikotane Arrondissement
Sébikotane Arrondissement is an arrondissement of the Rufisque Department in the Dakar Region of Senegal....
in Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
. He completed his baccalaureate in 1958 in Dakar
Dakar
Dakar is the capital city and largest city of Senegal. It is located on the Cap-Vert Peninsula on the Atlantic coast and is the westernmost city on the African mainland...
with a Bachelor in philosophy. In 1959, he was enrolled at the University of Dakar
Cheikh Anta Diop University
Cheikh Anta Diop University , also known as the University of Dakar, is a university in Dakar, Senegal. It is named after the Senegalese historian and anthropologist Cheikh Anta Diop and has an enrollment of over 60,000.-History:...
Faculty of Arts and Humanities and Faculty of Law and Economics. Later, he studied economics at the University of Poitiers
University of Poitiers
The University of Poitiers is a university in Poitiers, France. It is a member of the Coimbra Group.-History:Founded in 1431 by Pope Eugene IV and chartered by King Charles VII, the University of Poitiers was originally composed of five faculties: theology, canon law, civil law, medicine, and...
and Paris
University of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
.
Career
After his graduation in 1967, he worked at Banque Nationale de Paris and the French Ministry of Finance. In the late 1960s, he had a brief stint at the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE). However, he was primarily a journalist and worked from 1970 for the magazine Jeune AfriqueJeune Afrique
Jeune Afrique is a weekly newsmagazine published in Paris, founded in Tunis by Béchir Ben Yahmed on October 17, 1960. It covers the political, economic and cultural spheres of Africa, with an emphasis on Francophone Africa and the Maghreb....
, rising to the position of Editor in chief
Editor in chief
An editor-in-chief is a publication's primary editor, having final responsibility for the operations and policies. Additionally, the editor-in-chief is held accountable for delegating tasks to staff members as well as keeping up with the time it takes them to complete their task...
.
Parallel to his journalistic activities, he organized the Coalition of Guineans from outside (EGR), a group made up of Guineans exiled and traumatized by the terror regime of Sékou Touré. While he held the position of secretary general of the EGR, he was also suspected to be a double agent for Touré. Diallo founded, among others, the Comité de Réflexion sur la Démocratie en Guinée (CRDG). After Toure's death in 1984, Diallo returned to Guinea. In 1991, he became secretary general of the Parti du Progrès Guinée (PGP) and founded a year later, the Parti du Progrès et du Renouveau (PRP) ("Revival and Progress Party"). The pressure of the growing opposition created the bloodless coup which led to President Lansana Conté
Lansana Conté
Lansana Conté was the second President of Guinea from 3 April 1984 until his death. He was a Muslim and a member of the Susu ethnic group.-Early life:...
coming to power. In the uneasy presidential election in Guinea of 1993, Diallo was a candidate for president and one of Conté's main rivals. He accused the government of electoral fraud. From 1995, Diallo was a deputy in the National Assembly of Guinea
National Assembly of Guinea
The unicameral National Assembly of Guinea is the country's legislative body.The National Assembly that was formed following the 30 June 2002 parliamentary election had a total of 114 members...
.
In the Guinean presidential election, 1998
Guinean presidential election, 1998
Presidential elections were held in Guinea on 14 December 1998. The result was a victory for incumbent President Lansana Conté of the Party of Unity and Progress, who won 56.1% of the vote. Voter turnout was 71.4%.-Results:...
, Diallo's Union pour la Nouvelle Republique (UNR) joined forces with Mamadou Bah and Union pour le Progrès et le Renouveau (UPR) ("Union for Progress and Reform"). Diallo became the leader of the UPR, a Fulani supported party and worked towards engagement with the electoral process. The joint bid in Fulbe by the politicians, however, intensified ethnic conflict. At the same time, this alienated the 1998 planned expulsion of over a hundred thousand people, most of whom were Fulani, from a district of Conakry
Conakry
Conakry is the capital and largest city of Guinea. Conakry is a port city on the Atlantic Ocean and serves as the economic, financial and cultural centre of Guinea with a 2009 population of 1,548,500...
, the Fulbe from the Conté regime. There were violent protests and clashes between the population, opposition and police.
In the parliamentary elections in 2002, Diallo's UPR was the only opposition party to participate, and it won 20 of the 114 parliamentary seats. He stood again for presidency in the Guinean presidential election, 2003
Guinean presidential election, 2003
A presidential election was held in Guinea on 21 December 2003. Incumbent Lansana Conté won over 95.6% of the vote after most opposition parties boycotted the election....
, participating in a national election tour. Among other issues, he opposed the charge finding that the UPR had conducted a secret agreement with the government. The elections, however, were boycotted by all major opposition parties, including the UPR, due to lack of fairness.
Diallo denounced political fatalism. He died on March 14, 2004 in Paris at the age of 68 years from a cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest, is the cessation of normal circulation of the blood due to failure of the heart to contract effectively...
.