The airfield was protected by wire, minefields and blockhouses. Military tactical reforms by Portuguese commanders included new naval amphibious operations to overcome some of the mobility problems inherent in the underdeveloped and marshy areas of the country. Unlike Portugal's other African territories, successful small-unit Portuguese counterinsurgency tactics were slow to evolve in Guinea. The Portuguese Guinea was dependent from the government of Cape Verde until 1887, when it gained the status of a separate overseas province of Portugal. Mané subsequently demanded the resignation of Vieira and his administration and the conduct of free and democratic elections in July. Then two strike forces of several hundred men entered the area. Love The Barons' War miniatures, and want one of each in white metal? The Portuguese conducted many search and destroy operation against the PAIGC 20 km from the frontier. [21], They were also demoralized by the steady growth of PAIGC liberation sympathizers and recruits among the rural population. At a meeting of the ruling bodies of the PAIGC that month, Manuel Saturnino da Costa was appointed to replace Vieira as party leader. [23], The first of these was the African Commandos (Comandos Africanos), consisting of a battalion of commandos composed entirely of black soldiers (including the officers). On April 18, 1961 PAIGC together with FRELIMO of Mozambique, MPLA of Angola and MLSTP of São Tomé and Príncipe formed the Conference of Nationalist Organizations of the Portuguese Colonies (CONCP) during a conference in Morocco. Military unrest occurred in Guinea-Bissau on 1 April 2010. Before the proposal could be formally endorsed, the cease-fire collapsed as fighting erupted in the capital and several other towns. Guinea-Bissau [ɡiˈneːa bɪˈsaʊ] (portugiesisch Guiné-Bissau [ɡiˈnɛ biˈsau]) ist ein Staat in Afrika. Vieira subsequently agreed to stand trial, but only after receiving medical treatment abroad, after which he pledged to return to Guinea-Bissau. The age adjusted Death Rate is 0.00 per 100,000 of population ranks Guinea-Bissau #183 in the world. After 1968 PAIGC forces were increasingly supplied with modern Soviet weapons and equipment, most notably SA-7 rocket launchers, radar-controlled AA cannon, and even jet aircraft in the form of several Ilyushin Il-28 bombers. General Spínola instituted a series of civil and military reforms, intended to first contain, then roll back the PAIGC and its control of much of the rural portion of Portuguese Guinea. Portugal granted full independence to Guinea-Bissau on September 10, 1974, after eleven-and-a-half years of armed conflict. In Guinea-Bissau and neighbouring territories, slaves were captured among the coastal peoples or among interior groups at war. As part of the efforts to undermine the organizational structure of PAIGC, Portugal had tried to capture Amílcar Cabral for several years. By 1960, it was decided to move headquarters to Conakry in neighboring Republic of Guinea (former French Guinea) in order to prepare for an armed struggle. Page 140. The colonial police violently repressed the strike and more than 50 people died, the incident became known as the Pijiguiti Massacre. In a run-off held on 16 January 2000, Ialá easily defeated acting President Malam Bacai Sanhá of the PAIGC, winning 72% of the vote. At the end of January 1999, hostilities resumed in the capital resulting in numerous fatalities and the displacement of some 250,000 residents. At a meeting of ECOWAS foreign ministers held in Togo in May 1999, Vieira's overthrow was condemned and demands were made for him to be permitted to leave Guinea-Bissau. The success of PAIGC guerilla operations forced the Exército Português do Ultramar (Portuguese overseas armed forces) deployed in Portuguese Guinea on the defensive at an early stage; the latter were forced to limit their response to defending territories and cities already held. Later that month the commission approved the structure of the new government, which was to comprise ten ministers and seven secretaries of state. Nonetheless, the PAIGC continued to increase its strength, and began to heavily press Portuguese defense forces. The armed forces deployed reinforcements along the border with Casamance to prevent the separatists from entering the country. Major General Batista Tagme Na Waiewas chief of staff of the Guinea-Bissau armed forces until his assassination in 2009. With the effectiveness of the Portuguese Colonial Act of 1930, the designation "colony" fully replaced that of "province". At a meeting held in Lomé, Togo on 17 February, João Bernardo Vieira and Ansumane Mané pledged never again to resort to armed conflict. The rebels demanded that all Senegalese and Guinean forces be withdrawn from the country as a precondition to a definitive peace agreement, which was rejected by the government. [27], Indigenous troops who had served with the Portuguese Army were given the choice of either returning home with their families while receiving full pay until the end of December 1974, or of joining the PAIGC military. The main indigenous revolutionary insurgent movement, the Marxist African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde or PAIGC was well-trained, well-led, and equipped and received substantial support from safe havens in neighbouring countries like Senegal and Guinea-Conakry. The current constitution was promulgated in 1991 and has been amended twice; first in 1993 and later in 1996. In mid-1969 the PAIGC launched Operation Tenaz against Portuguese positions around Bafata, north of the River Corubal. The geography, dense forests with numerous waterways, were favourable to guerrilla activity. Er liegt an der afrikanischen Westküste zum Atlantik und grenzt an Senegal und Guinea. Deaths % 0. The war in Guinea has been termed "Portugal's Vietnam". The rebels, in turn, rejected a proposal for the establishment by Senegal of a buffer zone within Guinea-Bissau territory along the border with Casamance. The main goal of the organization was cooperation of the different national liberation movement in Portuguese colonies. The Constitution is made up of three … Colonel) Marcelino da Mata, a black Portuguese citizen born of Guinean parents who rose from a first sergeant in a road engineering unit to a commander in the Comandos Africanos. Nach dem Index der menschlichen Entwicklung zählt Guinea-Bissau zu den am geringsten entwickelten Ländern weltweit. The assassination happened less than 15 months before end of hostilities. Each group fought in isolation and established a forest based independently from the others. THERE IS MUCH THE THIS ARTICLE IS MISSING. An estimated further 200,000 residents of Bissau fled the city, prompting fears of a humanitarian disaster, with the hostilities preventing aid organizations from distributing emergency food and medical supplies to the refugees. Page 354. In April 1964 the Portuguese launched a counter-offensive. In 2007 its population was estimated at approximately 407,000 people. Fulacunda, Guinea Bissau (March 6, 2019) – Joana Gomes poses for a portait in front of the local hospital in Fulacunda, Guinea Bissau. Bissau is the capital of the nation of Guinea-Bissau. Guinea-Bissau, country of western Africa. Guinea-Bissau political victory. Fought between Portugal and the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde, an armed independence movement backed by Cuba and the Soviet Union, the war is commonly referred to as "Portugal's Vietnam" due to the large numbers of men and amounts of material expended in a long, mostly guerrilla war and the internal political turmoil it created in Portugal. The Guinea-Bissau Civil War engulfed the west-African country of Guinea-Bissau between June 7th, 1998 and May 10th, 1999. The rebels, who claimed that their actions had been prompted by Vieira's refusal to allow his presidential guard to be disarmed, surrounded the presidential palace and forced its surrender. At the talks, which took place on 29 October, the rebels confirmed that they would not seek Vieira's resignation. 36 FARP[who?] In an effort to hamper assistance to the PAIGC from the neighboring Republic of Guinea, Portugal commenced Operação Mar Verde or Operation Green Sea on 22 November 1970 in an attempt to overthrow Ahmed Sékou Touré, the leader of the Republic of Guinea and staunch PAIGC ally, and cut off supply lines to PAIGC insurgents. Two special indigenous African counterinsurgency detachments were formed by the Portuguese Armed Forces. Guerrilla Warfare: A Historical and Critical Study, 1976. Qaddafi: his ideology in theory and practice, 1986. On 26 August 1974, after a series of diplomatic meetings, Portugal and the PAIGC signed an accord in Algiers, Algeria in which Portugal agreed to remove all troops by the end of October and to officially recognize the Republic of Guinea-Bissau government controlled by the PAIGC. The PAIGC claimed the Portuguese suffered five dead and several wounded against their own four wounded. He was sworn in on 17 February 2000. In late January, following the seizure in Guinea-Bissau of a cache of weapons, a number of officers of the armed forces were arrested on charges of supplying arms to th… In 1964 PAIGC opened their second front in the north. These new operations utilized Destacamentos de Fuzileiros Especiais (DFE) (special marine assault detachments) as strike forces. Guinea-Bissau Civil War BELLIGERENTS: Guinea-Bissau Government (of President Joao Bernardo Vieira) with. Each included several hundred conscripts with automatic weapons, mortars, bazookas, and air support. Lloyd-Jones, Stewart, and Costa Pinto, António, PAIGC, Jornal Nô Pintcha, 29 November 1980: In a statement in the party newspaper. Modern African Wars: Angola and Moçambique 1961-1974, 1988. Although the First World War increased world demand for tropical products and stimulated Guinea's economy, a post-war slump and frequent political crisis created a deep recession. In January 1998, ten fighters from the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance (MDFC), an insurgent separatist group from the Senegalese region of Casamance, were killed and another forty were arrested following clashes with the armed forces in two towns on the northern border of Guinea-Bissau.[9]. The first contingent of 100 ECOMOG troops arrived in late December. Imagery and Ideology in U.S. Policy Toward Libya 1969–1982, 1988. PAIGC soldiers loading weapons, Guinea-Bissau, 1973, Female soldier playing cards, Guinea-Bissau, 1973, PAIGC recruits learning how to shoot, Ziguinchor, Senegal, 1973, PAIGC soldier with his family in a military camp, Guinea-Bissau, 1974, Drawings showing PAIGC soldiers, Farim, Guinea-Bissau, 1974, Village burnt down by the Portuguese, Guinea-Bissau, 1974, PAIGC soldier with a rocket-propelled grenade, Manten military base in the liberated areas, Guinea-Bissau, 1974, Morning roll call, Hermangono, Guinea-Bissau, 1974, Unexploded Portuguese bomb, Canjambari, Guinea-Bissau, 1974, Armed escort carries a wounded person to the Senegalese border, Sara, Guinea-Bissau, 1974. In late January, following the seizure in Guinea-Bissau of a cache of weapons, a number of officers of the armed forces were arrested on charges of supplying arms to the Casamance separatists. in fact the majority of the 17 tribes sup[ported portugal when they would not join Paigc . This strategy culminated in the assassination of Amílcar Cabral in January 1973. In early May 1999, Vieira announced that legislative and presidential elections would take place on 28 December, but he was overthrown by the rebel military junta on 7 May, to widespread condemnation by the international community. In October the rebels agreed to a government proposal for the creation of a demilitarized zone separating the opposing forces in the capital. Most observers first thought that the mutineers would tire and Vieira would reemerge as the victor; instead, the conflict broadened. In April, Mané publicly accused the Minister of Defense and a group of officers in the armed forces of involvement in arms trafficking to the Casamance separatists. Ion Rațiu, Foreign Affairs Publishing Company, 1975, Embassy of The Republic of Guinea-Bissau - Country Profile: History, 1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine, North Yemen-South Yemen Border conflict of 1972, Struggle against political abuse of psychiatry in the Soviet Union, List of Eastern Bloc agents in the United States, American espionage in the Soviet Union and Russian Federation, Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Guinea-Bissau_War_of_Independence&oldid=1017215239, Short description is different from Wikidata, All articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases, Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from December 2018, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Portuguese forces unable to neutralize the action of the PAIGC, PAIGC unable to defeat and expel Portuguese forces from Guinea. In the beginning of the 20th century, the Portuguese Guinea started to be referred to as "colony", despite still having the generic status of overseas province. The African Special Marines supplemented other Portuguese elite units conducting amphibious operations in the riverine areas of Guinea in an attempt to interdict and destroy guerrilla forces and supplies. Guinea-Bissau promulgated its first constitution in 1973 after attaining self-rule from Portugal. 3,000 Portuguese, with air support, were involved but after 65 days were forced to withdraw. Guinea-Bissau War of Independence. By that time almost all of the government troops had defected to the side of rebel forces, which were believed to control approximately 99% of the country. The first major activity of the PAIGC was a strike by dock-workers in Bissau on August 3, 1959. Gomes, who was a medic on the frontlines during the independence war, donated beds to the hospital as part of her campaign. While there had always been local resistance it was not until 1956 the first liberation movement was founded by Amílcar Cabral and Rafael Barbosa, the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC). Many groups were formed on tribal and religious grounds. Millions die or are forced to abandon their homes in search of asylum, he said, emphasizing that “we cannot remain indifferent to so much suffering and despair”. [21] In order to maintain the economy in the liberated territories, the PAIGC was impelled at an early stage to establish its own Marxist administrative and governmental bureaucracy, which organized agricultural production, educated farm workers on protecting crops from destruction from government attacks, and opened collective armazéns do povo (people's stores) to supply urgently needed tools and supplies in exchange for agricultural produce. Guinea-Bissau’s history of political instability, a civil war, and several coups (the latest in 2012) have resulted in a fragile state with a weak economy, high unemployment, rampant corruption, widespread poverty, and thriving drug and child trafficking. The operation involved a daring raid on Conakry, a PAIGC safe haven, in which 220 Portuguese Fuzileiros (amphibious assault troops) and 200 Guinean anti-Ahmed Sékou Touré insurgents attacked the city. Ansumane Mane . On 23 October, Brigadier-General Mané agreed to observe a 48-hour truce to allow Vieira time to clarify his proposals for a negotiated peace settlement and agreement was subsequently reached for direct talks to be held in Banjul, The Gambia. In July, constitutional amendments were introduced that limited the tenure of presidential office to two terms and abolished the death penalty. The next year, Portugal began a new campaign against the guerrillas with the arrival of the new governor of the colony, General António de Spínola. After each round of … The disarmament of rebel troops and those loyal to the president, as provided for under the Abuja accord, began in early March. Guinea-Bissau War of Independence (1963–1974) PAIGC Guinea Cuba Portugal: Stalemate (political victory) Independence of Guinea-Bissau. While Kaabu was ascendant, the Fulani were common victims. Amilcar Cabral: Revolutionary Leadership and People's War, 2002. When civil war broke out in Guinea-Bissau in 19 98, the United States closed its e mbassy and has since managed bilateral relations from the U.S. E mbassy in Dakar, Senegal. As feared the PAIGC used the withdrawal as a PR opportunity with foreign journalists. On 25 August, representatives of the government and the rebels met under the auspices of the CPLP and ECOWAS on Sal Island, Cape Verde, where an agreement was reached to transform the existing truce into a cease-fire. [7], Guinea-Bissau gained independence from Portugal in 1974 after an eleven and a half year long war of independence. On 26 July, following mediation by a delegation from the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP), the government and the rebels agreed to implement a truce. The Guinea-Bissau Civil War was fought from 7 June 1998 to 10 May 1999 and was triggered by an attempted coup d'état against the government of President João Bernardo Vieira led by Brigadier-General Ansumane Mané. In September 2003, a military coup was conducted. The Guinea-Bissau Civil War was fought from 7 June 1998 to 10 May 1999 and was triggered by an attempted coup d'état against the government of President João Bernardo Vieira led by Brigadier-General Ansumane Mané. Resumed May 6, 1999. In general, the PAIGC in Guinea was the best armed, trained, and led of all the guerrilla movements. Warned by the peasants or by their own reconnaissance patrols the PAIGC pulled back, loosely encircled the Portuguese, and launched night attacks to break up the column. By this time, the PAIGC, led by Amílcar Cabral, began openly receiving military support from the Soviet Union, China, and Cuba. At the start of hostilities the Portuguese had only two infantry companies in Guinea Bissau and these concentrated in the main towns giving the insurgents free rein in the countryside. The Fuzileiros Especiais were lightly equipped with folding-stock m/961 (G3) rifles, 37mm rocket launchers, and light machine guns such as the Heckler & Koch HK21 to enhance their mobility in the difficult, swampy terrain. At a tripartite meeting conducted in late May by representatives of the government, the military junta and the political parties, agreement was reached that Vieira should stand trial for his involvement in arms trafficking to the Casamance separatists and for political and economic crimes relating to his terms in office. An army uprising in May 1998 led to the Guinea-Bissau Civil War and the president's ousting in June 1999. The rivers of Guinea and the islands of Cape Verde were among the first areas in Africa explored by the Portuguese in the 15th century. [23], General Spínola's Africanization policy also fostered a large increase in indigenous recruitment into the armed forces, culminating in the establishment of all-black military formations such as the Black Militias (Milícias negras) commanded by Major Carlos Fabião. In 1892, it received the status of autonomous district, becoming again a province in 1896. Guinea-Bissau War of Independence. The long ruling African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) won 24 seats. Government forces, backed by neighbouring states, clashed with the coup leaders who had quickly gained almost total control over the country's armed forces. [11] On 7 June, rebelling troops led by Ansumane Mané seized control of military barracks in Bissau as well as other strategic locations 666 the international airport. Ousting of João Bernardo Vieira. The armed forces deployed reinforcements along the border with Casamance to prevent the separatists from entering the country. The name Guinea remains a source of debate; it is perhaps a corruption of an Amazigh (Berber) word meaning “land of the blacks.” The country also uses the Page 86. The interior was however not fully controlled by the Portuguese until the latter half of the 19th century. 2012 Guinea-Bissau … Vs. Rebel Army troops led by former Army Commander. In January 1998, ten separatists from the Senegalese region of Casamance were killed, and another forty were arrested, following clashes with the armed forcesin two towns on the northern border of Guinea-Bissau. 1980 - Country's first … On 3 December, Francisco Fadul was appointed Prime Minister and later that month Vieira and Mané reached agreement on the allocation of portfolios to the two sides. After the failure of capturing him in 1970 during Operation Green Sea the Portuguese started using agents within the PAIGC to remove Cabral. On April 25, 1974 the Carnation Revolution, a left-wing military led revolution, broke out in Portugal ending the authoritarian dictatorship of Estado Novo. In late 1962 the Portuguese launched an offensive and evicted the PAIGC cadres that had not integrated with the local population. The United Nations passed several resolutions condemning all the Portuguese cross-border attacks in Guinea, like the United Nations Security Council Resolution 290 and United Nations Security Council Resolution 295. Fighting had erupted in Bissau on the previous day when rebel troops seized stockpiles of weapons that had been held at the international airport since the disarmament of the rival forces in March. Page 362. Fighting continued into July, with many members of the Guinea-Bissau armed forces reportedly defecting to the side of the rebels. Military stalemate[15] Guinea-Bissau Civil War (1998–1999) Guinea-Bissau Senegal Guinea: Military rebels: Regime change. Subscribe to our channel http://bit.ly/AJSubscribeGuinea Bissau's military says it has arrested the prime minister after a coup. In 1952, by a constitutional amendment, Portuguese Guinea became again referred as an overseas province, losing the status of "colony". With the coming of independence, the PAIGC moved swiftly to extend its control throughout the country. JOSÉ MÁRIO VAZ, President of Guinea‑Bissau, expressed concern that many conflicts persist around the world and many people continue to suffer the destruction of war. | Omobolaji Olarinmoye", http://www.ucdp.uu.se/gpdatabase/gpcountry.php?id=68®ionSelect=2-Southern_Africa#, "GUINEA BISSAU: Fighting in capital continues", Sudanese conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile, ECOWAS military intervention in the Gambia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Guinea-Bissau_Civil_War&oldid=1015083852, Civil wars involving the states and peoples of Africa, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 30 March 2021, at 15:16. In 1961 PAIGC commenced sabotage operations in Guinea-Bissau. The Cold War comes to Africa, as Guinea gains its independence The former French colony of Guinea declares its independence on October 2, … 13 volunteers infiltrated to the edge of the field and fired into the base, damaging planes on the ground, hangars, and other installations. Page 35. Guerrilla Strategies: An Historical Anthology from the Long March to Afghanistan, 1982. On 20 October, the government imposed a nationwide curfew, and on the following day President Vieira declared a unilateral cease-fire. A total of 7,447 black African soldiers who had served in Portuguese native commando units, security forces, and the armed militia decided not to join the new ruling party and were summarily executed by the PAIGC after Portuguese forces ceased hostilities. Reconnaissance was provided by two bi-groups that infiltrated the area to discover the Portuguese dispositions. At the same time, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1216 which called for both parties to form a government of national unity and hold elections by the end of March 1999. In April, a report was released by the National People's Assembly, which exonerated Mané on charges of trafficking arms to the Casamance rebels. Local employees staff the U.S. Liaison Office in Bissau, and U.S. diplomats from the … They then withdrew with no casualties. Years: 1963-1973 Battle deaths: 15,000 . [17], Portugal granted full independence to Guinea-Bissau on September 10, 1974, after ​11.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px;white-space:nowrap} 1⁄2 years of armed conflict. At this time Portuguese forces also adopted unorthodox means of countering the insurgents, including attacks on the political structure of the nationalist movement. The PAIGC harassed the Portuguese during the rainy season. The Guinea-Bissau War of Independence was an armed independence conflict that took place in Portuguese Guinea between 1963 and 1974. Also called: Guerra do Ultramar/Guerra Colonial. Cyprus, Guinea-Bissau, Israel, Liberia, Palestine, Rwanda, the Somali Region, TimorLeste, Youth - Gangs in Central America (Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador), and has a thematic programme on post conflict constitution-building. On 20 February the new Government of National Unity was announced. Between 1968 and 1972, the Portuguese forces increased their offensive posture, in the form of raids into PAIGC-controlled territory. The PAIGC blew up bridges, cut telegraph lines, destroyed sections of the highways, established arms caches and hideouts, and destroyed Fula villages and minor administrative posts. On 30 January 1998, Guinea-Bissau's defense minister announced the suspension of the Chief of Staff of the armed forces, Brigadier-General Ansumane Mané on the grounds of dereliction of duty in view of the fact that the weapons impounded in the previous month had been taken from a military depot of the Guinea-Bissau armed forces.[10]. The new regime quickly ordered cease-fire and began negotiating with leaders of the PAIGC. DATES OF CONFLICT: BEGAN: June 7 1998--Army rebellion begins. Guinea-Bissau’s army was on Monday asked by a bloc of West African countries to remain neutral in the country’s deepening political struggle. In retaliation Portuguese soldiers and sailors attacked the squadron barracks in the colony's capital Bissau. That month Vieira was permitted to leave Guinea-Bissau to seek medical treatment in France. This included a 'hearts and minds' propaganda campaign designed to win the trust of the indigenous population, an effort to eliminate some of the discriminatory practices against native Guineans, a massive construction campaign for public works including new schools, hospitals, improved telecommunications and road networks, and a large increase in recruitment of native Guineans into the Portuguese armed forces serving in Guinea as part of an Africanisation strategy. Rate: World Rank: 0.00. The jungles of Guinea and the proximity of the PAIGC's allies near the border proved to be of significant advantage in providing tactical superiority during cross-border attacks and resupply missions for the guerrillas. Military conflicts similar to or like. Lords of War (1999)The war in Guinea-Bissau was short, violent and often waged on the civilian population. The Guinea-Bissau Civil War was fought from 7 June 1998 to 10 May 1999 and was triggered by an attempted coup d'état against the government of President João Bernardo Vieira led by Brigadier-General Ansumane Mané. The President of the National People's Assembly, Malam Bacai Sanhá, was appointed acting president of the republic until elections were held. The central PAIGC command were horrified and considered this military “commandism”. [23] By the early 1970s, an increasing percentage of Guineans were serving as noncommissioned or commissioned officers in Portuguese military forces in Africa, including such higher-ranking officers as Captain (later Lt. Defensive operations, where soldiers were dispersed in small numbers to guard critical buildings, farms, or infrastructure were particularly devastating to the regular Portuguese infantry, who became vulnerable to guerrilla attacks outside of populated areas by the forces of the PAIGC. In 1965 the war spread to the eastern part of the country; that same year the PAIGC expanded its attacks in the northern area of the country, where at the time only the Front for the Liberation and Independence of Guinea (FLING), a minor insurgent force, was operating. 0.00. Although the report, which had been due for release in June 1998 when hostilities began, called for the reinstatement of Mané as Chief of Staff of the armed forces, it revealed that President Vieira's presidential guard had been heavily implicated in arms trafficking. while communists supported paigc to tone of 225m and Nato actually worked against portugals war effort despite article 5. there are several far more insightive perpectives not recorded. Image credit Ricci Shryock. It was also agreed that a Government of National Unity would be established to include rebel representatives and that presidential and legislative elections would be held no later than March 1999. A one-party state controlled by the PAIGC and headed by Luís Cabral, half-brother of Amílcar Cabral was established. The scale of this success can be seen in the fact that native Guineans in the 'liberated territories' ceased payment of debts to Portuguese landowners as well as payment of taxes to the colonial administration.[21].