HIGHLIGHT: Book Presentation: Lamine Kamara: Ethnies, Partis Politiques et Cohésion Nationale: sur les Chemins de la Réconciliation Nationale en Guinée (L’Harmattan-Guinée, 2021)

This informative essay on the ethnic and political situation prevailing in Guinea-Conakry was launched at the West African Research Center (WARC) on Friday, June 18^th, 2021 with a panel including Professor Amadou Ly, Department of Francophone Studies, UCAD, Professor Abdoulaye Elimane Kane, Philosophy, UCAD and Mr Pape Kane from the Open Society in West Africa (Osiwa).

The author’s rich biography, a former government minister, ambassador, novelist and essayist, was presented to the audience by Professor Amadou Ly who subsequently gave the floor to Professor Abdoulaye E. Kane who made insightful developments on the political history of Guinea from the early days of independence to the present, insisting on the intricate power play among political leaders most of the time identified with their ethnic groups and origins.

The next speaker, Mr. Pape Kane from Osiwa, analyzed the book from a human rights perspective and underscored the multiple abuses a number of ethnic groups have been faced with in Guinea from the very early days of independence to nowadays.

All of the speakers agreed to the fact that the essay under scrutiny is an excellent resource for researchers interested in the ethnic divide in african politics but they also recognized that the author, Lamine Kamara, underscored the many initiatives made in the past and currently being conducted for further national cohesion and unity in Guinea.

The event registered the physical presence and participation of 21 people in the WARC conference room as well as 18 viewers who followed the debate on Zoom.