New Hope in Guinea, a Land That Hope Forgot

When Col. Lansana Conte seized power in Guinea five years ago, he vowed to restore law and order to a nation that had endured nearly three decades of nightmarish repression, purges and bloodshed.
It was a promise that few believed. Colonel Conte, after all, had been the highest-ranking military officer during the final years of President Sekou Toure's tyrannical 26-year leadership. Cynics grumbled that the new President was probably deeply involved in many of the horrors he, by then, professed to abhor.
But now, many of those critics are being won over. After years in which Guinea was a Soviet-aligned, one-party state, President Conte is working to tranform it into that rarest of African political systems - a multiparty democracy.
That hope was raised by an announcement last month that the military leaders would permit new, competing parties to form. What is more, the President promised a new constitution, regular elections, an independent judiciary and a bill of rights, and he held out the prospect of having his own military rule replaced by a civilian government. A 'Guarantee' Against Coups
In a recent speech, he said he could ''guarantee'' that there would be ''no coups'' during a five-year transition to constitutional rule. The military, said the since-promoted General Conte, would ''do everything so that Guinea is not like other nations. We won't cling to power.''
But an African envoy here sounded a cautionary note: ''If he pulls it off, it'll be the political miracle of the decade. And most of us are praying that he can do it.''
Almost three decades after the wave of decolonization, 38 of 45 nations south of the Sahara have single- or no-party systems, and more than half are led by soldiers. Only five govern themselves under systems of majority rule: Senegal, Gambia, Botswana, Madagascar and Mauritius.
While offering political changes, President Conte has embarked on an ambitious program of economic rehabilitation that follows the free-market requirements of the World Bank. State-run collective farms have been eliminated, and producer prices have been allowed to rise. The national currency, the sylis, was devalued to about 7 percent of its former level, bringing it closer to the black-market exchange rate.
And, by laying off about 30,000 civil servants, the Government has started to convert budget deficits into surpluses. The gross domestic product grew by about 5 percent last year.
Foreign donors, impressed by the economic and political turnaround, have responded with an outpouring of aid: $286 million in commitments in 1988, roughly double the level of 1984.
''They're almost to where they started in 1958, and that's real progress in this context,'' a European diplomat here said.
Indeed, 1958 is an important date in the mythology that has shaped Guinea's self-image, the touchstone against which everything is measured. In that year, Guineans overwhelmingly rejected President Charles de Gaulle's proposal for self-government under a system that retained association with France, instead choosing full independence. By most accounts, it is also the year that Guinea's problems began.
The French, affronted by Mr. Toure's demand for immediate independence, determined to make Guinea an example to other colonies. Within days, all 4,000 French colonial administrators and technicians were pulled out. As they departed, they took with them everything they could carry or ship.
In response, Mr. Toure relied more and more on speechmaking to fill the gaps. At first, he sought help from Western countries other than France, but when this aid dried up, he turned to the Soviet Union.
Although the Guinean leader said he was leading the country toward self-reliance, his rule turned increasingly ruthless.
By the 1970's, Guinea was pervaded by repression and xenophobia. Some estimates say that about a third of the country's population of more than six million fled to exile in neighboring West African countries.
Today, the most visible legacy of Mr. Toure's ''revolution'' is this drab city of rutted and potholed streets, overgrown lawns and peeling paint. Electrical power regularly fails, and medicine is in short supply. The wreckage of abandoned cars and trucks gives much of the city the appearance of a vast junkyard.
Even in the business district, children roam naked, their bellies bloated from hunger - a sight more usually seen in rural Africa.
Still, the word commonly heard here is ''potential.'' The country has the world's largest bauxite deposits, as well as iron ore, uranium, gold and diamonds - although three decades after independence, most of these assets remain undeveloped. What Is Promised
The political agenda calls for the completion of a new constitution by next spring. This is to be followed by the formation of two political parties, and perhaps some time in 1994, presidential elections. President Conte has yet to indicate his intentions, but most people here expect him to run.
While enthusiasm runs high, there are many doubts about how far change can go in this poor country.
Even so, the exhilaration many Guineans feel about the moves toward free elections is clear. ''We lived for 26 years under the most awful dictatorship,'' said Thierno Djibi Thiam, a Government adviser. ''We learned the hard way what a one-party system means, and we know that it doesn't work here.''