DEMOCRACY NOW
VIDEO/Democracy Now/Youtube
Military leaders in Gabon seized power on Wednesday shortly after reigning President Ali Bongo had been named the winner of last week’s contested election. Bongo and his family have led the country for close to 60 years, during which they have been accused of enriching themselves at the expense of the country. The military junta announced General Brice Oligui Nguema would serve as transitional leader in what is the latest military coup in a former French colony, joining recent power shifts in Niger, Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso and Chad. “The independence of Gabon has never been real,” says Thomas Deltombe, French journalist and expert on the French African empire. “I think we might be witnessing a second independence, a new decolonization process.” We also speak with Daniel Mengara, a professor of French and Francophone studies and founder of the exiled opposition movement Bongo Must Leave, which he continues to head. “This is a rare opportunity for the Gabonese people to engage in national dialogue,” says Mengara, who warns that the intentions of the coup leaders are still unclear.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: We begin today’s show in the Central African country of Gabon, where military leaders seized power on Wednesday from President Ali Bongo, whose family had ruled the oil-rich former French colony for more than 50 years. The coup occurred shortly after Bongo had been named the winner of Saturday’s contested election. The military junta has announced General Brice Oligui Nguema would serve as transitional leader.
COL. ULRICH MANFOUMBI MANFOUMBI: [translated] All of the commanders-in-chief and chiefs of staff, as well as the generals in the second section of the Gabonese Republic, were present for the meeting. General Brice Oligui Nguema was unanimously appointed chairman of the committee for the transition and restoration of institutions, president of the transition.
AMY GOODMAN: President Ali Bongo remains under house arrest. He pleaded for help in a video that aired Wednesday.
ALI BONGO ONDIMBA: I’m Ali Bongo Ondimba, president of Gabon. And I am to send a message to all the friends that we have all over the world to tell them to make noise, to make noise, for the people here have arrested me and my family. My son is somewhere, my wife is another place, and I’m at the residence. Right now I’m in the residence and nothing happening. Nothing is happening. I don’t know what’s — what’s going on. So, I’m calling you to make noise, to make noise, to make noise, really.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: Ali Bongo and his family have long been accused of enriching themselves at the expense of the country. The ousted president’s father, Omar Bongo, ruled Gabon from 1967 to his death in 2009, when Ali Bongo was elected to his first term. In 2007, a probe by French police revealed the Bongo family had 39 properties in France and 70 bank accounts. Both Omar and Ali Bongo were close allies to France and the United States. Ali Bongo met with President Biden at the White House last year.
The coup in Gabon comes just weeks after a military coup in Niger, another former French colony. In recent years, there have also been coups in Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso and Chad. On Wednesday, the United Nations and the African Union condemned the coup.
AMY GOODMAN: We’re joined now by two guests. Joining us from France is Thomas Deltombe. He’s a French journalist and essayist. He edited a book titled A History of Françafrique: The Empire That Does Not Want to Die. That’s the title translated from French. In New York, Daniel Mengara joins us, professor of French and Francophone studies in the Department of World Languages and Cultures at Montclair State University. He’s the author of Gabon in Danger, the title translated from the French. In 1998, Mengara created the exiled opposition movement Bongo Must Leave, which he continues to lead.
We welcome you both to Democracy Now! Daniel Mengara, we thank you so much for being with us. We’re going to begin with you. Can you explain what has just taken place in your country?
DANIEL MENGARA: Well, first of all, thank you for having me.
Now, I think that I heard in your segments that the international community was condemning what was going on in Gabon, especially the U.N. and the African Union. I’m actually surprised, because I believe these are the types of coups that actually must be supported, because they’re undoing what I might call the rape of a nation.
Gabon has been ruled for 56 years by the same family and the same regime. I don’t know if people can imagine the scope of what we’re talking about here. Omar Bongo came to power in 1967. He ruled for 42 years. And when he died in 2009, his son took over and has now ruled for 14 years. What that means is that Gabon is today one of only two republics — and I mean non-monarchical republics — to have been ruled for 56 years by the same family and the same regime. And for Americans who are listening here today, 56 years is equal to nine American presidents under Omar Bongo from 1963, Lyndon Johnson, to Barack Obama.
And so, the Bongo family has ruled without regard for democracy. All the elections in Gabon have been stolen. And I think that the coup is actually a restitutive coup, in a sense that it’s actually restituting today Gabonese nation a voice, a voice that will allow them now, perhaps, through dialogue, to rebuild, after 56 years of what I might call a disaster.
And so, I tend to believe that we should support the coup leaders in Gabon. This is the type of coup that we should support, because it is the result of — it is, in fact, a reaction to the fact that, once more, Ali Bongo, the Bongo family, tried to steal an election. And for once in Gabonese history, well, the military stepped in and have now allowed for the possibility of democratic change in Gabon, if we’re able to negotiate a peaceful resolution to the crisis.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: Well, Daniel Mengara, you’ve said that the coup should be supported by the international community, and we’ve seen some footage of people in Libreville, the capital, celebrating the coup. But if you could explain, you know, who is behind the coup, what kind of relationship did the Gabonese military have with Bongo, and the fact that there was already an attempted coup in 2019? What happened then?