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| Africa Subsaharan |
| Coup in Gabon: a new blow to 'French Africa' or family strife |
| 2023-09-01 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Viktor Vasiliev The "Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions" (CTRI) announced the appointment of Bris Oligui Nguema, Commander of the Republican Guard of Gabon, as its head . Only in the morning, his name was chanted by the guards immediately after a successful coup, and just yesterday, an unknown military man, already on Wednesday afternoon, becomes the leader of an OPEC + member country that produces about 15 thousand barrels of oil per day. Hours before, ousted President Ali Bongo himself appeared on video and urged his "friends" to "make a fuss" to prevent" what's going on in the country". He looked visibly confused. If successful, the Gabon coup attempt would be the eighth military coup in Africa in the past three years. Along with coups in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. But there is a fundamental difference in the motives and causes of political revolutions in Gabon in comparison with the states of the Sahel zone. In recent years, military coups have taken place against the background of the inability of the authorities to cope with the jihadist threat and against the backdrop of anti-French sentiment. Gabon is not threatened by terrorism, and it is one of the most developed and stable states of the Black Continent. And despite the fact that Gabon was and remains one of the pearls of the Francafrique system and the traditional zone of influence and presence of Paris, neither the French Foreign Ministry, nor any other of the major Western powers or neighboring states made harsh statements and did not apply militant rhetoric against the putschists, as was the case, for example, with Niger. International reaction Let's analyze this fact in more detail, because it contains an understanding of what happened on Wednesday in Gabon can lead to. UN Secretary-General António Guterres was the latest high-profile party to "strongly" condemn the Gabon coup d'état on Wednesday. Guterres is following the situation in Gabon "closely" and notes with "deep concern the announcement of election results amid reports of serious violations of fundamental freedoms". "He strongly condemns the ongoing coup attempt as a means of resolving the post-election crisis," UN resources say. The rest of the parties, interested in this or that development of the situation in Gabon, spoke in a surprisingly similar way. "France condemns the military coup that is taking place in Gabon ," government spokesman Olivier Véran said, confirming that Paris was " closely following the development of the situation." China has urged "stakeholders" in Gabon to "guarantee the security" of ousted President Ali Bongo. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Washington was "watching the situation closely" and assured diplomatic personnel and US soldiers stationed in Gabon were safe. He believes that the string of coups d'état in Africa in recent years is "deeply troubling" but believes it is "too early" to speak of it as a "trend". Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he was "deeply concerned" and was "closely" following the situation in Gabon. King Mohammed VI of Morocco, who is a childhood friend of Ali Bongo," emphasizes the importance of maintaining the stability of the brotherly country and the tranquility of its population" and "believes in the wisdom of the Gabonese nation". Quite reasonable statements. So far, there is not even a hint of sanctions against the new military authorities of Gabon, and even more so the threat of armed intervention. The Economic Community of Central African Countries (ECCAS), which is an analogue of ECOWAS in Central Africa and which could take certain steps against the putschists, today did not even react in any way to the events in Gabon. It was not until late Wednesday that the Chadian Foreign Ministry called for a return to constitutional order and initiated a general meeting of the ECCAS countries, which may take place in the coming days. All this speaks in favor of the fact that the military coup is likely to maintain the current status quo - the interests of foreign players in Gabon will be preserved. This, among other things, was stated in the first statement of high-ranking military officers, which was played from early morning and all day on national television. But how is this possible? Bongo clan And here we return to the personality of Bris Oligui Nguema. But even before that, to the personality of the most legendary Omar Bongo, the founder of the ruling Bongo dynasty and the entire numerous Bongo clan. From 1967 to 2009, Omar Bongo managed to maintain control over the country, turning Gabon into one of the most stable, but at the same time closed and authoritarian states on the African continent. Omar Bongo wrote the book “White as a Negro”, famous in Africa, on the basis of which he derived a national idea designed to unite the Gabonese, who represent 42 different ethnic groups. The main thesis of the ideology of Bongo: "Bantu civilization" came out of Ancient Egypt. That is why the Gabonese are the same white, only they became black in skin color due to the changed natural conditions after they left Ancient Egypt. After the death of Omar Bongo, his son Ali took over the government of the country and continued the family tradition, although with less approval from the opposition, but more importantly, not all members of the clan agreed with his new role as ruler. According to various sources, Omar Bongo had from 30 to 53 children from different women. Three times he was officially married. All of his children also have their own relatives on the maternal side, including influential ones. Numerous children also appeared and grew up. That is, the clan became very numerous and began to be segmented into groups competing with each other. What remains unchanged in this system is that all members of the clan, even in the case of a formal "disgrace", retain access to the distribution of material wealth and official positions in the country. For example, until 2019, the Gabon intelligence service was headed by Frederic Bongo Ondimba . The National Agency for Digital Infrastructure and Radio Frequencies is headed by Alex Bongo Ondimba . Arthur Bongo was Ali Bongo's personal jet pilot, then manager of DGA Air Services, then manager of the state telephone company. His wife, Virginia, runs BGFI, whose shareholders include President Ali Bongo and his sister Pascaline. And so on, ad infinitum. Among the numerous descendants of Omar Bongo and the various groups of the clan, Sylvia Valentin , a French businessman who worked in Africa, deserves special mention. After her marriage to Omar Bongo's son in 1989, Ali's mother-in-law Evelyn Valentin received the position of President Omar Bongo's secretary. Sylvia also took the position of Deputy Director of Marketing and Economic Development in the largest Gabonese real estate agency Gabon Immobilier. Also a year after the wedding, she opened the management company Alliance. Having become the first lady of Gabon, Sylvia Valentin Bongo Ondimba created a charitable foundation, the activities of which are constantly reported by the local press. The first Gabon couple has four children. The eldest son of Ali and Silvia Noureddine Bongo Valentin was appointed in December 2019 to the position of chief coordinator of presidential affairs. Let us now return to the personality of General Bris Oligui Nguema, who was declared interim president and began his reign with an order to restore the broadcasting of international radio and television channels that turned out to be French. And their broadcast was banned due to a "biased and biased position" in the course of coverage of the electoral process, according to Ali Bongo's administration. Let's start with the fact that Bris Oligui Nguema comes from the province of Haute-Ogüé, the cradle of the Bongo family. He owes his career to General Andre Oyini, who was actually an adjutant to the late Omar Bongo. Also seen in the ranks of the "Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions" (CTRI), which made a statement early Wednesday morning, Aimé-Vivian Oyini, the son of the late General André Oyini , is currently acting as Chief of Staff of the Republican Army. Further, in the biography of a promising soldier, there comes a moment of cool relations with his son Ali Bongo, who replaced Omar Bongo. During this period, Nguema's diplomatic work abroad falls precisely. He manages to return in 2019, at the initiative of Bris Lakkrush Alikhanga, whom he knew from childhood and who was Ali Bongo's chief of staff at the time. All of them, Bris Oligui Nguema, Aime-Vivian Oyini and Bris Lakkrush Alihangi, are in turn close to Nureddin Bongo-Valentin and Ali Bongo's first wife, Silvia Bongo. In fact, we are talking about a palace revolution of one branch of the family against another. Ethnic factor There remains the ethnic factor, which is traditionally of great importance in Africa. In the case of Gabon, it also matters, but is not decisive. Africa's New Ideology: Against LGBT, Against Covid, Against Colonialism The Bongo family belongs to the Bateke people. This is about 30% of the country's population. While the majority of the country's population is made up of the Fang ethnic group, about 40%. The Fangs traditionally gravitate towards the opposition. Obviously, the Batek maintain a privileged position in society only if the Bongo clan remains in power. The military elite is a little more than completely made up of the same ethnic group. Any other scenario can result in an open confrontation of approximately equal forces. In addition, since Gabon is the most modern and developed society, ethnic contradictions at the moment are no longer so pronounced. In addition, according to rumors, Bris Oligui Nguema is of mixed origin (Bateke and Fang), and for this reason, the political opposition also supported him. But the determining factor is still kinship and membership in one of the groups of the Bongo clan, which entered into an agreement with the military elite through the young general. |
| Posted by:badanov |