“Must make noise” – Putsch in Gabon: President calls “friends” for help

In the undated excerpt released to online media (above), Bongo says in English, “I’m sending a message to all my friends in the world telling them to make some noise”. He and his family were arrested, the 64-year-old says in the video. “My son is somewhere, my wife is somewhere else, and I’m in the residence and nothing is happening, I don’t know what’s going on.” “I urge you to make noise,” Bongo repeats three times. The AFP news agency was initially unable to determine where and when the video was shot.

Son arrested for “high treason”.
The putschists had previously said in television language that Bongo was under house arrest and with his family and doctors. One of his sons had been arrested for “high treason,” the coup leaders said. Initially, it was not disclosed where Bongo and his family were being held. The presidential family ruled Gabon for 56 years.

The military had previously announced the “end of the current regime” and stated that they would cancel last weekend’s presidential and parliamentary elections and dissolve “all institutions of the republic”. They justified the coup with President Bongo’s “irresponsible, unpredictable governance,” which has led to a “continuous decline in social cohesion” that threatens to plunge the country “into chaos.” They said they were speaking on behalf of the Commission on Transition and Institutional Recovery. The coup plotters included members of the Republican Guard, an elite presidential unit, as well as regular army soldiers and police officers.

Cheering on military coup
Shortly after the televised speech, shots were heard briefly in the capital Libreville. Hundreds of people gathered in different neighborhoods of the capital and other cities, honked and shouted: “Gabon is liberated!” and “Bongo out!” The internet was accessible again after being blocked for several days in the wake of Wednesday’s election. In the oil-rich country, which is also a member of the OPEC oil cartel, about 2.3 million people live on three times the area of ​​Austria.

The military coup is the latest in a series of coups in Africa:

‘Will increase instability’
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell was concerned by news of another coup in Africa soon. “If confirmed, it will be another military coup that will increase instability in the region,” he stressed Wednesday on the sidelines of the EU’s informal council of defense ministers in Toledo, Spain. “This is a big problem for Europe,” Borrell stressed. “This is a very difficult situation and ministers need to think carefully about what is happening there and how we can improve our policies towards these countries.”

The former colonial power France condemned the coup. Paris reiterated its wish that the results of last weekend’s elections in Gabon “can be respected as soon as they are known,” government spokesman Olivier Véran said on Wednesday. French Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne said events are closely monitored.

Moscow ‘deeply concerned’
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Weibin called on “all parties” in Gabon to resolve conflicts peacefully, restore order and ensure the safety of President Bongo. Russia was also “deeply concerned” about the coup in Gabon. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in Moscow that Russia is “closely following what is happening there”.

The government in Gabon was initially unavailable for comment. Presidential and parliamentary elections were held in the country on Saturday. Only a short time before, the Election Commission had declared the long-serving head of state Bongo the winner of the presidential election. According to official information, the president received 64.27 percent of the vote.

allegations of electoral fraud
Saturday’s elections were overshadowed by allegations of fraud and irregularities. According to opposition reports, polling stations opened too late or not at all, and ballots bearing the name of Bongo challenger Albert Ondo Ossa were missing from many offices. Ondo Ossa accused Bongo of “fraud” and proclaimed himself the rightful winner of the election. The Bongo government imposed a nationwide curfew before polling stations closed and restricted internet access to stop the spread of “misinformation” and incitement to violence.

Bongo replaced his late father Omar Bongo Ondimba in 2009, who had ruled the country since 1967. Bongo won a first re-election in 2016 with only about 5,000 votes against the diplomat and politician Jean Ping. He was also charged with manipulation at the time. As a result, serious riots broke out. In January 2019, Bongo attempted a coup after suffering a stroke during a long stay abroad, but it was immediately crushed.

The Bongo family lives in luxury
The Bongo family has long been accused of corruption. She is reportedly one of the richest families in the world, owns a private fleet of airplanes, several luxury cars and is said to own dozens of properties in France worth millions of euros, according to the non-governmental organization Transparency International.