Government News: Top Stories

Gabon troops outside stadium as unrest continues
by Joel Bouopda Tatou and Rukmini Callimachi

The Associated Press Translate This Article
5 September 2009

LIBREVILLE, Gabon (AP) - Hundreds of soldiers deployed around Gabon's soccer stadium for a World Cup qualifier Saturday the country's new president was expected to attend as postelection violence continued for a third straight day.

Armed security forces set up a perimeter around the stadium, and fans for the match against Cameroon were warned they would only be allowed inside if they had bought a ticket the day before.

On Friday, the country's constitutional court declared Ali Bongo the winner of last weekend's divisive presidential race. The country's top three opposition leaders who say the election was rigged have all gone into hiding, claiming that security forces are trying to kill them.

Ali Bongo is the eldest son of Omar Bongo, the country's late dictator who ruled for 41 years until his death in June. The special election was called to replace the late president, and many had hoped that it would mark the country's first chance at democracy.

The country's No. 2 city Port Gentil, the hub of Gabon's oil industry, devolved into chaos, with angry protesters torching a police station, a market and the French Consulate over the past few days.

French oil company Total said it evacuated employees and their families from Port Gentil to the capital, Libreville, amid spiraling violence. One of Total's facilities was torched overnight, said Dianney Madztou, the editor-in-chief of local TV station Top Bendje who saw the smoldering rubble.

Total spokeswoman Phenelope Semavoine said only a minimal number of employees had remained in the coastal oil hub. She called the withdrawal temporary and said Total had no plans to pull its employees out of the African country altogether.

Looters continued to attack shops overnight in Port Gentil and at least two people have been killed during sporadic shooting since Thursday, the day the election results were first announced, said Madztou, who saw both bodies.

The shooting, he said, was especially intense in the early hours of Saturday, apparently as security forces were flown in from the capital.

The 50-year-old Ali Bongo is seen by many as a usurper of power. He was nicknamed 'Baby Zeus' when he was a child because of his heir apparent status. The elder Bongo was viewed by many as the father of the nation and although he amassed a stunning fortune, including 66 private bank accounts and over 45 homes in the names of his immediate family, he was mostly tolerated and seen as a vestige from another era, when Africa was ruled by autocrats.

But even mourners that came to place wreaths of flowers at the feet of Bongo's coffin in June said they would not accept a monarchy in Gabon. When election results were first announced Thursday, the opposition immediately denounced them as a fraudulent farce. There appeared to be no large victory celebrations in Libreville for Ali Bongo.

___

Rukmini Callimachi reported from Dakar, Senegal.

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Global Good News comment:

For Maharishi's Vedic Approach to solving the problems of today's news, please visit:
http://maharishi-programmes.globalgoodnews.com

For information about Maharishi's seven-point programme to create a healthy, happy, prosperous society, and a peaceful world, please visit: Global Financial Capital of New York

Translation software is not perfect; however if you would like to try it, you can translate this page using:

(Google)
(Altavista babelfish)