IN response to the military takeover in Gabon that occurred in August, the United States has announced the suspension of most financial aid to the central African country. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller issued a statement on Monday, categorising the event as a military coup d’état and revealing that financial assistance had been temporarily halted since September 26. However, Miller emphasised that all ‘humanitarian, health, and education assistance’ to Gabon will continue without interruption.
The coup in Gabon was instigated by a group of army officers, led by General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, who is the Chief of the Republican Guard. President Ali Bongo was placed under house arrest on August 30, and power was seized by the mutinous soldiers. General Nguema was designated as the president of a committee with the ultimate goal of reinstating civilian governance.
The military’s announcement of the coup on national television occurred immediately after the nation’s election commission declared that Bongo had secured a third term in the gener
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al elections held just days before. Ali Bongo had assumed the presidency in 2009 following the death of his father, Omar Bongo, who had governed the oil-producing nation for an astounding 42 years.
Critics of the Bongo family’s rule have long asserted that they have failed to distribute the country’s oil and mining riches among its 2.3 million citizens.
Judd Devermont, a special assistant to US President Joe Biden, conducted a meeting with General Nguema and military-appointed Prime Minister Raymond Ndong Sima in Libreville, the capital of Gabon, last week. The discussions centred on the path forward for reestablishing democratic governance in Gabon.
While Gabon’s state TV reported General Nguema’s commitment to restoring civilian rule at the end of the transition, he refrained from specifying a timeframe for this transition.
In his statement, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller emphasised the United States’ dedication to supporting Gabon in achieving a timely and enduring transition to democratic civilian governance. He indicated that financial aid would resume in conjunction with tangible actions by the transitional government to establish democratic rule in Gabon. The United States remains committed to the restoration of democratic processes in the nation.
