GABON: ACTIVISTS SAY GOVERNMENT TRUMPED UP

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LIBREVILLE 000038

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 1/25/2019
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL SENV SOCI GB
SUBJECT: GABON: ACTIVISTS SAY GOVERNMENT TRUMPED UP
CHARGES AGAINST THEM

REF: A. LIBREVILLE 0016

B. 08 LIBREVILLE 0574

Classified By: DCM Nathan Holt for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

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Summary
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1. (C) The Ambassador met January 16 with two Gabonese NGO
leaders under investigation for an alleged plot to undermine
state security. Marc Ona and Georges Mpaga, arrested on New
Year's Eve, were released January 12 but are still subject to
a lengthy investigation and trial. Neither is free to travel
outside Gabon. Both said the charges against them were
ludicrous, the handiwork of Minister of Defense Ali Bongo
(the president's son) and other senior officials. They also
claimed that prison conditions are terrible, a contention
borne out by an apparently unrelated prison riot that
occurred shortly after their release and left three people
dead (septel). The Ambassador told the two leaders that we
are concerned about this case and have urged the government
to guarantee their physical safety, carry out a transparent
investigation and, if warranted, a fair and speedy trial. We
assured the NGO leaders that we would continue to speak out
privately and publicly about the important role of NGOs and
civil society in any democracy. The Ambassador did so most
recently at a well-attended January 20 reception marking
Martin Luther King's birthday and the peaceful democratic
transition of executive power in the United States. End
Summary.

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"Ridiculous" Charges
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2. (C) Newly released detainees Marc Ona and George Mpaga
told the Ambassador January 16 that the charges against them
are "ridiculous". Accused by Gabon's interior minister of
plotting to destabilize the nation at the behest of foreign
organizations, Ona scoffed. "Our work is not intended to
take power," he claimed. "We are not people who want to be
ministers."


3. (C) But the government claims to have proof, the
Ambassador pressed. Had they not, as the government asserts,
accepted foreign funds for illegal or at least questionable
purposes? "Honestly, the minister can't present any
evidence," Ona replied. "If he could he would go on
television and say, 'here's the check.'" Ona also said that
government agents, including Minister of Interior Andre Mba
Obame, had at different times claimed that expatriate
volunteers working with Ona's Brainforest NGO were
"mercenaries". Government agents had also trailed
Brainforest workers in the interior of Gabon, Ona said,
"suspecting that we have hidden arms" and accusing the
organization of inspiring the minority Baka or Pygmie
population to revolt.


4. (C) The charges are serious, the activists emphasized,
and they face the prospect of a lengthy judicial inquest and
possible trial. In the meantime, neither is free to travel
outside Gabon--though both have been able to retain their
passports. "If we must go back to prison we will go back,"
Ona said. And even outside of prison "we know we are in
permanent danger." Ona said that his wife "gets menacing
phone calls at night," and that while he is strong, she is
"fragile". Mpaga also reported suspicious phone calls and
difficulties for his family.

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Who's Behind It and Why
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5. (C) NGOs are targeted because they have independent
external sources of funding, Ona claimed. "We are the only
free organizations in this society," Mpaga argued. "The
others have all been bought." Although the activists remain
puzzled over which of their specific activities led to the
arrests, both blame Minister of Defense Ali Bongo and his
political ally, Minister of Interior Andre Mba Obame for the
crackdown.


6. (C) Anti-corruption organizations must be free to
complain about corruption, Ona emphasized. As a civil
society representative on the national committee for the
implementation of the Extractive Industries Transparency
Initiative (EITI) he must do more than simply "issue
reports." He must also comment on the conditions that give
rise to corruption and the systems that permit it to
flourish.


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7. (C) Ona nevertheless admitted that just before his
arrest, he and his allies were planning a press conference in
Libreville to distribute a hard-hitting "open letter" drafted
by France-based antigovernment activist Bruno Ben-Moubamba.
The letter details many instances of alleged corruption by
President El Hadjj Omar Bongo Ondimba and his family and
demands "accountability" from the president for 40 years of
misrule. Gabon is a mockery in French-speaking Africa, the
letter continues, and Gabonese citizens are no longer willing
to live a condition of fear and lies. Having treated Gabon
as his personal property, President Bongo now wishes to
impose one of his "descendants", an "eminent member" of the
system Bongo created, as successor. Minister of Defense Ali
Bongo now has a senior post in the ruling Gabonese Democratic
Party (PDG),the letter continues, where he is able to make
preparations in the case of a vacancy of state power. The
recent reshuffle of Gabon's military leadership (Ref. B)
provide final evidence that the president's descendants had
seized all levers of "economic, military and political"
power. The government's crackdown, Ona said, had only drawn
more attention to the open letter, which is widely accessible
through internet.

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Deplorable Prison Conditions
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8. (C) Ona and Mpaga said they had been held in deplorable
conditions during their 13 days of incarceration. They were
not singled out for harsh treatment, they said; rather all
prisoners face the same difficulties. Cells were filthy and
crowded, they said, and prisoners had to rely on family
members for mattresses, necessary medicines and supplemental
food. Beatings, rapes and pedophilia are common in Gabonese
prisons and jails, they claimed. Many prisoners languish for
years awaiting trial. Ona said he hoped to start a new NGO
to press for amelioration of prison conditions. Shortly
after their release, an uprising at Libreville's Central
Prison left three prisoners dead (septel).

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Embassy Response
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9. (C) The Ambassador emphasized that NGOs in every
democratic society have the right to criticize government,
and the obligation to do so responsibly. She told the
activists that we remain concerned about the case and have
urged the government to guarantee their physical safety,
carry out a transparent investigation and, if warranted,
provide them a fair and speedy trial. At the activists'
request, we also promised to establish contact with their
lawyers. Ona noted that the government would soon learn of
our meeting, and said no other diplomatic mission in
Libreville had so far sought a similar opportunity to debrief
the former detainees. At a January 20 reception celebrating
Martin Luther King's birthday and the peaceful and democratic
change of power in the United States, the Ambassador again
emphasized the importance of citizen and NGO activism to a
crowd that included senior government ministers and military
officials.

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Comment
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10. (C) Marc Ona and his close associates are all-purpose
social activists, with preoccupations that extend
significantly beyond the pro-environment, anti-corruption
work for which they receive significant external funding.
They do not emphasize, but also do not conceal, the breadth
of their activities in dialogue with foreign diplomats and
other international representatives. Their assertion that
the government has concocted a case against them is
nevertheless credible. Unless and until the government comes
forward with more persuasive evidence, we will continue to
view this as a case of unjustified political prosecution and
respond appropriately. End Comment.
REDDICK