Wayzata World Factbook 1996/The World Factbook - 1996 Edition - Wayzata Technology (3079) (1996).iso/pc/text/humanrts/gabon.txt

Text File | 1996-01-04 | 29KB | 570 lines

TITLE:  GABON HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES, 1994
AUTHOR:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DATE:  FEBRUARY 1995

                             GABON


In December 1993, Gabon held its first contested presidential
election since 1964.  The election was marred by serious
irregularities, including a secret vote count that excluded all
but government observers.  It resulted in the reelection of
incumbent President Omar Bongo, who has ruled the country since
1967.  Immediately following announcement of the results, a
group of opposition candidates filed suit in the Constitutional
Court to have the election declared invalid.  Second-place
candidate Paul Mba Abessole declared himself president and
established a "parallel government."  In January the
Constitutional Court rejected the opposition candidates' suit,
in part because many had accepted posts in Abessole's
unconstitutional "government."  Although Bongo ostensibly
disassociated himself from the former single ruling party (the
Gabonese Democratic Party, or PDG, which he had formed in 1968)
and had run as an independent, the PDG still provides the bulk
of his support.  It retains a majority in the National Assembly
and provides most of the members of the Cabinet.  On October 7
Government and opposition leaders signed an agreement in
Libreville, known as the "Paris Accords," to allow opposition
members to join the Government, and establish an independent
National Electoral Commission.  The new Government formed in
November with 6 opposition leaders among 27 cabinet ministers.

A gendarmerie and a police force normally maintain public
security.  In 1994, however, the Government used the elite and
heavily armed Presidential Guard on several occasions to
restore and enforce public order.  It was responsible for
numerous human rights abuses.

Although a one-party state until 1990, Gabon has adhered to
strongly capitalist economic policies and welcomes foreign
investment.  Thanks to petroleum reserves and a population of
only 1.2 million, it has a per capita income of more than
$3,500 per year.  Nevertheless, corruption, financial
mismanagement, the precipitous decline in petroleum prices, and
neglect of the agricultural sector have forced the Government
to adopt austerity measures.  The 14-member Communaute
Financiere Africaine, of which Gabon is a member, agreed in
January to devalue its currency, the CFA franc, by 50 percent,
to 100 CFA to 1 French franc.  The resulting economic
uncertainty led to numerous strikes and demonstrations in the
first half of the year, some of which became violent.

The controversy attending the presidential elections and
reactions to the CFA devaluation led to clashes between
security forces and supporters of opposition parties during
February and again in March.  Security forces were directly
implicated in the killings of at least 15 Gabonese and 70
foreign nationals (according to official figures) and were
responsible for destroying an opposition radio station and the
residence of opposition leader Abessole.  The Government
briefly held numerous persons without charge.  Opposition
supporters also engaged in politically motivated violence.
From the beginning of the year until April 10, the Government
imposed a "state of alert" which curtailed numerous individual
rights and freedoms and granted security forces extralegal
powers.  Other longstanding human rights abuses included
security forces' mistreatment of detainees, abysmal prison
conditions, societal discrimination and violence against women.

RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

Section 1  Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including
           Freedom from:

     a.  Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing

Government authorities were responsible for many confirmed
extrajudicial killings.  In February, between 67 and 102
prisoners died while in detention in Libreville.  After
detaining at least 300 West Africans who were attempting to
enter Gabon illegally, gendarmes beat many, then forced the
entire group into four prison cells meant to hold 12 persons
each.  The Government first attributed the deaths to a prison
brawl, and claimed that 67 adult males had died.  However, both
police sources and human rights groups put the number at 102,
including 15 women and children, and survivors themselves
reported that no brawl had occurred.  Reportedly, foreigners
died of suffocation, dehydration, and in some cases of injuries
sustained during beatings.  The Government claimed that a full
investigation was underway, but by year's end it had issued no
report.

During political clashes in late February, security forces
acknowledged responsibility for the deaths of seven Gabonese
citizens and blamed demonstrators for killing two gendarmes.
Family members confirmed that security forces beat Francois
D'Assisses Obiang-Ebe to death at his home in the northern town
of Oyem.  Witnesses also confirmed that Presidential Guard
forces killed Antoine Mba Ndong, an Abessole bodyguard, when
they attempted to arrest the candidate.

Unofficial sources reported that as many as 35 died during
confrontations, including 8 members of the security forces.
In the northern town of Oyem, an anti-government demonstration
turned violent when a member of the security forces shot and
killed a demonstrator.  In Libreville, opposition party
supporters were responsible for publicly beating to death PDG
party member Kamga Komo.  By year's end, the Government had
announced no results of any investigation and had not arrested
suspects in any of these cases.

In December 1993, a soldier of the Presidential Guard detained
and publicly shot a demonstrator.  The Government has still
issued no official report, nor has it revealed the name of the
soldier whom it allegedly arrested.

     b.  Disappearance

There were no confirmed disappearances or abductions ascribed
to government security forces or any other group.

     c.  Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading
         Treatment or Punishment

The Constitution prohibits the use of torture and inhuman or
extreme punishment.  However, security forces regularly beat
prisoners and detainees and humiliated male detainees by
publicly stripping them and shaving their heads.  Security
forces employed other forms of torture to exact confessions.
Eyewitnesses reported seeing prisoners tied to chairs, doused
with ice water, or made to crawl on their stomachs over gravel
or sun-baked asphalt.  There were other credible reports of
security forces exacting confessions by beating the soles of
prisoners' feet or by bending or twisting fingers.  Numerous
persons--including opposition party leaders and opposition
journalists--detained in connection with politically motivated
violence in February and March alleged beatings, torture, and
other humiliating treatment during detention (see Section
l.d.).  One journalist at the opposition-controlled Radio
Liberte, Nang-Veca Bryce, attracted international attention
when an opposition newspaper falsely reported that authorities
had tortured him to death in prison.  When eventually
released, Bryce said he had been beaten, humiliated, and
forced to swear allegiance to President Bongo.

Conditions in most prisons are abysmal and life threatening.
Sanitation and ventilation are poor, and medical care almost
nonexistent.  Prisons rarely provide food, and there are
unconfirmed reports that prisoners are deprived of water as a
further means of punishment.

     d.  Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile

The law provides for up to 48 hours of initial preventive
detention, during which time police must charge a detainee
before a judge.  In practice, however, police rarely respect
this provision.  Bail may be set if there is to be a further
investigation.  There were, however, numerous instances of
detention without charge, often for political reasons.  In
February Presidential Guard forces attacked and destroyed two
opposition radio stations run by the Bucheron Party (see
Section 2.a.).  The Government arrested at least 10 radio
station employees and Bucheron Party leaders, along with some
80 other persons associated with riots and disturbances that
followed the attacks.  In Libreville authorities held Bucheron
leader Jules Mba Bekale without charge for 48 hours before
releasing him.  Some 54 other detainees spent 3 weeks in
prison before finally being charged.  Among these was
journalist Nang-Veca Bryce, who was eventually charged and
released on bail in early May.  In Oyem police detained party
leader Athanase Ondo Mintsa, 3 of his sons, and some 29 others
without charge for more than 2 months.  A union leader in Port
Gentil was detained in connection with a strike but released
after 24 hours.  At year's end, the Government held no persons
for strictly political reasons.

The Government frequently continued to detain both illegal and
legal refugees without charge.  Many foreign nationals
reported they were mistreated and forced to provide unpaid
labor (see Section 6.c.).

Exile is not used as a punishment nor as a means of political
control, and there are no opposition leaders currently living
in exile.

     e.  Denial of Fair Public Trial

The judicial system includes the regular courts, a Military
Tribunal, and a civilian State Security Court.  In September,
the National Assembly passed a series of reforms to reduce
obstacles the regular court system to try to reduce the
bureaucracy private citizens face when bringing suits.  The
regular court system includes trial courts, appellate courts
and the Supreme Court.  The Constitutional Court is a separate
body charged with examining constitutional questions,
including the certification of elections.  There are no
traditional or customary courts.  In some areas minor disputes
may be taken to a local chief, but the Government does not
recognize such decisions.  The State Security Court, last
convened in 1990, is constituted by the Government on an ad
hoc basis to consider matters of state security.

The Constitution provides the right to a public trial and the
right to legal counsel.  These rights are generally respected
in criminal cases.  Nevertheless, procedural safeguards are
lacking, particularly in state security trials, and the
judiciary remains vulnerable to government manipulation.  The
law still applies the concept of presumed guilt.  A judge may
thus deliver an immediate verdict at the initial hearing if
sufficient evidence is presented.

Although the Constitutional Court ratified the official
results of the 1993 presidential election that were widely
considered to have been manipulated by the Government, it
demonstrated on other occasions an ability to act
independently of the executive.  In a separate development,
the Government relieved the State Prosecutor for Estuaire
Province of her duties, allegedly because she dismissed for
lack of sufficient evidence a weapons charge against the
bodyguard one of the President's principal rivals.

     f.  Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or
         Correspondence

The Constitution provides protection from surveillance, from
searches without warrant, and from interference with private
telecommunications or correspondence.  As part of criminal
investigations, police may issue search warrants, which are
easily obtainable and often granted after the fact.  The
Government has used them to gain access to the homes of
opposition figures and their families.  Government authorities
also routinely monitor private telephone conversations,
personal mail, and the movements of citizens.  Human rights
monitors, opposition figures, union leaders, foreign
diplomats, and even members of the Government have all
reported being followed, watched, or otherwise monitored by
authorities at various times.

The state of alert in effect from the beginning of the year
until April 10 imposed a curfew and granted the Government
numerous extralegal powers to limit an individual's
constitutional rights.  Security forces routinely entered and
searched private homes, offices, and vehicles without a
warrant during this period.  In February government troops
attacked and ransacked an opposition radio station and the
homes of two leading opposition politicians (see Section
2.a.), confiscating or destroying a considerable amount of
property.

After August, when most of the reshuffling of personnel within
ministries was complete, there were no further confirmed
reports of dismissal of government or military personnel due
to political affiliation.  One of the opposition's negotiating
demands in pursuit of a government of national unity was
reinstatement of persons so dismissed.

Section 2  Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

     a.  Freedom of Speech and Press

The Constitution provides for the right of free speech and
press, and in practice, citizens speak freely and criticize
leaders.  Legislators in the National Assembly openly
criticize government policies, ministers, and other officials.

Although the Government had effectively banned all opposition
periodicals for a 2-month period in 1993, print journalism
thrived throughout the year.  In contrast, the Government
severely restricts the electronic media which reaches all
areas of the country.  There is one government-controlled
daily newspaper, L'Union, and more than a dozen lively,
outspoken weekly independents, most of which are controlled by
the opposition.  All--including L'Union--actively criticized
the President, the Government, and political leaders of all
parties.  Later in the year, L'Union granted increasingly
balanced coverage to opposition political figures and events.
In February the Government issued a decree requiring all
journalists to carry a government-issued press card, creating
fears of unfair allocation and of discrimination against
opposition journalists.  The Minister of Communications
convoked the press corps in August to discuss the matter but
did not implement the decree's provisions by year's end.

The Government did not respect freedom of the press for the
electronic media.  On February 22, armed Presidential Guard
commandos attacked and completely destroyed the
opposition-owned Radio Liberte station in Libreville, touching
off a wave of social unrest and violence that lasted for
nearly a month.  Claiming that the station was promoting "hate
and ethnic violence," Armed Forces Chief of Staff Idriss
Ngari, who 6 weeks later became Minister of Defense, publicly
declared the following day that he personally had ordered the
attack.  This followed the December 16, 1993, destruction of
another opposition radio station, Frequence Libre.  While the
Government never claimed responsibility, numerous rumors
circulated that the Presidential Guard had been responsible
for destroying Frequence Libre as well.  The Government had
not undertaken a credible or public investigation of either
event by year's end.  There are currently no opposition-
controlled radio or television stations.

In April authorities arrested and deported without due process
French journalist Yves Jaumanin.  A member of the organization
Reporters Without Borders, Jaumanin was researching the case
of arrested journalist Nang Veca Brice.  The Government gave
no explanation for the expulsion.

There is no official interference with broadcasts of
international radio stations Radio France 1, Africa No. 1, and
Voice of America.  Foreign newspapers and magazines are widely
available.

There are no restrictions on academic freedom, including
research.

     b.  Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association

Citizens and recognized organizations normally enjoy freedom
of assembly and association, although groups must by law
obtain permits for public gatherings in advance.  The state of
alert in effect until April severely limited exercise of these
rights.  The Government prohibited all large public gatherings
and forbade opposition groups to meet.  When groups organized
unauthorized demonstrations, the Government used force to
disperse crowds.  The prohibition on public meetings even
applied to social gatherings such as those in public bars.
This latter provision was loosely enforced, but police did use
it to harass, to intimidate, and often to extort money from
citizens.  Opposition parties convened a number of
unauthorized public demonstrations that turned violent.

     c.  Freedom of Religion

The Constitution provides for religious freedom, and
authorities do not engage in religious persecution or
favoritism.  While the Government has not lifted a ban on
Jehovah's Witnesses, neither has it enforced the ban.
Jehovah's Witnesses received permits and conducted large
public gatherings in 1994.  There is no state religion.

     d.  Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign
         Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation

There are no legally mandated restrictions on internal
movement, but authorities routinely hindered domestic travel.
Police and gendarmes frequently stop travelers to check
identity, residence, or registration documents and extortion
became increasingly frequent.  In particular, security forces
used the provisions of the state of alert to monitor and limit
movement.  Police detained, fined, and often mistreated anyone
on the streets after the curfew.  Also during the periods of
unrest in January and February, groups associated with various
political interests set up roadblocks throughout Libreville
and in other urban centers, seriously impeding movement and
often stimulating violence, notably toward foreigners, both
Africans and Europeans.

On three occasions between December 1993 and February 1994,
the Government prevented a group of opposition leaders from
traveling abroad although eventually it allowed them to leave.

Even during periods when the state of alert was not in effect,
Gabonese continued to face numerous difficulties when they
wished to travel abroad.  The Gabonese Center for
Documentation continued to require extensive paperwork before
granting a passport and often delayed issuance for up to a
year.  Members of the opposition and certain ethnic groups
alleged discrimination in the granting of passports.  An
unevenly enforced law requires married Gabonese women to have
their husbands' permission to travel abroad.  An exit visa for
citizens is no longer required for travel abroad.

The restrictions placed on the movement and travel of the
nearly 250,000 non-Gabonese Africans living in Gabon are
severe.  Members of the security forces routinely harass
expatriate merchants, service sector employees, and manual
laborers, extorting bribes and services with the threat of
imprisonment.  Residence permits cost roughly $1,000;
nevertheless, authorities frequently rounded up and detained
even documented expatriates.  African diplomats complained
that their citizens, when detained, were mistreated, forced to
provide labor, and often beaten.  The authorities rarely
informed consulates when they detain foreigners.  Non-Gabonese
must obtain an exit visa in order to leave Gabon and often
experience difficulties when trying to reenter the country.

Illegal aliens face the harshest limitations and
mistreatment.  The most egregious example occurred when some
70 or more illegal aliens died of suffocation and dehydration
in prison (see Section l.a.).  The Government instituted a
program of voluntary departure for illegal aliens in
cooperation with resident consular missions, led to a
reduction of abuses.  However, the Minister of Defense has
announced that this program will be discontinued in 1995.

The Government still controls the process of refugee
adjudication, and its policy is strict.  Coordination with the
U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has improved,
however, and there were no credible reports that the
Government forcibly repatriated illegal aliens.  There were
about 200 refugees in Gabon at year's end.

Section 3  Respect for Political Rights:  The Right of
           Citizens to Change Their Government

The 1991 Constitution explicitly provides this right, but the
mismanagement and serious irregularities in both the 1990 and
the 1993 presidential elections called into serious doubt the
extent to which this right exists in practice.

In the presidential elections, supporters of various political
factions engaged in illegal activities, such as voter card
trafficking and multiple voting.  The ballot count, under the
control of the Minister of Territorial Administration, took
place in secret, with all impartial observers excluded.  After
the Minister declared that incumbent President Bongo had won
with 51.18 percent of the vote, various individuals presented
strong evidence that two Libreville districts--neighborhoods
known to support the opposition--were left uncounted.  The
Governor of the Estuaire Province, where Libreville is
located, was among those making this allegation.  Shortly
thereafter, she was dismissed from office.  In President
Bongo's home region of Haut Ogoue, the number of ballots cast
in his favor exceeded the population reported by the 1993
census.  Nevertheless, the Constitutional Court ruled against
a petition to annul the results.

Citing organizational problems and an unsettled political
climate, the Government postponed until May the municipal
elections that were scheduled to take place immediately after
the presidential elections.  In May the Government again
postponed these elections until early 1995.

There are no restrictions on the participation of women and
minorities in politics.  There are 6 women among the 120
National Assembly deputies and 3 in the Cabinet.  Women serve
at all levels within the various ministries, the judiciary,
and the opposition.  Despite governmental protections,
indigenous Pygmies rarely participate in the political
process, and the Government has made only marginal efforts to
include them (see Section 5).

Section 4  Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
           Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations
           of Human Rights

The Government officially allows the existence of independent
human rights groups.  However, the most vocal and dedicated of
these, the Gabonese League of Human Rights (GLHR), reported
being censured, threatened and intimidated.  GLHR President
Francois Ondo Nze alleged that security authorities followed
him, and that agents of the Presidential Guard had once
attempted to run his car off the road at high speed.  Ondo Nze
(one of the longest serving members of the Gabonese Bar
Association) also reported receiving threatening calls from
military leaders, including the Minister of Defense.  A lawyer
at the GLHR reported receiving anonymous telephone calls
threatening her and her children.

In March alleged political prisoners being held in Oyem hired
Ondo Nze as their legal representative.  Authorities granted
him access to the prisoners at that time, but only in his
capacity as legal counsel.  Shortly afterward, he wrote to the
Minister of Territorial Administration requesting permission
to visit other prisoners and prison facilities in his capacity
as GLHR President.  The Government refused this request in
proceedings to disbar Ondo Nze, alleging that he had defrauded
and overbilled clients.  Nze challenged the move in the
Supreme Court, which in June cleared him of any wrongdoing.
Nonetheless, the Bar suspended Ondo Nze for 1 year, sending
what was generally perceived by other human rights activists
as a threatening signal.

There have been no active inquiries from foreign groups in
recent years.  However, the Government  showed initial
reluctance to accept international election observers who were
not of its own choosing and did not permit independent
observers to witness the counting of ballots.

Section 5  Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion,
           Disability, Language, or Social Status

The 1991 Constitution forbids discrimination based on national
origin, race, gender, or opinion.

     Women

The law provides that women have rights to equal access in
education, business, and investment.  Women own businesses and
property, participate in politics, and currently work
throughout the government and the private sector.  Women
nevertheless continue to face considerable societal and legal
discrimination, especially in rural areas.  For monogamous
married couples, a common property law provides for the equal
distribution of assets after divorce.  Polygyny is also
legally and culturally accepted; however, wives who leave
polygynous husbands incur severe reduction in their property
rights.  In inheritance cases, the husband's family must issue
a written authorization before his widow can inherit
property.  Common law marriage, which is socially accepted and
widely practiced, affords a woman no property rights.  There
is still a requirement in law that women obtain their
husband's permission to travel abroad although it is not
consistently applied.

Violence against women is common and especially prevalent in
rural areas.  While rape has not been specifically identified
as a chronic problem, religious workers and hospital staff
report that physical beatings are common.  Police rarely
intervene in these cases.

     Children

Traditional beliefs and practices provide numerous safeguards
for children, but children remain the responsibility of the
extended family--including aunts, grandmothers, and older
siblings.  The Government has used Gabon's oil wealth to build
schools, pay adequate teacher salaries and promote education,
even in rural areas.  Even so, according to U.N. statistics,
Gabon still lags behind its poorer neighbors in infant
mortality and access to vaccination.  There is growing concern
about the problems facing the large community of expatriate
African children.  Almost all enjoy far less access to
education and health care than do nationals.  Expatriate
children are also victims of child labor abuses (see Section
6.d.).  There is little recorded evidence of specific physical
abuse of children.

     Indigenous People

Several thousand indigenous Pygmies live in southern Gabon.
In principle, they enjoy the same civil rights as other
citizens.  Pygmies are largely independent of formal
authority, keeping their own traditions, independent
communities, and local decision making structures.  Pygmies
did not participate in government-instituted policies that
integrated many small rural villages into larger ones along
major roads; thus their access to government-funded health and
sanitation facilities is limited.  There are no specific
government programs or policies to assist or hinder Pygmies.

     National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Persons from all major ethnic groups continued to occupy
prominent positions in Government, the military, and the
private sector.  Credible reports suggest, however, that
ethnic favoritism in hiring and promotion occurs on a fairly
regular basis throughout the public and private sectors.  Near
the end of 1993 as the election drew near, the campaign took
on an increasingly ethnic overtone.  The major opposition
party, the Bucherons, drew most of its support from Gabon's
largest ethnic group, the Fang.  After the elections, many
Fang accused the incoming Government of actively
discriminating against them in naming the members of the new
government and in redistributing government and military
posts.  There was evidence, especially within the armed
forces, that members of the President's ethnic group occupied
a disproportionate number both of senior positions and of jobs
within the ranks.  During the unrest of January and February,
human rights groups alleged that those the Government arrested
were principally of the Fang ethnic group.

     People with Disabilities

There are no laws prohibiting discrimination against persons
with disabilities, nor providing for accessibility for the
disabled.  Various groups, both independent and associated
with the Government, have initiated projects to assist
handicapped persons.