President Obiang runs, rules, governs over a government in which, in a parliament of a hundred parliamentarians, one MP, one parliamentarian represents the opposition. All the judges in the country are handpicked personally by President Obiang. All the ministers – so one of his sons is minister of agriculture, one of his sons runs the minister of mine, one of his nephews runs the ministry of economy. The petrol company, the GEPEtrol, Guinea Ecuatorial Petroleos, is run by one of – his wife’s brothers.
So in all key positions, he has managed to place family members or people that have been with him since 1979. We have ministers in government that have been there since 1979 – 33 years, just like President Obiang. How has he been able to maintain power in Equatorial Guinea? It’s by controlling the military. He himself is the highest-ranking military officer in the nation. He has two brothers, both of whom are high-ranking generals. His son, who has no training militarily, no training college wise or education wise, is ranked general in the army. And all the other key positions, minister of defense, et cetera, are held by family members. Oil, discovered in 1994, which pushed the GDP per capita [measured by Purchasing Power Parity in constant international dollars] of the country to today about $37,000, has given Obiang the financial resources to buy off real political opposition inside and outside Equatorial Guinea.
Oil revenues have also given Obiang, President Obiang, the ability to buy off international pressure. So right now, in the CEMAC region, the Central African region, not a single government will speak out against what is happening in Equatorial Guinea. Even at a level of the African continent, not a single government wants to speak out about what’s happening there. President Obiang was chair of the African Union in 2010. During that period as the chair of the African Union, he represented Africa during G-8 summits, he represented Africa all global international conferences of stature.
Since then, he has agreed to host the UNASUR conference, which is a conference that brings together heads of state from Latin America and Africa. He has agreed to host the Sullivan Foundation forum [the Leon H. Sullivan Summit], which is a conference organized by the Sullivan Foundation based in Washington, D.C., that brings together heads of state from Africa. And he has held many other regional meetings bringing all these presidents together, all in an effort to show the international community that he’s running a legitimate government, and an effort that, unfortunately for the people of Equatorial Guinea, is giving the perception, the appearance that this president is one that is friendly for business purposes, is friendly for political purposes, is friendly or desirable for stability in the region.
Tutu Alicante is a human rights lawyer from the island of Annobon in Equatorial Guinea. In 1993, Mr. Alicante was in a Roman Catholic seminary, preparing for the priesthood. A group of citizens, among them one of Mr. Alicante’s cousins, organized a peaceful demonstration at the governor’s house calling for respect for human rights and measures to address widespread poverty. In response, government forces arrested and killed a number of the demonstrators and burned Mr. Alicante’s family home to the ground. He left Equatorial Guinea in 1994 to pursue his education abroad.
After obtaining a law degree from the University of Tennessee and a Masters in Law from Columbia University, he worked on legal defense programs for migrant farm workers and as a consultant for a branch of the Open Society Institute promoting legal accountability and transparency in extractive industries.
Tutu Alicante founded and serves as Executive Director of EG Justice, a nonprofit and nongovernmental organization that educates, empowers, and engages a new generation of democracy and human rights advocates at home and abroad. It undertakes grassroots campaigns to reform institutions inside Equatorial Guinea and documents human rights violations, collecting oral and written testimonies inside the country and abroad to hold violators accountable. EG Justice publishes periodic reports and educates the public. EG Justice collaborates with international institutions to bring critical human rights issues to the attention of global policymakers, including the United Nations, the African Union, and other multilateral organizations. It undertakes and supports legal advocacy to hold human rights abusers accountable in local, regional, and international tribunals and works closely with community-based partners to empower them through the litigation process.
Follow Tutu Alicante on Twitter at @TutuAlicante and follow EG Justice on Twitter at @EGJustice
Equatorial Guinea is one of Africa’s smallest countries, with a population of roughly 650,000 people. It is the only independent country on the continent where Spanish is the official language. Extensive oil reserves were discovered in 1996 and have dramatically altered the country’s fortunes. Oil has made Equatorial Guinea the wealthiest country in Africa on a per capita basis, with the World Bank estimating the country’s per capita GDP (Purchasing Power Parity in current international dollars) at over $35,000 – nominally higher than that of France or Japan. However, the country’s resources are distributed very unevenly, with more than 70 percent of the population living below the poverty line.
The area now known as Equatorial Guinea was home to many indigenous tribal groups when it was first discovered and colonized by the Portuguese in 1471. In 1778, Portugal ceded the area to Spain and it became home to many plantations. Immigrants came from other African countries as well as Spain looking for work. Freed slaves also came to the country, creating a mixture of ethnic and cultural groups. Spain ruled the country as a colony until 1968, when it granted Equatorial Guinea independence.
In 1968, Francisco Macias Nguema became the first president of the nation. During his rule, Macias carried out the execution of those who he perceived as a threat to his rule as well as many members of the Bubi ethnic minority. By the end of his time in power more than a third of the population of Equatorial Guinea had either fled the country or had been executed. The nation experienced a massive “brain drain” as Macias specifically targeted intellectuals and those involved in education. Macias also declared himself president for life, closed down some churches, prevented Equatoguineans from leaving the country, and banned things he perceived as “un-African,” including Western medicine.
In 1979, current President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo overthrew and executed his predecessor and uncle, Francisco Macias Nguema, in a bloody military coup. However, Obiang continued many of the policies and practices of his uncle’s regime. The judiciary and parliament are firmly under the control of the president. Obiang’s regime has never held credible elections. Basic freedoms, such as freedom of expression, assembly and conscience are not respected by the regime.
Equatorial Guinea’s oil resources are controlled by Obiang’s supporters and other elites. Corruption is rampant – in 2013, Transparency International ranked Equatorial Guinea 163rd out of 177 countries surveyed.
In its 2014 “Freedom in the World” Report, Freedom House labeled Equatorial Guinea as “not free”. The nation received the worst possible score of seven in political rights, civil liberties, and as its overall freedom rating. Freedom House’s 2014 “Freedom of the Press” Report gave Equatorial Guinea a score of 90, where 0 is the best possible score and 100 is the worst possible score.