Another Day, Another Coup in Africa: A Brief History of Gabon

NPR this afternoon did a brief segment on the latest coup in Africa which occurred last night. The president is deposed, the military now in control. This is the 8th "democracy" overthrown in recent years on that continent. 

I'm not sure how various spinners will spin this, but it does seem to suggest a few things. As much as we exalt Democracy (with a capital D), an honest assessment here would suggest that it's only an ideal. In the real world, it doesn't always work. 

For those unfamiliar, here is a brief history of this African nation along the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, abutted by Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon to the North and Congo to the East.

The history of Gabon begins with the arrival of the Bantu people in the region around 3,000 years ago. These people were hunter-gatherers and farmers who lived in small villages. In the 15th century, the Portuguese arrived in Gabon and began trading with the local people. The Portuguese were followed by the Dutch, English, and French.

In the 19th century, Gabon became a French colony. The French ruled Gabon for over 100 years. During this time, they built roads, railways, and schools. They also introduced Christianity to the region.

In 1960, Gabon gained its independence from France. The first president of Gabon was Léon M'ba. He was autocratic and ruled the country with an iron fist. In 1967, he was overthrown in a coup d'état led by Omar Bongo. Bongo ruled Gabon for over 40 years until his death in 2009.

Since Bongo's death, Gabon has been ruled by his son, Ali Bongo Ondimba. Ali Bongo has been accused of corruption and human rights abuses.

Despite these challenges, Gabon has been a relatively stable country with a growing economy. It is a major producer of oil and timber. Gabon has also been a popular tourist destination, known for its beaches, rainforests, and wildlife.

* * * 

Here are some Tweets from X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter.

Jackson Hinkle After the coup in Gabon, revolutionaries uncovered suitcases & bags in the ousted President’s family home filled with bundles of banknotes, CFA francs, dollars and euros.‌‌.

Timothy Kalyegira When military coups took place in Guinea, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, Twitter traffic in Uganda was about 4,700 or 7,560.

The Zimbabwe and Sudan coups went up to 13,000 or 14,000 tweets. By nightfall, Ugandan tweets on Gabon could get to 400,000. WHY? The dynastic similarity.

Timothy Kalyegira Those of you who have built apartment blocks, petrol stations, acquired square miles of farmland (and even built that new shopping mall in Bukedea), all in the confident belief that the present order will continue indefinitely, this Gabon coup is a wake-up call.

Jackson Hinkle Brice Oligui Nguema is the leader of the coup in Gabon who ousted the French-installed leader.

Rep. Matt Gaetz

Rep. Matt Gaetz It happened again last night. Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Gambia, Chad, Guinea, Niger Now Gabon. Under @SecDef Lloyd Austin’s abysmal tenure we’ve gotten 7 coups in @USAfricaCommand alone. Each overthrow connected to people trained by US Taxpayer funds. Wanna know where we can cut spending? How about we spend less training people who overthrow elected governments?

* * * 

DISCLAIMER: These tweets have not been vetted for accuracy. They do raise questions and provide a glimpse of what has been taking place across the pond. How many of these coups do you recall hearing about in the news other than the recent Niger chapter, briefly?

Related Link
Democracy's Achilles Heel: Was Madison Right?
Human Rights in Gabon I Went to Gabon for Football and Found a Massacre

Six Articles about the CIA's Overthrow of a Democratically Elected President in Guatemala 1954

The 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état, code-named Operation PBSuccess, was a covert operation by the CIA that deposed the democratically elected Guatemalan President Jacobo Arbenz.  

A Chiquita PR Campaign was Powerful Enough to Topple the Guatemalan Government
Chiquita’s brand image comes across as fun and playful, but the company has some dark history. 

The (Literally) Unbelievable Story of the Original Fake News Network
Once upon a time in Guatemala, the CIA hired a cocky American actor and two radio DJs to launch a revolution and oust a president. Their playbook is being used against the U.S. right now.
[EdNote: This is a Wag the Dog story. Reality is stranger than fiction.*]

Blood For Bananas: United Fruit's Central American Empire
A politician named Jacobo Arbenz was elected president in Guatemala, one of the Central American countries occupied by United Fruit. Arbenz was a strict nationalist, and all he wanted was for his people to stop suffering in poverty. One of the most prominent issues in Guatemala, at the time, was scarcity of land. When United Fruit invaded Guatemala, they bought out many of the local farmers to acquire land for their plantations. This did not leave room for the peasants, who relied on farming as the sole source of their income. 

1954 Coup: Destroying Democracy

In 1954, the CIA overthrew the democratically elected government of Guatemala, violently reversing the progressive policies of the civilian governments. This coup was undertaken at the behest of the United Fruit Company, and it ushered in a thirty-six-year civil war that claimed the lives of approximately 200,000 civilians.

Propaganda Revisited 
In 1928 Edward Bernays, in a book titled Propaganda, argued that propaganda was a good thing, a useful tool for the ruling elite because the masses needed to be moved. They were sheep too dumb to know what was best for them without guidance. The government and the media should work together to create an appetite for the right goods, services, leaders.  

CIA and Assassinations: The Guatemala 1954 Documents
In 1997 the CIA de-classified 1400 of the 100,000 documents related to the Guatemala destabilization program.

* * * * *

The proper way to do a mashup like this is to add value through interpreting what it means or making comments regarding these things. What is unfortunate is that the more one learns about our clandestine activities, especially the abuse of power demonstrated in this chronicle of manipulation and subversion, the more challenging it is to trust our nation's leadership. Sadly, Guatemala was not an isolated event.

Here's a bonus track: The Purpose of Propaganda--Social Engineering

*This is why a wise man once said "Believe nothing of what you hear and only half of what you see."