In Gabon, several greeting ceremonies for the year 2024 have taken place in recent days. The president of the transition, in power since the coup d’état of August 30, spoke in particular on January 3 before the Defense and Security Forces (FDS). While the FDS is accused of having committed crimes during the transition, General Oligui Nguema asked his men to be exemplary.
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The Defense and Security Forces (FDS) are notably accused of having beaten and killed two Gabonese people who did not respect the curfew. Two deaths that shocked the nation. General Oligui Nguema therefore asked his men to respect the rules: “ Some of our actions can taint this newfound confidence. I therefore expect from you a stronger attachment to discipline, which is the main strength of the armies. »
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The general also asked the officers to punish those guilty of crimes. The NGO SOS Prisonniers welcomes these announcements, while its president accuses the prison services commander of having tried to strangle him during an altercation. Firmin Ollo Obiang, Deputy Secretary General, underlines: “ SOS Prisonniers never stopped denouncing abuses of authority, abuses of power, by the police. It really is a stain on the action of our law enforcement. We are going through a very special stage, we need discipline, security. SOS Prisonniers receives the president’s intervention with great confidence. »
“ We want the army to play its protective role »
Others, like Jeanne Clarisse Dilaba, from the organization Network of Human Rights Defenders in Central Africa (Redhac), ask President Oligui Nguema to walk the talk: “ But it’s not so much the words, but it has to be the facts. We want the army to play its protective role. They allow themselves to do things as if they were outside the law. We dare to believe that until the transition ends, all the guilty will be punished. »
So far, three soldiers have been arrested, but some are waiting for more, notably for old crimes committed during the 2016 electoral crisis.
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