"LE GABON ENERVANT" OR "ANNOYING GABON"

English version The practice of journalism for hire, also often referred to as complacency journalism, is a real poison for public debate and democratic health in Gabon. There are journalists whose editorial line is obviously dictated by the highest bidder; and their kounabelism is becoming increasingly unbearable. In a context of a quest for a society based on law and not simply brutality, media complacency serves to hide the real issues. It protects opacity and prevents the highlighting of state dysfunctions. Instead of proposing constructive and objective criticism, essential for a country to move forward, this type of journalism is used to settle scores with political opponents, to defame well-chosen targets or to polarize opinion in an oriented way. For a society to progress, it has a vital need for thinkers, observers and media capable of restoring the facts with rigor, without submitting to government pressure. This is the sine qua non for citizens to make informed decisions. Jo...

English version The fundamental principle and the ultimate test of any true rule of law is that justice is not a matter of personal affinity or popularity, but a matter of inalienable principles. Defending a political opponent’s right to a fair trial is undoubtedly the most difficult, but most vital, requirement for the moral and institutional health of a nation. In the context of an atmosphere of political settling of accounts, the temptation of a certain public opinion is often to demand expeditious justice, especially for the leading figures of a contested system such as that of Ali Bongo. However, if justice becomes selective or bends to popular vindication, it ceases to be justice to become a simple instrument of purge or revenge. To accept that fundamental rights are violated on the pretext that the accused belongs to the opposite camp is to legitimize a jurisprudence of arbitrariness that can turn against any citizen tomorrow. If we do not rise as a citizen to demand impartialit...

English version One of the most complex and tragic phenomena of Gabonese political sociology is the refusal of Gabonese to believe in the sincerity of the republican commitments of those who rise up against the regime. The cases of André Mba Obama (AMO) and Jean Ping perfectly illustrate this dynamic: initial disbelief, followed by popular validation acquired only in blood, destruction or sacrifice. If Gabonese public opinion seems to show amnesia or refuse to learn from history, it is not for lack of lucidity. It is actually the result of profound psychological and political mechanisms, forged by decades of specific governance; which make this cycle of suspicion repeated tirelessly. For more than half a century, the Gabonese political system was structured around the ability of power to buy back or reintegrate its opponents. The country’s political history is full of dissident figures who, after raising popular hopes, ended up returning to power or accepting compromises in exchange fo...