"LE GABON ENERVANT" OR "ANNOYING GABON"

English version History is full of examples of leaders who have put in place an unjust legal system to punish others, which still ended up grinding them. Under the Terror, Maximilien Robespierre and his ally Georges Couthon were the architects of the formidable law of 22 prairial (June 10, 1794) in France. This law reorganizes the Revolutionary Tribunal in a terrible way. It simply removes the right for suspects to have a lawyer to defend themselves, as well as the right to make witnesses heard. The jurors rely only on « moral evidence », and only two outcomes are possible: acquittal or death. This is the beginning of the Great Terror. Barely a month and a half later, on 9 Thermidor (July 27, 1794), Robespierre was overthrown by the Convention. To ensure his quick end, he is declared outlawed. This legal status implies that he is deprived of any trial and any means of defence. He was guillotined the next day, without being able to justify himself, struck by the expeditious and...

English version To read the original article click here . Version française   Traduction de l’article paru sur CNN.com Le président Donald Trump a signé samedi un décret visant à encourager la recherche élargie sur les drogues psychédéliques, dans le cadre d’une poussée plus large visant à explorer les nouveaux traitements en matière de santé mentale. « Dans de nombreux cas, ces traitements expérimentaux ont montré un potentiel de changement de vie pour ceux qui souffrent de maladie mentale grave et de dépression, y compris nos chers anciens combattants », a déclaré Trump lors d’un événement de signature dans le bureau ovale. Le président a également annoncé que le gouvernement fédéral faisait un investissement de 50 millions de dollars pour des recherches sur l’ibogaine un remède psychédélique. Trump, avant de signer l’ordonnance, a souligné que la recherche initiale démontrait le potentiel du médicament et a plaisanté en disant qu’il en voulait lui-même. « Puis-je en avoir, s’il ...

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...