Freedom in the World 1999 - Equatorial Guinea

1999 Scores

Status: Not Free
Freedom Rating: 7.0
Civil Liberties: 7
Political Rights: 7

Overview

President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo and his backers, almost all from his Esangui clan, have done little to improve the repressive political atmosphere and poor human rights record that have characterized their rule for three decades. The ruling Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea dominated parliamentary elections in March, winning 75 of 80 seats. The polls were neither free nor fair. Led by the Convergence for Social Democracy and the Popular Union, seven opposition parties claimed massive fraud, demanding an annulment, and those that won parliamentary seats refused to take them up. By the end of the month dozens of opposition leaders and their supporters had been arrested. Three opposition party activists arrested in June 1999 remained in prison in November without charge or trial. Amnesty International said at least 90 opposition party activists had been detained for short periods since the beginning of the year.

Equatorial Guinea achieved independence in 1968 following 190 years of Spanish rule. It has since been one of the world's most tightly closed and repressive societies. President Obiang seized power in 1979 by deposing and murdering his uncle, Francisco Macias Nguema. Pressure from donor countries demanding democratic reforms prompted Obiang to proclaim a new "era of pluralism" in January 1992. Political parties were legalized and multiparty elections announced, but in practice Obiang and his clique wield all power.

New oil wealth could help raise living standards in the desperately poor land, but there is no sign that the new revenues are being treated as much more than a personal windfall for the country's leaders.

Political Rights and Civil Liberties

Equatorial Guinea's citizens are unable to change their government through peaceful, democratic means. The March 1999 parliamentary elections were marred by intimidation and fraud. Many opposition candidates were arrested or confined to their villages prior to the polls. The November 1998 legislative elections for the 85-member House of People's Representatives were also manipulated by the regime. The February 1996 presidential election, too, was neither free nor fair, marred by official intimidation, a near-total boycott by the political opposition, and very low voter turnout. Opposition parties were widely believed to have won overwhelmingly in September 1995 municipal elections. The regime's official results, released 11 days after balloting, reported an unconvincing but unsurprising landslide victory by the ruling party.

Opposition parties are continually harassed and intimidated, especially outside the capital, Malabo. One opposition leader, Plácido Mikó, was detained for one week in September, and security forces reportedly tried to implicate him in a coup plot. Unlawful arrests, beatings, and torture remain commonplace. There are persistent reports of torture by soldiers and police to extract confessions. Prisons conditions are extremely harsh, and Black Beach prison in Malabo is described by survivors as particularly bad. The judiciary is not independent, and laws on search and seizure as well as detention are routinely ignored by security forces, who act with impunity.

President Obiang wields broad decree-making powers and effectively bars public participation in the policymaking process. The November 1991 constitution prohibits the impeachment of the head of state. Opposition parties, while legal, may not be organized on an ethnic, regional, or provincial basis. The opposition activists arrested in June were from the illegal Republican Democratic Force. Mariano Oyono Ndong, Carmelo Biko Ngua, and Antonio Engonga Bibang were detained in Mongomo, the president's hometown. The Progress Party, whose exiled leader was sentenced to more than 100 years imprisonment in absentia for an alleged coup conspiracy, was banned in 1997. Dozens of members of the Convergence for Social Democracy party and the Republican Democratic Force party and other parties, who were arrested in mid-1997, were reportedly tortured.

With partial exception for members of legalized political parties, freedom of association and assembly is not allowed. Opposition demonstrations without prior authorization were banned in 1993. Any gathering of ten or more people for purposes the government deems political is illegal. Freedom of movement is also restricted as citizens and residents must obtain permission for travel both within the country and abroad.

There are continued concerns for 80 members of the Bubi ethnic group who have been held in overcrowded cells in Malabo since they were sentenced by a military court in June 1998 after an unfair trial of 117 people. Many are considered to be prisoners of conscience, arrested because of their ethnic origin. Eleven prisoners, whose death sentences were commuted, continue to be held incommunicado. They had been charged in connection with an attack on barracks on the petroleum-rich island of Bioko, which was blamed on the Bioko Island Self-Determination Movement, which is based among the Bubi people native to the island. They have long been excluded from national power by the country's Fang majority and are now excluded from any real share of the new oil wealth from their home area.

Nearly all media are state-run and tightly controlled. A few small independent newspapers publish occasionally but exercise self-censorship, and all journalists must be registered. Criticism of the president is not tolerated. Some underground pamphlets appear irregularly.

Constitutional and legal protections of equality for women are largely ignored. Traditional practices discriminate against women, and few gain educational opportunities or participate in the formal economy of government. Violence against women is reportedly widespread. About 80 percent of the population is Roman Catholic, and freedom of individual religious practice is generally respected, although President Obiang has warned the clergy against interfering in political affairs.

Unions are permitted by the constitution, but no law enabling their formation has been enacted. Strikes are barred. Thanks to oil, Equatorial Guinea boasts one of the highest figures for per capita gross domestic product in Africa, but few of the benefits have yet to be felt by the average population. The start of offshore oil production in 1995 helped replace subsistence farming and timber as the economic linchpins. U.S. companies dominate the oil sector.