November, 25 2009, 09:34am EDT
Equatorial Guinea: Human Rights Concerns Taint Election
Dictator Predicts Landslide Victory as Opposition Stifled, Harassed
NEW YORK
Conditions in Equatorial Guinea cast serious doubt about the credibility of the forthcoming presidential election, Human Rights Watch said today.
President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who has ruled the oil-rich West African country since seizing power in a coup in 1979, is widely expected to easily win the presidential vote scheduled for November 29, 2009.
"President Obiang claims that he's committed to the rule of law," said Arvind Ganesan, director of the Business and Human Rights Program at Human Rights Watch. "But his actions time and again are those of a dictator determined to hang onto power and control of the country's oil money."
The government of Equatorial Guinea is one of the most corrupt and abusive in the world. In recent weeks it has stifled and harassed the country's beleaguered political opposition, denied the opposition equal access to the media, and failed to set out clear terms to allow international observers and journalists to monitor the elections.
The government and ruling party officials are responsible for massive corruption, as documented in "Well Oiled: Oil and Human Rights in Equatorial Guinea," a July 2009 report by Human Rights Watch being released today with a full Spanish translation.
President Obiang has declared that Equatorial Guinea is "an authentic democracy," but in reality, the ruling Democratic Party (Partido Democratico de Guinea Ecuatorial, PDGE) maintains a monopoly over political life. Only two of the four other political parties with candidates running in the upcoming presidential election - the Convergence for Social Democracy (Convergencia para la Democracia Social, CPDS) and the People's Union (Union Popular, UP) - actively oppose the ruling party and Obiang.
The compromised nature of the elections was further underscored when, on November 22, Obiang told supporters that he would win re-election "with more than 97 percent of the vote." Previous elections followed a similar pattern: Obiang won the last presidential election, in 2002, with 97.1 percent of the vote; and his party won overwhelming victories in 2004 and 2008, taking 98 and 99 seats, respectively, out of 100 in the legislature.
Those elections were marred by serious irregularities. The 2008 campaign was considered freer than earlier ones. But there was a strong presence by military and security personnel on the streets of all major towns, limits on freedom of movement, harassment of opposition supporters and voters, restrictions on access by international journalists, and numerous irregularities at polling places.
"The elections this month come at a crucial moment for a country whose wealth is being squandered by the president, his family, and their associates," Ganesan said. "This was an important opportunity for sorely needed public accountability, but the government has ensured that the basic requirements for free and fair elections won't be met."
The country's rampant corruption drains funds that could be used for education and health care. Development indicators are among the lowest in sub-Saharan Africa even though Equatorial Guinea is the richest country in the region on a GDP-per-capita basis.
President Obiang's eldest son and possible successor, known by his nickname Teodorin, has financed a lavish lifestyle through the proceeds of corruption. His total spending on mansions, exotic cars, and other luxury goods in 2005-2007 was nearly double the government's 2005 budget for education. In 2007, the United States government undertook an investigation of his US purchases - including a $35 million mansion, a $36 million jet, and luxury cars worth at least $2.6 million - on suspicion that they were financed with funds derived "from extortion, theft of public funds or other corrupt conduct."
President Obiang announced on October 16 that the election would be on November 29, with campaigning to begin officially on November 5. The tight timetable and the government's refusal to make the voter rolls public have severely limited the opposition's ability to campaign and win support.
Voter registration was completed in October, but the electoral lists still had not been made public as of mid-November. The opposition voiced suspicion that this move was intended to keep opposition supporters off the rolls. The government claimed that it could not release the names because opposition supporters might use the information to harass other parties.
The opposition is hampered by skewed coverage in the government-controlled media that heavily favors the ruling party and by the virtual absence of a free press. Similarly, although the government has provided financing for all parties, the ruling party had far greater access to state funds and other resources than did the opposition.
Opposition parties also complained of harassment and intimidation as they carried out campaign activities in various parts of the country. Although Human Rights Watch was not in a position to confirm directly their allegations of attacks and other abuses during campaigning in October and November, the Obiang government and ruling party have a long history of cracking down on opposition activities in election years, often citing "security reasons" in the wake of real or perceived coup attempts.
Following an armed attack on the presidential palace in February 2009 that it later blamed on a Nigerian rebel group, the government rounded up, arbitrarily arrested without warrant, and held without charge 10 People's Union members, at least two of whom were tortured. Eight were later released, but two remain in Equatorial Guinea's notorious Black Beach prison.
No independent and impartial body exists in Equatorial Guinea to oversee the electoral process or consider election-related complaints, raising additional serious doubts about conditions for a genuinely free and fair vote. The National Election Commission is controlled by the ruling party and headed by Obiang's minister of the interior, a prominent member of his party.
Despite the government's earlier invitation to more than 100 international election observers to witness the election, it is unclear whether any independent foreign monitoring will take place. The terms and scope of the foreign observation missions have not been made public. In 2004, the role of observers was regulated by a presidential order that permitted them to travel "according to the program organized by the government." It also required them to report any "anomalies" to the government and forbade them from making any public observations about the elections.
It also remains unclear how many foreign journalists will be permitted access to Equatorial Guinea on or around election day. In the past, some foreign journalists have been unable to obtain visas. In July, President Obiang told Spanish journalists that his government had refused visas to major Spanish media outlets during the 2008 election because it was upset over critical reports in the Spanish press.
There are indications that visas might be restricted again this year. In mid-November, while speaking at an oil and gas conference in London, the vice minister of mines, industry and energy announced that the government was instituting a new visa regime "to defend Equatorial Guinea" from "people without good intentions."
Human Rights Watch is one of the world's leading independent organizations dedicated to defending and protecting human rights. By focusing international attention where human rights are violated, we give voice to the oppressed and hold oppressors accountable for their crimes. Our rigorous, objective investigations and strategic, targeted advocacy build intense pressure for action and raise the cost of human rights abuse. For 30 years, Human Rights Watch has worked tenaciously to lay the legal and moral groundwork for deep-rooted change and has fought to bring greater justice and security to people around the world.
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Nearly 40 House Democrats voted against a measure to send around $26 billion more to Israel as it continues its war on Gaza that human rights experts have deemed a genocide.
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The U.S. Senate voted early Saturday morning to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act for two years, including a "poison bill" amendment added by the U.S. House that critics and privacy advocates dubbed the "Make Everyone a Spy" provision.
The reauthorization, officially called the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act, passed the Senate 60-34 despite the more than 20,000 constituents who called opposing the measure, which the Brennan Center for Justice said would enable "the largest expansion of surveillance on U.S. soil since the Patriot Act." President Joe Biden then signed the bill into law later Saturday.
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Section 702 is the provision that allows U.S. intelligence agencies to spy on non-U.S. citizens abroad without a warrant. Currently, they are able to do so by acquiring communications data from electronic communications service providers like Google, Verizon, and AT&T. The existing provision has already been widely abused and criticized, as the communications of U.S. citizens are often caught up in the searches.
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Goitein used similar language to condemn the vote.
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NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden added, "America lost something important today, and hardly anyone heard. The headlines of state-aligned media screech and crow about the nefarious designs of your fellow citizens and the necessity of foreign wars without end, but find few words for a crime against the Constitution."
Schumer announced a deal late Friday to vote on a series of amendments to the bill clearing the way toward its passage, according toTheHill. However, all five amendments that would have added greater privacy protections were voted down, The Washington Post reported.
"If the government wants to spy on the private comms of any American, they should be required to get approval from a judge, as the Founding Fathers intended."
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Wyden was not the only one who pledged to keep fighting government surveillance overreach.
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"We're poised to be the first domino of many to fall," one worker at the Chattanooga plant said.
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Workers at a Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, became the first Southern autoworkers not employed by one of the Big Three car manufacturers to win a union Friday night when they voted to join the United Auto Workers by a "landslide" majority.
This is the first major victory for the UAW after it launched the biggest organizing drive in modern U.S. history on the heels of its "stand up strike" that secured historic contracts with the Big Three in fall 2023.
"Many of the talking heads and the pundits have said to me repeatedly before we announced this campaign, 'You can't win in the South,'" UAW president Shawn Fain told the victorious workers in a video shared by UAW. "They said Southern workers aren't ready for it. They said non-union autoworkers didn't have it in them. But you all said, 'Watch this!' And you all moved a mountain."
"This incredible victory for labor will transform Tennessee and the South!"
According to the UAW's real-time results, the vote tally now stands at 2,628—or 73%—yes to 985—or 27%—no. Voting at the around 4,300-worker plant began Wednesday.
The Chattanooga workers announced their current union drive in December 2023. Friday's victory follows two failed unionization attempts at the plant in 2014 and 2019.
"We saw the big contract that UAW workers won at the Big Three and that got everybody talking," Zachary Costello, a trainer in VW's proficiency room, said in a statement. "You see the pay, the benefits, the rights UAW members have on the job, and you see how that would change your life. That's why we voted overwhelmingly for the union. Once people see the difference a union makes, there's no way to stop them."
The union's win comes despite the opposition of Republican Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee.
"Today, I joined fellow governors in opposing the UAW's unionization campaign," Lee said on social media Tuesday. "We want to keep good-paying jobs and continue to grow the American auto manufacturing sector. A successful unionization drive will stop this growth in its tracks, to the detriment of American workers."
However, Tennessee State Rep. Justin Jones (D-52) celebrated the win.
"Watching history tonight in Chattanooga, as Volkswagen workers voted in a landslide to join the UAW," he wrote on social media Friday night. "Despite pressure from Gov. Lee, this is the first auto plant in the South to unionize since the 1940s. This incredible victory for labor will transform Tennessee and the South!"
Other national labor leaders and progressive politicians also congratulated the Chattanooga workers.
Lee Saunders, president of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, said the win "shows what we already know—workers in every part of this country want the freedom to join a union, and when we stand together, we have tremendous power. Even though the deck is stacked against us, momentum is on our side, and we're winning."
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said: "This is a huge victory not only for UAW workers at Volkswagen, but for every worker in America. The tide is turning. Workers all across the country, even in our most conservative states, are sick and tired of corporate greed and are demanding economic justice."
"I think it's a great push for the entire South, and people will follow suit."
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) called the results "an utterly historic victory for the working class."
"Tennessee is shining bright tonight," she wrote on social media Friday. "We are in a new era. Congratulations to the courageous workers in Chattanooga and the entire UAW. Absolutely heroic. Solidarity IS the strategy—across the South, and all over the country."
More Perfect Union said the victory would "change the auto industry, and the future of American labor," and the campaign organizers themselves are aware of the importance of what they've accomplished.
"We understand that the world's watching us," worker Isaac Meadows, who has been at the plant for one year, told More Perfect Union. "You know there's a labor movement in this country, you know, we're poised to be the first domino of many to fall."
Worker Kelcey Smith, who has also been at the plant for one year, added, "I think it's a great push for the entire South, and people will follow suit."
The next domino to fall could be the Mercedes-Benz plant in Vance, Alabama, where a UAW election is scheduled from May 13-17. All told, more than 10,000 non-union car makers have signed union cards since the UAW launched its historic organizing drive.
For the Chattanooga workers, meanwhile, their next big fight will be to secure their first union-negotiated contract.
"The real fight begins now," Fain told cheering workers. "The real fight is getting your fair share. The real fight is the fight to get more time with your families. The real fight is the fight for our union contract."
"And I can guarantee you one thing," Fain continued, "this international unionist leadership, this membership all over this nation has your back in this fight."
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