Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Alix-Ida Mussavu
Published on 2024-03-17 22:31:40
In Gabon, where the National Dialogue announced several months ago is scheduled to start on April 2, twelve political parties and civil society organizations are calling for a postponement of this date. Gathered under the platform Action Patriotique pour le Gabon, they met with the Archbishop of Libreville to explain their position. Monseigneur Jean-Patrick Iba-Ba is the president of the assembly in question.
On March 15, the Action Patriotique pour le Gabon (APG) platform was received by Monseigneur Jean-Patrick Iba-Ba, the metropolitan archbishop of Libreville, who is also the president of the upcoming inclusive national dialogue scheduled to start on April 2. Bringing together twelve political parties and civil society organizations, this platform is calling for a postponement of this date. With the political scene becoming more agitated in recent weeks, the APG believes that this atmosphere does not reassure “the necessary unity of the Gabonese people who fervently welcomed the liberation on August 30, 2023, as well as the harmonious preparation of the works of this dialogue that the Gabonese people have been hoping for.”
Noting that the agitation mainly stems from the publication of decree n°0115/PT-PR/MRI of March 8, 2024, convening and organizing the inclusive national dialogue, the APG explained to the archbishop the need to find ways to calm the situation, avoid escalation, and reduce the tension within political parties, civil society associations, and social media. In their approach, they presented a memorandum to the president of the dialogue in which they emphasize “the imperative necessity and duty of wisdom” to reconsider this decree “which is the source of misunderstandings and passions” and to postpone the start of the inclusive national dialogue.
What about APG members?
This is expected to allow the establishment of a preparatory body whose members will be chosen according to defined criteria, as well as to organize a meeting with the Government and the Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions (CTRI), in the presence of the metropolitan archbishop of Libreville.
APG is composed of the National Union (UN), Réappropriation du Gabon, de son indépendance pour la reconstruction (Réagir), Dynamique unitaire (DU), the Alliance démocratique et républicaine (Adere), the Parti pour le changement (PLC), the Mouvement de redressement national (Morena) led by Luc Bengono Nsi, the Parti des républicains indépendants (Pari), the Rassemblement national des bûcherons (RNB), Gabon nouveau (GN), the Copil citoyen, the Consortium de la société civile pour la transparence électorale et la démocratie au Gabon (Coted), and the Parti du réveil citoyen (PRC). They state that they are “motivated by patriotic duty, wisdom, and a sense of responsibility that should now guide political and civil society actors.” A week before the meeting with the prelate, members of the platform were already denouncing a lack of transparency, the absence of security guarantees, and seemed to be calling for the exclusion of the Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG) from this inclusive meeting.
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Note: The original text contained a broken image link and unrelated content at the end, which was not translated.
Read the original article(French) on Gabon Review
