A few years ago it was an unknown blot on the map wedged between Cameroon and Gabon and home to roughly 525 000 people. But within a few years it has quietly rocketed up the rankings to become Africa's third largest oil producer. In 2004 it has firmly grabbed international attention with a coup plot that just keeps on unravelling.
The latest revelations on the Equatorial Guinea coup plot confirm earlier speculation that it was an 'open secret' within the global intelligence community. ...read more
A few years ago it was an unknown blot on the map wedged between Cameroon and Gabon and home to roughly 525 000 people. But within a few years it has quietly rocketed up the rankings to become Africa's third largest oil producer. In 2004 it has firmly grabbed international attention with a coup plot that just keeps on unravelling.
The latest revelations on the Equatorial Guinea coup plot confirm earlier speculation that it was an 'open secret' within the global intelligence community. Last weekend the Observer UK reported that the British government knew about the coup several months before it was launched. The Observer said two reports on the coup were handed to British Intelligence and to a senior colleague of US defence secretary Donald Rumsfield. This news steps up the pressure on Tony Blair's government to explain why they failed to act according to international norms and warn the government of Equatorial Guinea.
Sharper questions for the UK government to reveal how much it knew come at an embarrassing time for Tony Blair. Blair has previously described Africa as a "scar on the conscience of the world". More recently he created the Commission for Africa to probe Africa's development challenges. Last week the Commission began a series of meetings throughout the continent aimed at gathering input on Africa's challenges. Blair will be keen to avoid any implication that his government tacitly supported the plot.