Gabon opposition chief calls for general strike after disputed election
LIBREVILLE (Reuters) - Gabon's opposition leader appealed on Monday for a general strike to protest what he said was a fraudulent re-election victory by President Ali Bongo, but few heeded his call as economic activity picked back up in the capital Libreville.
Jean Ping, a former African Union Commission chairman who says he is now Gabon's leader, said in a statement that his fight was not over following deadly riots last week.
"I ask you from today onward not to use violence but to resist by blocking the country's economy," he said, addressing all Gabonese. "I propose to cease all activity and begin a general strike."
At least six people were killed and more than 1,000 arrested in violence after Wednesday's announcement of a slim victory for Bongo, whose family has run the oil-producing central African country for half a century.
An adviser to the interior minister told Reuters on Sunday that several dozen people had already been released. However, several Libreville residents said that they had not seen or heard from family members since the riots.
Gabon is statistically one of Africa's richest countries with a GDP per capita of $10,000 a year, but oil wealth has flowed mostly to the elite, breeding widespread discontent in the former French colony.
The Bongos have long relied on patronage to buy off dissent. But falling oil prices and production, long dominated by Total and Shell, have led to budget cuts in a country where many citizens have not enjoyed the fruits of oil wealth.
WARY ATMOSPHERE
In the capital Libreville traffic resumed along the main boulevards as people returned to work on Monday, though some stayed home for fear of renewed violence.
"Jean Ping doesn't have to tell me (not to go to work). While the situation is sensitive I'll stay home," said Hortense Toulangoye, a state worker. Another employee said he had not heard about the strike.
The internet was operational again on Monday, five days after it was shut down in an apparent bid by the government to quell unrest, but access to social media was still limited.
Some business activity also remained hobbled by security concerns. Gabon's sole oil refinery in the economic capital Port Gentil has been shut since last Wednesday, according to Sylvain Mayabi, secretary-general of the National Organization of Petrol Employees.
It was not clear when the Sogara refinery, which processes 21,000 barrels of oil per day, would be back online, Mayabi told Reuters. French oil producer Total owns a 43.8 percent stake in the refinery.
Total did not respond to requests for comment.
Gabon produces 200,000 barrels of oil per day, according to the International Energy Agency, and its output is in decline. It rejoined OPEC in July after two decades.
France has had a military base in Gabon since independence in 1960 and 450 troops are stationed there, according to the French Defence Ministry. Gabon is home to 14,000 French citizens.
During more than four decades in power, late president Omar Bongo cultivated close relations with a succession of French presidents, but his son's ties to Paris have been more tenuous.
Gabon recalled its ambassador to Paris in January after France's Prime Minister Manuel Valls appeared to question the legitimacy of Ali Bongo's 2009 election.
(Reporting by Gerauds Wilfried Obangome; writing by Nellie Peyton and Aaron Ross; editing by Mark Heinrich)
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