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afrol.com, 22 September - According to a Spanish news agency the Minister of Justice of Equatorial Guinea is held in house arrest. According to a French news agency, he is provoked by this "intolerable" false news. According to the Spanish Radio, nobody can put you in contact with the minister, insinuating that his alleged statements to the French were a falsification. The Equatorial Guinean Minister of Justice and Religious Issues, Rubén Maye Nsue, was being held in house arrest for several days already on Wednesday, reported the Spanish news agency EFE. This headline also was broadcasted by the Spanish National Radio. According to these sources, the minister was isolated, constantly guarded over by two security force members and with his telephone line cut off. This situation allegedly was produced by the order of arrest issued by Armengol Ondo Nguema, brother of president Teodoro Obiang, and head of the National Security Force. But, to everybody's surprise, according to a news story from the French press agency AFP to which the oppositional Guinean media La Diáspora gained access, where the minister himself denied his detention, earlier described as "related to a possible initiative to conspire against the president," as reported shortly before in Spanish radio. In an interview with a journalist from AFP, Maye Nsue confirmed being "free" and called the information the public Spanish radio had broadcasted an "intolerable provocation and intoxication. The Spanish radio station, based in Madrid, but also reporting to Equatorial Guinea, on Wednesday evening referred to the detention of the Minister of Justice, which only had come days after the detention of his cousin Francisco Nsue Masié. Nsue Masié is son of the first dictator of Equatorial Guinea, Macías Nguema (which again was uncle to the present president, and was toppled by him in 1979). Nsue Masié is supposed to be detained in a Malabo prison, under inhumane conditions, arrested for a supposed conspiracy. President Obiang only recently had made him head of the Department of Housing in the Ministry for Public Works, Housing and Urbanism (usually a lucrative post). But, returning to the confusion about the minister interviewed by AFP, this pointed out that he had been informed about his alleged disappearance while he was returning from an official visit to Washington. "This news story is a total falsification. As you may confirm, I'm free," the minister said, turning to condemn the Spanish radio, which "wants to create a climate of discontent in our society". "We always have collaborated with the Spanish government to consolidate our ties of friendship and cooperation between our two countries. However, Spain, if one is to judge from this official radio, gives the impression of not being interested in consolidating these historical ties," he added. "We are going to find means to finish with this attitude, because it is a demonstration of that they [the Spanish] want to destabilise our country, which is not acceptable, especially for a country saying it is a friend of Equatorial Guinea," Maye concluded. However, the circumstances of Maye's movements and position remain unclear, and except for the interview by AFP, the Equatorial Guinean government has not made any declarations on the issue. Only the Spanish news agency EFE managed to get to speak to the government spokesman, Antonio Fernando Nve Ngu, which appeared surprised by the allegations. The spokesman assured that he did not have any knowledge of the incident. He whether could deny nor confirm the detention of his fellow government minister. But the story goes on. Santiago Ngúa, spokesman of the governing party, PDGE, and Minister of Education, yesterday made every effort to arrange an interview with the Spanish National Radio to deny the story of Rubén Maye Nsue's detention. The responsible for Equatorial Guinea of the radio station, however, insisted in obtaining an interview with the "detained or freed" Minister of Justice, and asked for a way of contacting him (a telephone number). The incredible answer of Ngúa on this request was that he did not have access to the telephone number of his governmental colleague. This seemed all to coincidental as it just ad been announced that Maye Nse was in house arrest, totally cut off from the outside world. The Spanish broadcaster thus recommended Minister Ngúa to talk to the news agency EFE, which had been their source of the news story. Now, the government of Equatorial Guinea is offended by the services of the Spanish Radio, which remains the only media not under total governmental control accessible the the people (foreign newspapers are banned). If the objective of the government is to silence the National Spanish Radio, it does not have the best of chances. Although the Spanish government is vague in its policy towards Equatorial Guinea, it will not interfere with the ethics of a free press. This confusing story most illustrated the confusing news that reach us
from this small, ravaged country. Hopefully, one day a free local press
and people can inform us about what is really going on in Equatorial
Guinea, and that nobody has to go about looking for a missing minister. At
least not for a Minister of Justice (!), such as the situation is right
now. Sources: La Diáspora, AFP, REE, EFE
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