- The prominent Equatoguinean opposition politician Severo Moto has established an exile government in Spain, the ex-colonial power. Uniting three exiled parties, Mr Moto promises to take power in Equatorial Guinea within nine months. The opposition based in Equatorial Guinea however has gone on distance.
In a statement sent to afrol News today, the "Press Department of the exiled Equatoguinean government" announces its existence. The "government" recently had been appointed by "President Severo Moto Nsa" in Madrid (Spain). Mr Moto led the opposition Progress Party (PP) in Equatorial Guinea before he went into his Spanish exile and has been noted as one of his country's most prominent opposition figures.
Mr Moto's exile government had come about as a cooperation of three Equatoguinean exiled parties, the PP, the Liberal Party and the Equatoguinean Popular Action. On 29 August, an nine-member "coalition government" - including one female "minister" - had been established in "a solemn ceremony".
The self-styled President of the government, Mr Moto, announced that he was working on "a constitutional project that will have to be analysed by the Constitutional Assembly, which will be set up through general elections that are to be hold when his government takes actual power in Equatorial Guinea." Mr Moto promised this would happen "within nothing more than six to nine months."
He did not elaborate whether his "government" had any plans to overthrow the regime of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, which has held power since a bloody military coup in 1979. Mr Moto however told the press he expected the Obiang regime to fall within short time due to "the illness of the dictator [Mr Obiang is believed to have cancer], the internal struggles in the palace, the sufferings of the population and the international discredit."
The exile government claimed to have obtained information that members of the Obiang regime already were trying to secure their financial assets in preparation of a violent regime change. Mr Moto said it was important for his "government" to prevent a power vacuum in Equatorial Guinea, and it was "necessary to be prepared to guarantee the stability and social peace" of the country after President Obiang's downfall.
Other sources afrol News have contacted maintain that Mr Moto's statements on a possible downfall of the Obiang regime are mere speculations. The President's alleged illness has never been documented, although similar rumours have circulated for several years. Further, due to the enormous new oil revenues, the regime has never been safer and international condemnation never been more silent.
Within the exiled Equatoguinean opposition, Mr Moto has been a controversial figure. The elder but smaller groups, including the militant RENAGE, claim that Mr Moto secretly is cooperating with the Obiang regime after intents to unite the exiled opposition failed. Having plaid a major role in Equatorial Guinea before going into exile, Mr Moto however has grown into the most respected exiled opposition politician.
The exiled PP leader had also sought support among opposition parties based in Equatorial Guinea before establishing his exile government, but was met with a cold shoulder. The country's only independent and legal opposition party, the Convergence for a Social Democracy (CPDS), headed by Plácido Micó, refused to take part in the efforts of Mr Moto.
Mr Micó and his CPDS remain in Equatorial Guinea under difficult, sometimes life-threatening, conditions, fighting for democracy and human rights by mobilising the population. The party, which always stands at risks of being illegalised, has found it incompatible with its democratic credo to cooperate with Mr Moto's "government".
It is not known whether Mr Moto and his fellow "ministers" count on a power basis within Equatorial Guinea. "President" Moto however claims that the Equatoguinean population is placing its hopes "with their exiled compatriots to force a significant change upon [the country], which will lead them towards democracy."
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