The shameful attacks launched against the President of the Republic, H. E. Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, by the British newspaper The Daily Mail, continues to provoke responses. On this occasion from the diplomat and Ex-Minister for Foreign Affairs from Somalia, Mohamed Yonis.
04/10/2016
“During my years at the UN and as Minister for Foreign Affairs, I regularly faced the challenges of transition in African states, and the constant need for better management.
It is reasonable that the media ask for more democracy. That is what the international community, the people of Equatorial Guinea, and in fact all African governments want, but at no time did The Daily Mail carry a reply from the President’s Office regarding the accusations, although the news should be balanced, and free from prejudice.
A state must progress in accordance with its circumstances and culture. I am not making apologies for African leaders, or for President Obiang Nguema Mbasogo in particular, but in my opinion while progress is accelerating, we must approach the matter with understanding, and we must support a country that is on the road towards democracy”, asserted Mohamed Yonis.
For him the western media coverage of African governments is often ignorant regarding facts and events, with a post-colonial vision of the region, bordering on racism.
The author also alluded to the main source of the information, Severo Moto; a man who supported and promoted the failed coup attempt in 2004, organised by British financiers, which implicated Sir Mark Thatcher, son of the ex Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher.
“President Obiang is not the sole target for this type of attack. Sooner or later African presidents receive this type of treatment from journalists who still seem to think of Africa as a continent populated by savages, and are not able to understand the challenges facing the modern leaders of Africa, who are working in the interest of creating a lasting legacy for their people.
I visited Equatorial Guinea for the first time at the start of 1990, when the UN building was little more than a temporary hut surrounded by lush tropical forest, with access via dirt tracks. When I returned to the country, I saw motorways, office buildings, a growth in public housing, and something else, young couples and friends laughing and drinking in the bars of the streets of the capital, Malabo. It is not the image of a repressed and terrified society that The Daily Mail wants to make us believe.
What annoys my African colleagues and me is the inherent prejudice with which the continent is judged, based on biased sources. News which serves to propagate racial stereotypes. The newspaper should apologise, not only to President Obiang, but to all Africans”, concluded Mohamed Yonis.
Equatorial Guinea Press and Information Office
Notice: Reproduction of all or part of this article or the images that accompany it must always be done mentioning its source (Equatorial Guinea’s Press and Information Office).
Share :