Morocco calls for preserving Gabon’s stability

The Kingdom of Morocco highlighted the need for preserving the stability of Gabon and the tranquility of its people, following a coup that annulled elections in the oil-rich country.

“Morocco closely follows the situation as it unfolds in the Republic of Gabon,” Morocco’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

“Morocco underlines the importance of preserving the stability of this country and the tranquility of its population,” the statement said.

“Morocco trusts the wisdom of the Gabonese nation, its vital forces and its national institutions to move towards a perspective that will make it possible to act in the best interests of the country, safeguard the gains made and respond to the aspirations of the brotherly Gabonese people,” it said.

The military seized power in Gabon, annulled the presidential elections and sent President Bongo to retirement, in the latest episode of military coups in Francophone Africa.

Only weeks after a similar coup in Niger, Gabon’s army announced it deposed President Bongo, whose family has held power for nearly 56 years.

The African Union, through the voice of the AU Commission chaorperson, Moussa Faki Mahamat, has strongly condemned the attempted coup d’état in Gabon.

Moussa Faki Mahamat has denounced a “flagrant violation of the legal and political instruments of the AU,” in a press release issued Wednesday. He called “on the national army and security forces to adhere strictly to their republican vocation and to guarantee the physical integrity of the President of the Republic, members of his family, and those of his government.”

The Chairman of the AU Commission said he is following “with great concern the situation in Gabon” and “encourages all political, civil and military actors in Gabon to give priority to peaceful political avenues, and a rapid return to democratic constitutional order in the country.”