Timeline Equatorial Guinea
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US-Africa: http://us-africa.tripod.com/eqguinea.html
World Factbook:
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ek.html
The Equatorial Guinea mainland is
located in the northwest corner of Gabon, just below Cameroon. An
island section, located off the coast of Cameroon, hosts the capital at
Malabo. The area of Equatorial Guinea is 28,050 square km (10,831
square miles), about the size of Maryland.
(WSJ, 1/2/98, p.8)(SFC, 5/15/01,
p.A10)(www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/eqguinea.html)
1943
Nov 6, Severo Moto Nsa was born in Equatorial
Guinea. He later became the most notable opposition politician in
Equatorial Guinea, and leader of the Progress Party.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Severo_Moto)
1960 Aug 23, World's largest frog
(3.3 kg) was caught in Equatorial Guinea.
(MC, 8/23/02)
1968 Oct 12, Eq. Guinea gained
Independence was from Spain. Eq. Guinea consists of two geographic
entities: the mainland of Rio Muni and the island of Bioko, formerly
Fernando Poo. Francisco Macias became the 1st president and proclaimed
himself God’s "unique miracle." He drove the economy into the ground
and over a third of the population went into exile.
(WP, 6/29/96, p.A15)(SFC, 5/15/01,
p.A10)(www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/eqguinea.html)
1968-1969 Pres. Francisco Macias Nguema murdered a
6th of the population of Eq. Guinea.
(WSJ, 8/31/05, p.D10)
1974 Formal education in Eq.
Guinea came to an end.
(WSJ, 8/31/05, p.D10)
1979 Aug 3, In Equatorial Guinea
Pres. Macias was overthrown and executed by Teodoro Obiang Nguema, his
nephew, security chief and right-hand man. Teodoro Obiang Nguema
assumed power.
(SFC, 5/15/01,
p.A10)(www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/eqguinea.html)
1991 Alba, Equatorial Guinea's 3rd
significant field, was discovered by Water International. Original
estimates of reserves at Alba were around 68 million barrels of oil
equivalent (BOE), but recent exploration has increased new estimates to
almost 1 billion BOE. It is located 12 miles north of Bioko island.
(www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/eqguinea.html)
1993 The World Bank after
severed its relationship with Equatorial Guinea.
(www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/eqguinea.html)
1995 Equatorial Guinea's Zafiro
field, located northwest of Bioko Island, was discovered by ExxonMobil
and Ocean Energy (bought by Devon Energy in 2003). It contains the
majority of the country's oil reserves.
(www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/eqguinea.html)
1996 Teodoro Obiang Nguema
submitted to elections and received 98% of the vote in balloting that
marred by extensive fraud and intimidation.
(SFC, 5/15/01, p.A10)
1999 The Equatorial Guinea
government budget was $47 million.
(SFC, 5/15/01, p.A10)
1999 Ceiba, Equatorial Guinea's
second major producing oil field was discovered by Amerada Hess in 1999
and began production in December 2000. It is located just offshore of
Rio Muni in exploration Block G and is estimated to contain 300-800
million barrels of oil.
(www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/eqguinea.html)
2001 Oil revenue in Equatorial
Guinea reached $140 million.
(SFC, 5/15/01, p.A10)
2001 The population in
Equatorial Guinea was about 475,000.
(SFC, 5/15/01, p.A10)
2002 Apr, The World Bank
resumed lending to Equatorial Guinea.
(www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/eqguinea.html)
2003 Oct, Washington reopened its
embassy on the tropical Equatorial Guinea's island capital of Malabo
after an eight-year shutdown. The tiny West African country has a
tremendous amount of oil. Pres. Teodoro Obiang has had his opponents
imprisoned and tortured, his presidential predecessor executed by
firing squad, and has helped himself to the state treasury at will.
State radio recently declared him "like God."
(AP, 11/17/03)
2004 Mar 7, Zimbabwean authorities
seized a US-registered cargo plane at Harare carrying 64 "suspected
mercenaries" and military equipment. Equatorial Guinea later said the
men were mercenaries from South Africa en route to stage a coup. Twenty
South Africans, 18 Namibians, 23 Angolans, two Congolese and one
Zimbabwean carrying a South African passport were arrested when their
aging Boeing 727 was impounded. Another 15 suspects were arrested in
Equatorial Guinea the next day. In 2006 Adam Roberts authored “The
Wonga Coup,” an account of the attempted coup.
(AP, 3/8/04)(WSJ, 3/10/04, p.A1)(AP, 3/10/04)(WSJ,
7/26/06, p.D11)
2004 Jul 27, All but three of 70
suspected mercenaries accused of plotting a coup in Equatorial Guinea
pleaded guilty to lesser charges in Zimbabwe.
(AP, 7/27/04)
2004 Jul, Equatorial Guinea and
Gabon reached an agreement allowing joint oil exploration in disputed
territories until a final resolution is worked out under UN mediation.
They have disputed the ownership of three islands in the Gulf of
Guinea, including Mbagne Island, since the 1970s.
(www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/eqguinea.html)
2004 Aug 25, In South Africa Mark
Thatcher, the son of former British PM Margaret Thatcher, was arrested
and charged with helping to finance a foiled coup attempt in oil rich
Equatorial Guinea. In 2008 Equatorial Guinea issued an international
arrest warrant against Mark Thatcher, accusing him of being an
instigator of the abortive coup plot.
(AP, 8/25/04)(AFP, 3/29/08)
2004 Aug 27, A Zimbabwean court
found Briton Simon Mann guilty of attempting to illegally buy arms for
an alleged coup plot in oil-rich Equatorial Guinea but absolved 66
other suspected mercenaries.
(AP, 8/27/04)
2004 Sep 10, Simon Mann, a former
British special forces soldier and the alleged leader of a foiled coup
plot in oil-rich Equatorial Guinea, was sentenced to seven years in
prison for trying to buy weapons from Zimbabwe's state arms
manufacturer.
(AP, 9/10/04)
2004 After the March coup attempt
led by Simon Mann and Nick du Toit in Equatorial Guinea, opposition
leader Severo Moto was accused of being the instigator. He was tried in
absentia and received a 63-year sentence.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Severo_Moto)(Econ,
6/21/08, p.58)
2005 Jan 13, Sir Mark Thatcher
pleaded guilty to unwittingly helping to finance a foiled coup plot in
oil-rich Equatorial Guinea, accepting a $506,000 fine and suspended
jail sentence.
(AP, 1/13/05)
2005 Jan, Equatorial Guinea
pledged to increase transparency in its fiscal accounts, citing its new
natural gas company as a first step in this direction.
(www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/eqguinea.html)
2005 Mar 15, A US Senate
investigators released a new report that said 9 US banks, including
Citigroup, Bank of America, and Riggs Bank, enabled Augusto Pinochet,
former Chilean dictator, and family members to build a secret network
of accounts to conceal his wealth. DC-based Riggs Bank merged with PNC
Financial following the inquiry, which also revealed that Pinochet and
Obiang Nguema, president of Equatorial Guinea, had stashed millions in
private accounts there.
(WSJ, 3/16/05,
p.A2)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riggs_Bank)(Econ, 3/14/09, p.63)
2005 Mar 29, It was reported that
China’s influence in Africa was expanding rapidly. Chinese projects
included the rebuilding of Nigeria’s railroad network; the paving of
roads in Rwanda; ownership of copper mines in Zambia; timber operations
in Equatorial Guinea; and supermarket operations in Lesotho.
(WSJ, 3/29/05, p.A1)
2005 Jul 16, A Russian-made plane
that disappeared from radar shortly after takeoff in Equatorial Guinea
crashed with 55 people aboard.
(AP, 7/17/05)
2005 The population of Equatorial
Guinea was estimated to be about 535,800.
(www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/eqguinea.html)
2006 Oct 31, PM Shinzo Abe said
Japan will continue assisting Equatorial Guinea in its efforts to
promote democracy. Abe made the pledge during a 45-minute meeting with
Equatorial Guinea's President Teodoro Obiang Nguema in Tokyo.
(AFP, 10/31/06)
2007 Jan 1, Li Zhaoxing, China's
foreign minister, signed a string of accords in Benin as part of a
whistle-stop tour of seven African nations as Beijing bolsters economic
ties on the continent. From Benin Li flew to Equatorial Guinea ahead of
visits in the coming days to Guinea-Bissau, Chad, the Central African
Republic, Eritrea and Botswana.
(AFP, 1/2/07)
2007 Jan 2, China's foreign
minister continued his whistle-stop African tour in Equatorial Guinea,
where he cancelled debt, promised aid and opened a new Chinese-built
media centre.
(AP, 1/2/07)
2007 Feb 24, Eq. Guinea was cited
as the world’s 3rd richest country with a GDP per person estimated at
$50,000.
(Econ, 2/24/07, SR p.4)
2007 Apr 26, Six central African
countries (Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Chad, Central African Republic,
Cameroon and Congo) plan to launch a common passport in July,
permitting the free movement of goods and people across their borders.
(AFP, 4/26/07)
2007 May 9, A Zimbabwean court
authorized the extradition of Briton Simon Mann to Equatorial Guinea on
coup plot charges, sweeping aside concerns that he might face torture
or invalid justice there.
(AFP, 5/9/07)
2008 Apr 16, A military plane
belonging to Equatorial Guinea crashed off its coast with at least 13
people on board. There are no survivors.
(AP, 4/18/08)
2008 Jul 7, A court in Equatorial
Guinea convicted former British officer Simon Mann on of being the key
player in a failed 2004 coup plot in this Central African nation and
sentenced him to 34 years and four months in prison.
(AP, 7/7/08)
2008 Aug 18, Equatorial Guinea's
exiled opposition leader Severo Moto was released from a Spanish jail
four months after he was detained for allegedly trying to send weapons
to the oil-rich African nation.
(AFP, 8/18/08)
2008 Equatorial Guinea was ranked
by Transparency Int’l. as the world’s 9th most corrupt country. Pres.
Nguema spent less than 2% of the GDP on public health and less than 1%
on education.
(Econ, 7/18/09, p.44)
2009 Jan 30, In Libreville, Gabon,
leaders of the six Central African states (Cameroon, Chad, Gabon, CAR,
Congo, Equatorial Guinea), began meeting to discuss closer economic
ties, including the creation of a new regional airline. The Economic
and Monetary Union of Central Africa, known as CEMAC, planned
discussions on such issues as monetary reform and the free movement of
citizens.
(AFP, 1/30/09)
2009 Feb 17, In Equatorial Guinea
gunmen clashed with security forces near the presidential palace.
Gunmen in two speedboats attacked the island capital before dawn. 16
men from neighboring Nigeria were arrested in the mysterious attack on
the presidential compound. The government said several attackers
drowned.
(AP, 2/17/09)(AP, 2/19/09)
2009 May 5, A French judge decided
to investigate three African heads of state for money laundering and
other alleged crimes linked to their wealth in France. The probe
follows a complaint by Transparency International France, an
association that tracks corruption, against Gabon's Omar Bongo,
Republic of Congo's Denis Sassou-Nguesso and Teodoro Obiang of
Equatorial Guinea.
(AP, 5/6/09)
2009 The population of Equatorial
Guinea was estimated to be about 600,000.
(Econ, 7/18/09, p.44)
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