France 24: Mobilisation against Ali Bongo on the WEB

In Gabon, ever since opposition leader Andre Mba Obame declared himself the legitimate president on the 25th of January the dispute surrounding President Ali Bongo's government has intensified. Over the past few days Obame has been increasing calls for mobilization to force the current head of state to step down. The mobilization is being widely relayed online.

There are numerous videos of the demonstrations organized by Obame's supporters circulating on sharing sites. The rallies, like this one in Bitam in the north of the country, drew thousands of protestors who were demanding more freedom and democracy in Gabon.

But these demonstrations sometimes turned to rioting, as we can see in these images filmed in Libreville where angry protesters set fire to cars. Numerous clashes also broke out between protestors and the police on the fringes of the rallies, proving that the situation is particularly tense.

In this post on the site Koaci.com, Camarade says he fears the worst. He says that the violence in Gabon is taking on worrying proportions and could plunge the country into chaos. He does encourage his fellow citizens to continue protesting however, but to do so without using force and hence give Bongo's camp no reason to do the same.

And the opposition can now count on the support from sections of the Gabonese community residing abroad. Several dozens of Andre Obame's supporters gathered in Paris on Saturday to show their solidarity with the protestors and demand that Ali Bongo step down as soon as possible.

The protesting is taking part in the streets but also on the web and on Twitter in particular. The threads #revogab and #alidegage have been set up by opponents of Ali Bongo and provide real time updates on the situation at the scene.

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