N K U L A K O N G
T A M T A M D E A L E R T ATHE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE NATIONAL LIBERATION MOVEMENT OF EQUATORIAL GUINEA
(MONALIGE)_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
41th Year ... No. 3 July 2000 English edition Quarterly Free
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*NKUL AKONG was founded in 1959 by Guinea’s independence leader Atanasio Ndong Miyone to educate Guineans politically in their struggle for freedom & democracy*
______________________________________________________________________________________ANNOBON: ONCE A PARADISE, NOW AFRICA’S DUMPING SITE FOR TOXIC AND RADIOACTIVE WASTES
The island of Annobon lies just south of the equator 223 miles off Central Africa’s western coast and to the south-west of Port Gentil, Gabon. It has been Equatorial Guinean territory since 1778 following the Treaty of El Pardo between Portugal and Spain, the former colonial power in Equatorial Guinea. In earlier times the island had considerable strategic significance and was used by European explorers as a stopping point in their expansion throughout Africa, searching for new lands away from home. Of a volcanic origin like her sister islands, Fernando Póo, São Tomé and Principe, Annobon, until the most recent decades, had extraordinary fertile land, abundant rainfall and a variety of food, including plantains, bananas, pineapples, mangos, avocados and many edible tubers typical of the tropics. With a volcanic crater fed by a fresh water lake (Lake Mazufin) that irrigates all its slopes, Annobon had a dense and lush vegetation. During colonial times ships went there from different countries to get timber, cotton and oranges. Today all this activity remains in the world of memories, ever since the accession to power in Guinea, in 1968, of Francisco Macías Nguema and his nephew Teodoro Obiang Nguema.
Macías punished the Annobonese people for 11 years with harsh treatment, subjecting them to slavery in the cacao plantations of the governing Mongomo oligarchy in Fernando Póo, illegally taking them away from their Spanish and Bubi owners. The few remaining inhabitants in Annobon, left to their fate, were condemned to total abandonment and deprived of communication with the rest of the Republic and the outside world. In that state the Annobonese people lacked everything, even the smallest means for life; without cloth, medicines, salt, soap and fuel, and with a plague of diseases and epidemics with no relief or medical attention. And death filled to the brim with the near extermination of the forgotten Annobonese. This situation brought the attention of the United Nations and other institutions of human rights during the seventies. The Annobonese population continues in a state of calamity, and still today is suffering, condemned to slow destruction by the vicious despots in Santa Isabel who lead the cruelest and most savage dictatorship in Africa.
Teodoro Obiang Nguema, after overthrowing his uncle Macías in 1979, has followed the same actions and political traditions of Macías regarding Annobon, transforming the island into the dumping site of toxic and radioactive wastes which come from foreign industrial nations. In exchange for money, Obiang Nguema signed contracts years ago with European and American companies for the dumping of toxic and nuclear wastes in Annobon. Since 1988, these wastes have been dumped in Annobon following the treaties between the Guinean president and UK Buckinghampshire and Axim Consortium Group. The contract with UK Buckinghampshire stipulates the dumping of ten million containers of toxic wastes for ten years, and with Axim Consortium Group many more million containers, to be dumped in Annobon island. The Spanish newspaper El País, in its edition of September 22, 1988 entitled "Annobon, un Paraíso para el Vertido de Tóxicos (Annobon, a Paradise for the Dumping of Toxic Wastes)" reported on a contract signed between Obiang Nguema and an American company for the dumping of seven million tons of toxic wastes in Annobon.
The satanic business of dumping toxic and radioactive wastes in Annobon continues until today in spite of its prohibition by governments and international organizations.
"...The dumping of the most toxic substances at sea is already banned worldwide. Radioactive waste dumping was stopped in 1978 in the United States, but some of what was dumped will be dangerous for thousands of years...":
Save Our Earth, Toxic Waste, p. 14; by Tony Hare.The diabolical operation between president Obiang Nguema and the aforementioned companies of death is producing inhuman unhealthful results in Annobon. The people little by little are becoming invalid, children get sick, the elderly waste away fast and the majority of the population suffers a plague of diseases with no help or medicines. The environment has been greatly affected, with the systematic destruction of the flora and fauna and the gradual disappearance of its maritime wealth: a generalized dwindling of the forest, trees without fruits, extinction of fish, lobsters, turtles and whales which some time ago were the pride of Annobon. In short, the decay of Annobon and its maritime waters, which await the final days in constant and desperate misery with no alternatives. Dr. Marike Post, of the University of Amsterdam, Holland was an eyewitness to the situation in Annobon. After her return from a trip to the island she declared:
"...The Annobonese people live in a concentration camp in their island, subjected to hunger and removal....The island is close to an ecological disaster. People are afraid of the change in the environment...The mangos, plantains,avocados, palm trees, papaws and bananas have stopped from giving fruits...The basic food of the island, including cassava and fish, are in the same state of deterioration... I will never forget the look of those hungry children and frail old men. What preoccupies me the most is: who can finish with this crime? Who can help the abandoned people of Annobon?".Toxic and radioactive wastes are dangerous because they contain poisonous chemicals. Dioxin, pesticides, PCB and other toxic wastes from industrial nations are chemical substances harmful to the inhabitants, ecology and environment of the country receiving them. They can affect the nervous system causing birth defects. Dioxin, for example, an organochlorine substance, is capable of destroying the liver and kidneys, and can even cause cancer, according to some experts.
"We can be affected by toxic chemicals when we breathe in contaminated air...We could also eat foods or drink water which contain toxic materials. Although it is very difficult to pinpoint how certain chemicals damage our bodies, some are known to cause cancer, reproductive problems, skin and bone disease, blindness and brain damage...Toxic wastes also poison wildlife. When wastes from industries reach rivers or the sea, it can kill plants and animals. In many countries, excess chemical pesticides and fertilizers have poisoned lakes and killed fish":
Save Our Earth, Toxic Waste, p. 22, by Tony Hare.Teodoro Obiang Nguema does not care about Equatorial Guinea or its well-being. During his 22 years in office as president he has done nothing for the country besides killing innocent people, unduly enriching himself, expropriating and raping single and married women and underage girls all over the country, transforming Guinea into the principal base of narcotraffic operations in Central Africa and making of Annobon the poisonous dumping site of toxic and radioactive wastes from industrialized nations.
The criminally selfish dictators of Equatorial Guinea are without a conscience destroying the jewels of their country: its people, culture, health and resources. The citizens of Guinea, desperate and weakened after more than 30 years of abuse and exploitation by their tyrannical rulers, pray to be rescued from this cruel and ugly debasement.
MONALIGE hears their prayers.
Equatorial Guinea
Country: it is formed of Rio Muni & five islands.
Area: 10,830 square miles.
Comparison: slightly larger than Maryland (USA).
Population: 500.000 inhabitants.
Nat. resources: oil, gas, uranium, iron ore, gold.
Export: oil, cacao, coffee, timber.
Government: dictatorial (family oligarchy).
Facts: more than 80,000 Guineans executed.
Exiles: 1/3 of the pop. lives in political exile.
* IN THE PAST, DURING THE FIGHTING, TRIBES WERE PUT ON ALERT WITH A DRUM BEAT SIGNAL (NKUL AKONG) TO PREPARE FOR WAR.
* DURING THE STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE OF SPANISH GUINEA, NKUL AKONG WAS THE MEDIUM WHICH WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN PREPARING THE GUINEAN MASSES TO WORK FOR THEIR LIBERATION FROM COLONIALISM.
* AT THE PRESENT MOMENT OF TYRANNY AND DICTATORSHIP IN THE COUNTRY, NKUL AKONG IS YOUR BEST INFORMATIVE MEDIUM AND THE ARM OF PREPARATION AND ADVICE TO BE ALERT AND READY IN THE STRUGGLE TO COMPLETELY LIBERATE AND DEMOCRATIZE EQUATORIAL GUINEA, AS IT WAS USED DURING THE EARLIER TRIBAL WARS AND AGAINST COLONIALISM.
* READ NKUL AKONG, YOUR ALERT SIGNAL, WHICH INFORMS YOU ABOUT THE SITUATION IN GUINEA AND PREPARES YOU FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT (BY MONALIGE) OF THE STATE OF LAW, MULTIPARTY DEMOCRACY AND FREE-MARKET ECONOMY IN THE COUNTRY.
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WATCHWORD TO READERS
Dear reader: to better spread MONALIGE’s message, read and let those around you read the NKUL AKONG "Tam Tam of Alert".
To the Guineans:
(1) My dear brother, once you have finished reading this newsletter, do not keep it in your pocket or in your house. Keep it in a secure place and read it to your family and friends, on your way hunting, in your farm, trips and daily affairs.
(2) My dear brother, if you have a few of these newsletters, do not keep more than one copy for yourself. Give the rest to others, to your parents, friends and acquaintances; or make copies and do the same.
(3) My dear brother, this newsletter must be read by everyone. Place it during the night at the doorsteps of the houses and apartments of the mongomonos (the people from Mongomo district, in Rio Muni) and nguemistas (the supporters of Francisco Macias Nguema’s and his nephew Teodoro Obiang Nguema’s tyrannical dictatorship), on trees and in public places where there is public activity, people and traffic.
(4) My dear brother, if the mongomonos and nguemistas have stolen or unjustly seized your property, abused or incarcerated you or killed a member of your family, friend or acquaintance, write to us. You already know how.
NKUL AKONG: Tam Tam de Alerta
Published by MONALIGE in Spanish, French & English
Copyright © 2000, MONALIGE
All rights reserved.
E-mail: monalige@equatorialguinea-monalige.com
Web site: http://www.equatorialguinea-monalige.com
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Interested readers and researchers may wish to read MONALIGE's quarterly newsletter NKUL AKONG or TAM TAM DE ALERTA (1959-2000) which is available in Spanish, French and English. They can also obtain the book Equatorial Guinea: from Spanish Colonialism to the Discovery of Oil in any of the above languages by ordering a copy through the Internet. It is a socio-historical documentary book, written by Dr. Adolfo Obiang Biko, a native Guinean and President of MONALIGE, who was an active participant and a leading freedom fighter in the struggle for independence of the country. The book has over 250 pages with a list of historical dates, glossary and an index, and more than 50 historical photographs. For information about ordering the book, the e-mail addresses and web site are:
IslandAK@aol.com (for English version).
Bochula@aol.com (for Spanish and French versions).
Monalige@equatorialguinea-monalige.com (for the versions in the three languages).
Http://www.equatorialguinea-monalige.com.
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