President Obiang Launches Initative To Reconcile With Expatriate Opposition Groups

MALABO, Equatorial Guinea, July 8, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Equatorial Guinea's President, Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, has announced a government initiative to open a dialogue with political opposition groups living abroad.

The president announced the initiative during a meeting of the Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea (PDGE), the country's ruling party.

President Obiang said that the aim of this initiative is to produce the kind of full national reconciliation he has always sought. 

"The Government is organizing dialogue meetings with the opposition groups outside of the country. We want a constructive dialogue with them."

The government of Equatorial Guinea has held meetings with the opposition groups in the past, but President Obiang said, "Time has passed and maybe there are things we can address again. What we seek and what we want is the reconciliation of all Equatoguineans."

Several years ago, he issued an invitation to expatriate citizens to return to the country to participate in and support Equatorial Guinea's renewal and development. Equatoguineans began leaving the country in large numbers under the government of Francisco Macias, who ruled the country from independence in 1968 until he was overthrown by President Obiang in 1979. 

Macias's reign was a bloody one during which more than 50,000 people may have been killed and as much as one-third of the population forced into exile. Others left the country in the early years of the Obiang government, but emigration has reversed and stabilized over the last several years. Equatoguinean expatriates have been returning to the country, which is also dealing with a surge of illegal migrants from neighboring countries seeking opportunities in the booming economy.

About Equatorial Guinea

The Republic of Equatorial Guinea (Republica de Guinea Ecuatorial) is the only Spanish-speaking country in Africa, and one of the smallest nations on the continent. In the late-1990s, American companies helped discover the country's oil and natural gas resources, which only within the last five years began contributing to the global energy supply. Equatorial Guinea is now working to serve as a pillar of stability and security in its region of West Central Africa. The country hosted the 2011 Summit of the African Union. For more information, visit http://www.guineaecuatorialpress.com.

SOURCE Republic of Equatorial Guinea

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