No More Aid for You US Tells Gabon Over Coup

On Monday the United States disclosed that it has terminated its assistance to Gabon due to the August 30 coup unless in return for concrete progress toward democracy.

The US paused assistance to Gabon immediately after the military takeover which under US law requires an end to non-humanitarian aid any time a coup happened.

Matthew Miller, the State Department spokesman said in a statement: “We will resume our assistance alongside concrete actions by the transitional government toward establishing democratic rule,”

“The United States stands with the Gabonese people in their aspirations for democracy, prosperity, and stability.”

Niger and Gabon are the African countries where the United States recently stopped their aid over a coup.

Gabonese military officers ousted Ali Bongo Ondimba after he was declared the winner of an election widely criticized for irregularities and malpractices. Raymond Ndong Sima was installed as Prime Minister who had been an opposition leader, by the military.

The Prime minister said that the intervention in the military takeover prevented unrest and addressed concerns about corruption in Gabon. He also asked the Western powers not to see all military takeovers as a bad thing.