Chris Melville Quotations

Judging by his reaction, Bongo feels surrounded by nebulous threats. The root of his anxiety is not entirely clear.

The fact that the chief of staff of the land army was so exposed suggests that the command structures must be significantly deteriorated already.

It would seem that a significant proportion of the population has become extremely frustrated with the political process and with the system of multi-party democracy that Sao Tome has. And they no longer have any confidence in the major parties, but are faced with little other choice about who to vote for. And this is of serious concern for the country.

However the... head of state has visibly aged in the past two years and his health may have deteriorated somewhat. He has made a number of private visits to allied Morocco in recent months, where good and discreet private healthcare is widely available.