by Dan Gardner

21-06-08 Newspaper readers might have seen a curious story about British mercenaries led by Simon Mann, a former Special Air Service officer, on trial in an oil-rich African backwater known as Equatorial Guinea. They were allegedly involved in a failed attempt to topple the tiny nation's ruler and hand effective control of Equatorial Guinea's oil revenues to the coup's financiers -- who apparently included the son of a former British prime minister and a shadowy Lebanese businessman.
Not only does this sound like the plot of a spy novel, it actually is the plot of a spy novel: Frederick Forsyth's 1974 best-seller The Dogs of War portrayed British mercenaries leading a coup against the president of a thinly fictionalized Equatorial Guinea.

It's all very entertaining. Too entertaining, in fact. Since the alleged plot was exposed in 2004 -- when Mann and his soldiers were arrested in Zimbabwe -- this story has been portrayed as a real-life thriller, with Mann and those who hired him atthe centre of the plot. The target of the failed coup is reduced to the status of a minor character, seldom glimpsed or discussed.
This is an obscene inversion of the real story -- the meaningful story.

The ruler of Equatorial Guinea -- which consists mostly of a small island off the west coast of Africa and a little rectangle on the mainland -- is Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo. Now 66, Obiang has been in charge since he seized power in a coup in 1979. Repression and brutality are hallmarks of Obiang's long rule. No free speech. Sham democracy. Arbitrary arrest. Torture. Rape. Freedom House, a respected American NGO, ranks Obiang's government among the most repressive on the planet.
Corruption is another essential feature of the regime. All positions of power are held by Obiang's extended family and no business is conducted without a cut going to the ruling mafia. In the last 15 years, offshore oil discoveries have made Equatorial Guinea one of Africa's top oil exporters and yet this nation of barely half a million people continues to be afflicted by horrific poverty: More than a third of the population dies before reaching the age of 40.

Oil has, however, made life quite comfortable for Obiang's family. His son and expected heir is an international playboy who once picked up two Bentleys and a Lamborghini in a single shopping spree. Obiang himself is known to have mansions and villas in France, Morocco and the United States. He once bought a $ 2.6-mm property in Washington DC with cash.
I suppose one might say, so what? Corrupt and brutal rulers are hardly unknown in Africa, or elsewhere. In part, what sets this particular corrupt and brutal ruler apart is the degree of his corruption and brutality. But more than that, it's his career prior to seizing power that makes him one of the worst criminals alive today.

Media reports invariably note that Obiang seized power in 1979. Some also note that the man he overthrew was his uncle. What is never mentioned is that his uncle, Francisco MaciasNguema Biyogo, was so deluded and vicious he made Idi Amin look moderate and Pol Pot sane. By the time Macias was executed by Obiang in 1979, one-third of the population of Equatorial Guinea was dead or in exile.
Also unmentioned in news reports is that Obiang was hardly a long-time opponent of Macias. In fact, Obiang was the military governor of the island portion of Equatorial Guinea during Macias' rule and since Macias preferred to spend his time on the mainland, Obiang was effectively in charge of much of the country throughout the long nightmare. Obiang was also the director of the island's notorious Black Beach Prison. In Black Beach, torture was routine. So were executions: The standard method involved forcing the condemned man to lie face down and then smashing his skull with iron bars. The British mercenaries now on trial in Equatorial Guinea are being held in Black Beach, although British reporters were given a tour and assured that conditions were much improved.

That bit of PR work is typical of Obiang. He is ruthless like Macias -- he only overthrew his uncle after Macias started executing family members, including Obiang's brother -- but he is not insane. He avoids international attention when possible and makes concessions to international opinion when necessary. His canny handling of international affairs has worked marvellously.
Not long after taking power, Obiang played host to King Juan Carlos of Spain. He received language tutorials from the French ambassador. Pope John Paul II visited in 1981 and said mass while Obiang stood beside him, smiling. Today, Obiang's regime has good relations with all major nations, including Canada. Obiang has been greeted as an elder statesman at the United Nations. In 2005, he had a private audience with Pope Benedict XVI.

With American oil companies pumping most of Equatorial Guinea's oil, Obiang's relations with the United States are particularly cordial. During the first administration of George W. Bush, Obiang met in Washington, DC with then-secretary of state Colin Powell. Also in Washington, he was an honoured guest in the audience as Condoleezza Rice was given an award for promoting human rights in Africa.
"Americans must never excuse tyranny or corruption in Africa," Rice declared in her acceptance speech.

But Americans have excused this corrupt tyrant. So have we all.
That story might not be as entertaining as the schemes of mercenaries and shadowy financiers, but it is a hell of a lot more important.