July 16, 2003

A Coup in Africa, and the War on Terror

What does a military coup in a tiny impoverished African country have to do with the war on terror? Plenty. A military coup in Sao Tome & Principe, a tiny island nation off the west coast of Africa, has big implications for the United States and deserves a lot more attention than it is getting. I've written about Sao Tome, its untapped oil, and its friendly overtures toward the United States before (start here and follow the links).

Here's a Voice of America report on the coup, plus coverage from the BBC, looking at oil's importance to Sao Tome, and a Forbes report on how oil has brought conflict to neighboring nations. CBS News' web story on the coup has lots of background on the tiny nation.

In this report, VOA says the government of neighboring Nigeria swiftly condemned the coup and "warned the military not to threaten or harm Nigerians living in Sao Tome." Mozambique also denounced the coup."

Sao Tome, made up of several small islands, has a population of about 150,000 people. VOA: It is one of the world's poorest countries, but potential oil reserves in its coastal waters have increased political tensions. Arguments over oil have fueled political instability in recent months. In January, President de Menezes dissolved parliament and called early elections because of a dispute with lawmakers over oil negotiations. The president later reinstated parliament and a new constitution was approved this year limiting the powers of the presidency.

Seven months ago, I wrote that Sao Tome, a largely Roman Catholic former Portuguese colony, was "a democracy, and a stable one at that." It was - and the Bush administration should move immediately to make it so again.

A military coup in Sao Tome in 1995 was ended, and democracy restored, when the United States and the European announced they would cut off vital foreign aid. A similar response is needed this time. It is in the United States' vital national interest that Sao Tome and Principe's President Fradique de Menezes be restored to his office, and democracy reinstated. part of winning the war against Islamist terrorism is to de-fund it, by shifting U.S. oil importation to non-Islamic countries as much as possible. Sao Tome is one such country.