Mr. Ona and other CSOs were detained for their plans to hold a demonstration on the sidelines of the New York Forum investment conference in Gabon. As of the evening of June 8, Ona and the others were released.
Marc Ona and around 30 other civil society activists in Gabon were arrested Friday, June 8 for organizing a demonstration that was denied by Gabonese authorities. The “contre-Forum” was planned to highlight the pervasive corruption and lack of democracy and accountability in the oil-rich Central African country.
Mr. Ona was arrested by the authorities in 2009 before boarding a flight to attend the Publish What You Pay (PWYP) conference in New York, where CSOs discuss efforts to increase transparency and reduce corruption in resource rich countries.
Marc Ona, Publish What You Pay coordinator for the network’s chapter in Gabon and Executive Director of the environmental NGO Brainforest, won the 2009 Goldman Environmental Prize for his efforts to expose the unlawful agreements behind a huge mining project threatening the sensitive ecosystems of Gabon’s equatorial rainforests.
UPDATE: Mr. Ona and his CSO colleagues were released the evening of June 8.