Why Tolerate Rigged Elections in Gabon? Election Fraud and Supression of Opponents Taunt US Policy of Supporting Democratization

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ONLY a month after it began its broadcasts, the independent Radio Frequence Libre in the Central African nation of Gabon was stormed by masked troops who poured acid over the station's equipment. Radio Liberte, the only remaining opposition station, was not destroyed, but its signals are being jammed by the authoritarian government of President El Hadj Omar Bongo.

These actions come in the wake of the strongman declaring victory in the Dec. 5, 1993, elections amid well-founded accusations of electoral fraud.

Since the Clinton administration entered office, United States government officials have debated the parameters of its pro-democratization policy; …