Plácido Micó Abogo

Plácido Micó Abogo is an Equatoguinean politician. He is the Secretary-General of the Convergence for Social Democracy (CPDS), an opposition political party in Equatorial Guinea.

Micó Abogo was arrested after copies of the CPDS paper "La Verdad", which he and Celestino Bonifacio Bacalé wanted sent to Spain, were intercepted at the airport in Malabo in February 1992. He was jailed for about four months and was allegedly tortured. [http://www.cpds-gq.org/Presentacion.html Page at CPDS website] es icon.]

In December 1994, at the Constitutive Congress of the CPDS, held in Bata, Plácido Micó Abogo was chosen as Secretary-General. He was re-elected to this post at the party's Second National Congress in February 2001 and at its Third National Congress in February 2005.

Plácido Micó Abogo was the only CPDS candidate to win a seat in the Chamber of People's Representatives in the 1999 parliamentary election. He was re-elected in the April 2004 parliamentary election from Malabo; on this occasion he was one of two CPDS candidates to be elected. In the May 2008 parliamentary election, he was again re-elected, but was left as the only representative of the opposition in the 100-seat Chamber of People's Representatives. [http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=86&art_id=nw20080711144253292C272451 "'Equatorial Guinea worse than Zim'"] , AFP ("IOL"), July 11, 2008.]

Micó Abogo was arrested in May 2002, placed under house arrest, ["Equatorial Guinea: Opposition leader speaks out on his house arrest", Radio France Internationale (nl.newsbank.com), May 11, 2002.] and charged in connection with a 1997 coup plot."Political Parties of the World" (6th edition, 2005), ed. Bogdan Szajkowski, page 199.] In June 2002, he was sentenced to 14 years and eight months in prison; ["Programme summary of Radio France Internationale news 1830 gmt 10 Jun 02", Radio France Internationale (nl.newsbank.com), June 11, 2002.] however, President Teodoro Obiang Nguema pardoned him in August 2003.

In an interview with the Spanish newspaper "El Pais", published on July 11 2008, he was strongly critical of the political situation in Equatorial Guinea, saying that "the opposition has no political presence. There are no unions or professional associations. There is no media that escapes the government's control", and he condemned the parliamentary election held in May as severely "violent and manipulated". He also accused the United States of being complicit in the rule of President Obiang for the sake of its oil interests.

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