© AP – Francois Mori
The President of Congo-Brazzaville, Denis Sassou-Nguesso. (illustrative image)
On the sidelines of the AU-EU summit in Brussels this week, Congolese President Denis Sassou-Nguesso spoke on TV5 Monde. The opportunity to comment on the problems of political instability in the West African sub-region, with in particular the succession of coups in Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso, but also on the accusations of the Pandoras Papers, who accuse the presidency of using offshore companies in tax havens.
For twelve minutes, the Congolese president answers diplomatic questions with tact, even with a certain distance. Asked regarding the repetition of coups in West Africa, Denis Sassou-Nguesso cautiously expresses his surprise.
« We are seeing a decline and there may be dysfunctions in such and such a country, but these dysfunctions do not always justify the fact that we have to resort to a coup d’etat to solve the problems. »
And when it comes to answering the question of whether he himself is affected by the “ power drain “, in the words of the journalist, the Congolese president launches into a historical reminder:
We happened to exercise power for twelve or thirteen years for the first time, then national events decided otherwise and we withdrew from affairs of state under conditions that you know. Other events have allowed us to return to business, I believe until today with the support of our people. We will continue to serve him until the day he decides otherwise, as he already did once in 1991-1992. We will bend
Another sensitive issue: that of the accusations contained in the Pandoras Papers investigation. Denis Sassou-Nguesso sees in it a pure machination and claims not to know the companies singled out by this vast survey.