Spain's La Vanguardia says Gabon's Bongo dead

By Marco Trujillo
BARCELONA (Reuters) - A Spanish newspaper said Gabon's President Omar Bongo died on Monday in a Spanish clinic where he was being treated for a serious illness, hours after the Gabonese prime minister said he was alive and well.
There was no immediate confirmation from the Gabonese authorities or from the hospital.
La Vanguardia, a Barcelona newspaper with excellent contacts in the region, said on its website that Bongo, Africa's longest-serving leader had died at 1200 GMT (8:00 a.m. EDT). A few hours earlier Gabonese Prime Minister Jean Eyeghe Ndong told a media conference at the Quiron hospital in Barcelona, where Bongo's family had been visiting him, that he was alive and well.
Reports that Bongo is ill have raised questions over the future leadership of Gabon, which has maintained close ties with former colonial ruler France and attracted investors with a Eurobond as well as its long-established oil industry.
French media initially said on Sunday that Bongo had died, after 41 years in power. But Gabon's government said on Monday that it would officially complain to France over the press reports.
"I have made a statement not only to reassure the Gabonese people but to condemn this tendency in the French press, which only wants to sow doubt in the spirit of the Gabonese for undesirable ends," Ndong said early on Monday.
Gabon's deputy foreign minister handed the official complaint to France's ambassador in Libreville.
The oceanside capital was quiet, despite the confusion. But some residents kept their children out of school as a precaution and stocked up on provisions, while others called for proof their president was alive.
Concerns over the Bongo's health grew last month after he suspended his functions as head of state for the first time since taking power in 1967.
The country has a well-developed oil industry with France's Total SA one of the biggest investors.
It also has a $1 billion Eurobond, which is due to mature in 2017, and which the government is in the process of buying back.
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The 73-year-old checked into the clinic in Barcelona in May, officially to rest after the sudden death of his wife. But reports that he was suffering from cancer fueled speculation over who would lead the country if he died.
Although there have been some concerns about stability, analysts say that, even if Bongo dies, the ruling party is likely to tightly manage the transition and that Bongo's successes in easing ethnic tensions will reduce the risk of turmoil.
Despite the government's denials of the French media's claims, some residents sought further reassurances. Continued...
Source: Reuters