As always - gives some interesting insight into the developing story.
His post:
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/002687.htmlRefers to these items:
Where was flight N4610 heading?March 10 2004 at 08:11AM
They were 64 "heavily built men", mostly white. No, they were all black. No, only 40 of them were black.
--snip--
Some sources say the drama began in November 2003 or December when the company Logo Logistics acquired a fishing concession in Equatorial Guinea and bought or hired fishing trawlers.
"Those guys have never caught a fish in their lives," one source said.
The trawlers were really to be used first to reconnoitre and then to transport mercenaries to oust the government of unpopular President Obiang Nguema Mbasogo in a coup, the sources said. Though part of Equatorial Guinea is on the African mainland, its capital Malabo is on the island of Bioko, and it appears that a seaborne coup was planned, though it is not clear from what staging post it would happen.
Equatorial Guinea and its immediate neighbouring island state of Sao Tome and Principe have become ripe for coups since oil was recently discovered in their waters. That has made them big prizes for greedy politicians and those who help them to acquire power. Sao Tome experienced a coup in 2003, which was reversed by African Union intervention.
more:
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=84&art_id=vn20040310081125342C951468&set_id=1and this story
Equatorial Guinea Thanks Mbeki for Tip-Off On Coup Bid March 11, 2004
Posted to the web March 11, 2004
Tim Cohen, Editor At Large With Sapa-AP
Johannesburg
THE arrest of 15, mostly South African, alleged coup plotters in Equatorial Guinea at the weekend came just hours after a tip-off from SA's intelligence services that trouble was brewing, senior government spokesmen confirmed yesterday.
The arrests were followed shortly by the detention in Zimbabwe late on Sunday of 64 people, including 20 South Africans, believed to have been on their way to Equatorial Guinea as part of the coup group.
more:
http://allafrica.com/stories/200403110035.html