Equatorial Guinean dictator Obiang creates awkward atmosphere at Adolfo Suárez's State funeral
Tuesday, April 1, 2014 @ 1:15 PM
AN AFRICAN dictator at the funeral of Spain's first freely-elected president after Franco's 40-year régime caused some discomfort yesterday (Monday).
Teodoro Obiang went to Adolfo Suárez's State funeral, despite the fact the Spanish president was in power when the former staged a coup d'état in Equatorial Guinea in 1979, and Suárez's attempts at intervening in the democratic process of the country in 1992 failed spectacularly.
Whenever a State funeral is held, the government automatically sends invitations to all countries with embassies or consulates in Spain, and the leaders of these nations then decide whether or not to attend.
The process is the same in all countries.
Equatorial Guinea has an embassy in Madrid, meaning an invite was issued in accordance with standard procedure.
Obiang was on his way to Brussels to attend three days' worth of official engagements, a fact which had already caused controversy – and chose to be present at Suárez's funeral.
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