11.   There were calls for political detainees to be freed and chants in support of the new opposition group, New Forum.

12.   They also made it clear that the party fears that New Forum and other opposition groups could turn into mass movements.

13.   Opposition groups see the bannings as the latest stage of a government clampdown.

14.   In one of several concessions, Bongo granted legal status, initially for one year, to all the opposition groups participating in the conference.

15.   After the election, opposition groups again protested against allowing the MRF to operate as a political party.

16.   Opposition groups claimed, however, that the government had halted voting in areas where the Parti dmocratique gabonais appeared close to defeat.

17.   Opposition groups dismissed the constitutional changes as a device to gain Western aid and approval at a time of economic crisis.

18.   The agreement, adopting a Kurdish proposal, brought to a formal end the long-standing differences especially between nationalist and Islamic opposition groups.

19.   Two major opposition groups, the KNRG and the NDM, affiliated to the new formation.