The Movement for the Self-Determination of Bioko Island ( es, Movimiento para la Auto-determinación de la Isla de Bioko) is a proscribed political organization in

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea ( es, Guinea Ecuatorial; french: Guinée équatoriale; pt, Guiné Equatorial), officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea ( es, link=no, República de Guinea Ecuatorial, french: link=no, République de Guinée équatoria ...

. It has its roots in the pre-independence Unión Bubi, which sought independence from the mainland half of Spanish Guinea. It is supported by the Bubi ethnic group, which dominates

Bioko Bioko (; historically Fernando Po; bvb, Ëtulá Ëria) is an island off the west coast of Africa and the northernmost part of Equatorial Guinea. Its population was 335,048 at the 2015 census and it covers an area of . The island is located of ...

island (home of the national capital). The Unión Bubi wanted the Spanish government to separate the Bubi-dominated Bioko and the

Fang A fang is a long, pointed tooth. In mammals, a fang is a modified maxillary tooth, used for biting and tearing flesh. In snakes, it is a specialized tooth that is associated with a venom gland (see snake venom). Spiders also have external fa ...

-dominated

Río Muni Río Muni (called ''Mbini'' in Fang) is the Continental Region (called ''Región Continental'' in Spanish) of Equatorial Guinea, and comprises the mainland geographical region, covering . The name is derived from the Muni River, along whic ...

(the mainland half of Equatorial Guinea) because, if the nation were united, the Bubi would be at the mercy of the Fang, who greatly outnumbered them nine to one. During the Spanish colonial era, the Bubi received better treatment and more education than the other ethnic groups, and many in the ethnic group feared that the country would be taken over by "illiterates." A vibrant political movement grew around the cause of independence for Bioko. Under the rule of

Francisco Macías Nguema Francisco Macías Nguema ( Africanised to Masie Nguema Biyogo Ñegue Ndong; 1 January 1924 – 29 September 1979), often mononymously referred to as Macías, was an Equatoguinean politician who served as the first President of Equatorial Guinea ...

(1968-1979), almost all Bubi political activists were either killed or exiled, and any aspirations for autonomy were dashed. President

Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo (; born 5 June 1942) is an Equatoguinean politician and former military officer who has served as the second president of Equatorial Guinea since August 1979. He is the longest-serving president of any country ev ...

(1979-), a Fang from the same family as Macías, continued the policy of prohibiting separatist movements. The MAIB has support from traditional Bubi leaders and some of the general population of Bioko, but the party is forced by law to operate secretly. The MAIB gained international attention when one of its main leaders, Weja Chicampo, was tortured and severely injured in March 2004 by government agents. Some years before, on January 21, 1998, military governmental forces had strongly fought against an attempt of independence from the mainland. Hundreds of Bubi were tortured and abused in Black Beach. People know a little about what happened in the south and center of Bioko Island where hundreds of Bubi disappeared. Those events are related in a book by a witness to the events, the Italian writer Franco Lelli, ''Okiri: Una Storia Africana'' (I.P.S.I.A. Terni, 2005).

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* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Movement For The Self-Determination Of Bioko Island African and Black nationalist organizations in Africa Political parties in Equatorial Guinea Separatism in Equatorial Guinea