The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)
11 August 2008
editorial
The African Union's decision to suspended Mauritania following last week's military coup is commendable. The move to suspend Mauritania's membership until the military junta that has seized power restores democracy in the northern African country should be a powerful reminder that Africa is not prepared to return to the dark days when coups d'etat were the order of the day.
The last two decades or so have seen democracy take root in Africa, albeit in the two steps forward, one step back fashion, which was to be expected for a continent that was firmly in the grip of an assortment of dictators, both military and civilian, from the 1960s to the early 1990s.
But just when Africa thought that military rulers were about to become an extinct species on the continent, the coup in Mauritania has reminded us that it will take a long time for true democracy to be firmly entrenched on the continent. However, this should not mean that the brazen disregard for the rule of law as has happened in Mauritania should be condoned, let alone tolerated.
The AU and the international community should work to make life even tougher for the generals in Nouakchott and force them to relinquish power and restore democracy sooner rather than latter.
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