Hamadou Tidiane Sy
22 October 2008
Dakar — As Mauritania is to complete the third month under military rule after a putsch has put an end to the democratic process in the country, more pressure is exerted on the junta led by General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz who took power on August 6 2008.
However, the army general and his team are still opposing strong resistance and have again shown this week that they are there to stay and to rule.
"There is no way we can return to the situation which prevailed before August 6", said on October 20th the army general who toppled President Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdallahi, who was democratically elected in March 2007.
Now, Mr Ould Abdel Aziz has set up a Higher State Council (HCE) and has decided to lead the country. He has appointed a new government led by a diplomat formerly posted in Brussels Moulaye Ould Mohamed Laghdaf.Though he made his defiant statement inside Mauritanian territory, it clearly aimed at a wider audience, far beyond his countrymen and women. The general's message was actually directed to the international community which has been pressurizing the new military authorities to return to the barracks and to restore the civilian regime which they ousted.
The timing of the message was also carefully planned, as it was made at a very crucial moment, when the general wanted his position to be heard by all, including outside Mauritania.
Using a visit at the National Water Company as an opportunity, he made the speech on the same day when his Prime Minister Moulaye Ould Mohamed Laghdaf was in France for talks with European Union officials about the future of Mauritania, following the military coup.
"The position of the Mauritanian people regarding the consultations which took place on Monday in Paris is a total rejection of anything that is against its interests", General Ould Abdel Aziz said, quoted by the official Mauritanian News Agency.
This position made clear, he went on to define what those "interests" are. Then he warned "those who want a return to the previous situation, and who are not taking into account the interests of the people but their own personal interests".
Despite the warning from Mr Ould Abdel Aziz, the Paris consultations ended with a call from the E.U to the authorities in Nouakchott to release the imprisoned president "within a month" and to restore the "constitutional order".
Mauritanians are now becoming very familiar with this last phrase, as any international meeting where Mauritania is dealt with ends with that plea, but leaves their leader unwavering about his intentions.
Only four days before the European Union meeting, the United States which had already suspended their aid in the early days after the putsch, had issued a statement announcing more sanctions against the authorities in Nouakchott.
The U.S Department of State announced it has "imposed travel sanctions to the United States on certain members of the military junta and the government, as well as other individuals who support policies or actions that undermine Mauritania's return to constitutional rule."
This scaling up of the sanctions by the United States followed earlier announcements made immediately after the coup, to no avail.
Despite this move from the world's superpower, Nouakchott's soldiers still refuse to yield to any compromise.
Immediately after the elected president was toppled, Washington had warned it may impose sanctions.
Indeed, ever since the coup was perpetrated, the European Union, the African Union and the United States have been at unison putting pressure on the Mauritanian military to quit power and put back the toppled president to his seat.
So far all these diplomatic efforts deployed by the international community have remained unsuccessful.
No date for new elections has been set and the ousted president Ould Abdallahi still remains under house arrest.
Meanwhile, inside the country pro-democracy activists or politicians opposing the junta are constantly under threat, raising more concerns from the international community.
At its recent summit held in Quebec, Canada (October 17 - 19) the International Organization of Francophone Countries (OIF) left Mauritania's seat "empty", as a signal of its commitment to see the rule of law restored.
Members of the OIF are tied to observe democratic principles since a "Bamako declaration" was adopted by members back in 2000 in favour of democracy and human rights.
Abdou Diouf, the former Senegalese president now at the head of the francophone organization pleaded for "an extremely firm attitude" towards the military authorities in Nouakchott.
To explain his position, Mr Diouf reminded how the OIF and the rest of the international community had together imposed pressure on the previous military regime which came to power in 2005.
This resulted into the army officers at the head of the country at the time accepting a transition period and the organization of successful, free and fair elections.
The African Union, which sent a special envoy to Nouakchott on the aftermath of the latest coup, has also been very firm on its principles not to allow a military regime remain forever in power in Nouakchott.
Indeed, it is believed that if the military junta in Mauritania is currently facing more pressure than any military government has faced before in a coup prone country, it is largely due to the efforts and money invested by the international community to restore democracy and to organize the 2007 elections, hailed as a model of transparency.
The disruption of this successful democratic process is what everybody, inside and outside Mauritania, is complaining about.
Thus Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz appears as the first military leader in Mauritania who has to face such intense internal opposition to his coming to power, and moreover openly expressed defiance.
Disappointed by the military coup and strengthened by the outrage and unanimous condemnation from abroad, some Mauritanians have decided to reject the military leadership and to publicly challenge the junta.
Contrary to previous coups, where all national stakeholders would quickly brought their support to the junta (or at most would keep silent), this coup was opposed from the onset by key players inside the country.
The speaker of the national assembly, Messaoud Ould Boukheir, joined by some of the MPs, still reject the legitimacy of the State Higher Council and the government it has appointed.
Moreover a coalition of political parties has formed a Front for the Defense of Democracy, carrying out regular activities to show their opposition to the military rulers, despite the threats and the arrests of some of their members.
With all these "enemies" to face, it is clear the military regime has now a difficult choice to make: either remain in power, but leading an internally unstable and internationally isolated government or ceding to the hardening pressure and losing power for good.
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