Mauritanian army to compensate abuse victims

The Mauritanian military is looking to put previous abuses behind it and pay recompense to those who were wronged.

By Jemal Oumar for Magharebia in Nouakchott – 06/09/11

The Mauritanian defense ministry began implementing a program late last month to compensate past victims of human rights abuses committed by the army.

The move follows a decision by President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz to pay damages to black military personnel who were either abused or arbitrarily dismissed during the 1981-2004 timeframe.

The defense ministry pledged to compensate the families of missing personnel, adding that the measure would include nearly a thousand soldiers of various ranks. Authorities have budgeted 8.5 billion ouguiyas (21 million euros) for the program which began August 28th.

"These decisions come in the framework of final settlement with the aim of putting an end once and for all for this dark page of the history of human rights violations in Mauritania, where injustice was done to individuals and whole families in society," said Thiam Ousman, a brother of a soldier who was killed on charges of taking part in a coup attempt in the early 1990s.

For his part, General Ahmed Ould Bekrin, defense ministry secretary-general, said in press statements that the compensation follows the creation of a list of dead and missing from various actions of the Mauritanian army.

"It includes all those who were affected by the events that took place in Mauritania in 1981, 1982, 1989, 1990, 1991, 2003 and 2004 in the army, gendarme and national guard," the general said. "Through that, we're trying to make a final and comprehensive settlement of the human heritage file on the level of military institution."

Ould Bekrin added that authorities agreed with families of the missing and those who were dismissed on the terms of a settlement, saying that they aimed to form "a consensus and a final solution".

For his part, retired colonel Niang Abdelaziz, head of the League of Mauritanian Army Retirees, said that he was "very happy that such a humanitarian demand, which has always been raised by benevolent people in the Mauritanian society before the families of victims themselves, has been met".

"I congratulate all Mauritanians, especially President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, on this courageous collective decision that will put an end to this file once and for all," he said.

Aisata Diallo, wife of a victim who disappeared in 1990, said that "it's very difficult to compensate for the death of someone who is dear to our hearts, like a husband or a son, especially if this was the result of injustice."

"However, today I'm feeling happy for the first time since the disappearance of my husband in ambiguous circumstances. Receiving a financial compensation makes me feel that the current government cares about our ordeal and tries to fix mistakes that were made in the past," Diallo said.

Family members of other victims echoed her sense of relief. "This step is some sort of rehabilitation for those who disappeared in ambiguous circumstances although they didn't do anything wrong," said Amadou Sow, whose father was killed. "It's the mistakes of former regime, but those who forgive are generous and forgetting is a grace from God."

"The decision of the current government in revealing the victims' graves and giving financial assistance to their children and wives, and for compensating those who were laid off, is a generous gesture that makes us feel that Mauritania is a country for all in spite of its different cultures and ethnicities," he added.

But not everyone was pleased by the conciliatory steps. A group of black military personnel abused during the 1990s objected to what they said was a "discriminatory nature" in resolving the claims.

"The settlement that the Mauritanian government committed itself to included only 5-10% of the victims" from the 1987-91 period, according to protestor Mansour Ba. He added that he submitted a list of other victims but it was not properly acted on.

Source: Magharebia.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2011/09/06/feature-07.