Mauritania anti-census movement draws NGO support

2011-10-03

Protests against the 2011 Mauritanian national census continued Sunday (October 2nd) in Nouakchott, PANA reported. The Initiative for the Resurgence of the Abolitionist Movement (IRA), an anti-slavery NGO, staged sit-ins to denounce what it calls a "discriminatory and selective" census that it accuses of depriving some Mauritanians of their "natural citizenship rights".

Meanwhile, the Mauritanian Forum of Human Rights Organisations (FONADH) on Saturday (October 1st) called for an official probe into the death of a teenager killed during an anti-census protest last Tuesday. Lamine Mangane was shot in Maghama during clashes between anti-riot police and protesters from the "Hands Off My Nationality" movement. The members of the movement oppose the census for its alleged exclusion of the country's black population.

Source: Magharebia.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2011/10/03/newsbrief-04.

Census riots hit southern Mauritania

Mauritanians upset with the way authorities are handling the latest census are taking to the streets in violent demonstrations.

By Bakari Guèye for Magharebia in Nouakchott – 03/10/11

The southern Mauritanian city of Kaedi erupted into violence late last month as young protesters from the "Don't Touch My Nationality" movement clashed with security forces over the country's census.

"The damage is enormous," according to Hassan Baradji, a prominent Kaedi resident. "Public and private buildings such as the palace of justice, the head offices of the transport federation, the census office and the market have been ransacked and burned."

The violence began in town along the Senegalese border on September 24th, with rioters saying they feared being treated as second class citizens as a result of the census. Kaedi's Director of Security was dismissed from his post following the riots. Clashes were also later reported in Nouakchott, resulting in 56 arrests as of Friday (September 30th), according to AFP.

Police tried to restore calm in Kaedi by negotiating with the Don't Touch My Nationality movement. Group co-ordinator Wane Abould Birane said that the movement was launched "following the wholesale rejection by the enrollment committees of a significant body of Mauritanian Negroes marginalized by an oppressive system which has always been ready to exclude the Mauritanian Negro".

"The movement was launched on the social networks by young Negro-Mauritanian white-collar workers from various backgrounds," he said. "The census committees have been humiliating Black African citizens, acting as judge and jury, even putting the nationality of a Bal, Fall, Traore or Sarr to the vote."

The co-ordinator cited the example of one person who was asked to recite a particular verse from the Qur'an while "another had to prove his Mauritanian credentials by recognizing a key figure from presidential circles or by speaking in the Hassania language".

Mauritanian Interior Minister Mohamed Ould Bolil met with leaders of the movement following the riots but the clashes continued to spread, reaching the town of Maghama, where one person was killed on September 27th.

The Mauritanian Parliament took up the issue at the opening of its September 25th session. "The biggest threat to national cohesion at this time is the census currently under way," said National Assembly President Messaoud Ould Boulkheir. He urged authorities to review the census program while at the same time calling for citizens to "return to peace and dialogue in order to resolve all national problems".

"The waves made by the current census are due to a manifest lack of information," according to Senate President Bâ M'Baré. He said the census would involve all Mauritanians. "The operation to enroll all Mauritanians will take as long as it takes. No son of this country will be left at the roadside," he added.

Mauritania's main opposition party, the Rally of Democratic Forces (RFD), blamed the violence on "authorities' repression of a demonstration", adding that the party condemned "all forms of repression against peaceful demonstrations which are provided for in the Constitution".

Source: Magharebia.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2011/10/03/feature-02.

Mauritania census protests turn violent

2011-09-26

Violent clashes between Mauritanian anti-riot police and protestors from the "Hands Off My Nationality" movement continued Sunday (September 25th) in the southern town of Kaedi (Gorgol wilaya), ANI reported. Protestors in Mauritania, as well as expatriates, have been rallying for months over claims that the national census excludes the country's black population.

The moderate Islamist National Rally for Reform and Development (RNRD, or Tawassoul) political party, the Alliance for Justice and Democracy – Movement for Renovation (AJD-MR) and the Rally for Democratic Forces (RFD) issued statements denouncing the week-end violence and calling for the census to be suspended until the claims of discrimination are addressed. Mauritanian human rights organizations AVOMM and OCVIDH are among the census opponents.

Source: Magharebia.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2011/09/26/newsbrief-06.

Mauritania permits private broadcast media

While Mauritania is set to allow private TV stations, some are concerned that licensing requirements will allow the government to maintain control of information.

By Jemal Oumar for Magharebia in Nouakchott – 19/09/11

Mauritania will soon open the nation's airwaves to private media. The High Authority for Press and Broadcasting (HAPA) promised Thursday (September 15th) to open the field to private enterprise no later than November 15th.

The agency said that it "invites all interested parties to show their desire to create commercial private radio and television stations in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania". Fees for television applications amount to 500,000 ouguiyas, versus 200,000 ouguiyas for radio station applications.

"In the first stage, the government will allow the creation of five television satellite channels and five radio stations in the commercial field," Mauritanian Information Minister Hamdi Ould Mahjoub said.

The minister said that "the government has established a broadcasting company, and the ball is now in the court of private investors to submit their applications for creating satellite television channels and radio stations."

The head of the Union of Mauritanian Journalists, Houssein Ould Imedou, praised the move an important step towards ending the state monopoly on media.

"This decision will enable citizens to own media outlets that would represent their views and expresses their desires without any censorship or dictates," Ould Imedou told Magharebia.

The union chief said that he expects the media reforms to boost competitiveness "with the entry of new actors who will be forced by the logic of competition to improve their output and respect professionalism and viewers".

On the other hand, writer Said Ould Habib voiced concerns that state control would continue through other means.

"I think that opening the media field for the private sector under a broadcasting company belonging to the state would further consolidate the latter's domination over the media scene," he told Magharebia. "This doesn't constitute a serious will to have media freedom because the government would still be able to control the output of these private media outlets, and in this way, freedom of media would have no meaning."

Media professional Mokhtar Ould al-Tameen also believes that press freedom is needed but he wondered about the ability of independent media to improve Mauritanian journalism.

"We've had written press since the beginning of the 1990s, but it has committed major mistakes and has been largely corrupt," Ould al-Tameen said. "Then came the electronic press that made the sector even more corrupt, and when the new television channels open, they will join the same circle and won't be an exception."

"We should have improved the level of written and electronic media so as to be prepared for opening radio and television stations," he added.

In his turn, sociologist Ibrahim Ould Sidi expressed fears that private radio and television stations would be dominated by tribes, adding that this would be "at the expense of professionalism and efficiency".

"And since the channels that are allowed in the initial stage have a commercial nature, we are afraid of the spread of patronage, abuse of power and businessmen's monopoly of the media scene, in which case professionalism will be absent," he added.

However, young political activist Jeddou Ould Ham believes that independent media is an opportunity for various political forces to express their views without harassment.

"Politicians have long criticized the pro-regime parties' monopoly of official media, especially radio and television stations. With the opening of independent channels, everyone will have multiple opportunities and the monopoly of a certain group will be broken," Ould Ham said.

"We understand that there will be shortcomings in the beginning," he added. "However, the positive points will be more than the negative points."

Source: Magharebia.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2011/09/19/feature-02.

Mauritania census spurs protests

2011-09-12

Police and demonstrators clashed Saturday in Nouakchott at a rally against the national census under way in Mauritania, Pana reported on Sunday (September 11th). Mauritanian human rights organizations AVOMM and OCVIDH are among the census opponents that claim it excludes the country's black population. Expatriates also rallied against the census in Paris on Saturday. Protestors carried banners with the slogans "Stop Racism in Mauritania" and "Hands Off My Nationality".

Source: Magharebia.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2011/09/12/newsbrief-05.

New political party unites Mauritanian youth movements

2011-09-09

The Mauritanian interior ministry on Thursday (September 8th) officially recognized new political party "Surge of Youth for the Nation", ANI reported. The new party merges several youth movements. The 53-member provisional executive committee will be chaired by Lalla Cheriva, a former national executive board member of the ruling Union for the Republic (UPR).

Source: Magharebia.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2011/09/09/newsbrief-05.

Mauritania rains spur locust fears

2011-09-06

Mauritania on Monday (September 5th) dispatched teams to monitor the movement of locusts, APA reported. The move comes after heavy rainfall created conditions favorable to the crop-destroying insects, which have already been observed in Assaba and Tamachekatt. Early monitoring by the national locust control center (CNLA) aims to prevent a possible invasion. Ground and air units will treat some 30,000 hectares across the country.

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

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.

Mauritania postpones elections

2011-08-26

Mauritania on Thursday (August 25th) postponed the October 16th municipal and legislative elections, ANI reported. The new poll date will reportedly be discussed at the next cabinet meeting. On Tuesday, eleven Mauritanian political parties issued a joint statement calling for the delay.

Source: Magharebia.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2011/08/26/newsbrief-08.

WFP: Mauritania food crisis 'three times worse than 2010'

Fri Feb 10, 2012

The World Food Program (WFP) has warned that the food crisis in Mauritania as a result of drought could be three times worse than the one which struck the West African nation two years ago.

“The levels of food insecurity are three times higher than in the same period in 2012,” WFP said in a report published on Thursday.

The world body noted that some 700,000 people do not have enough to eat in Mauritania, calling for "urgent action to help the poorest households and avoid a major humanitarian crisis."

Mauritania with the support of the international community has carried out a 112-million euro ($148 million) "Hope 2012" project since January.

The Sahel belt of Africa, which stretches from Senegal to Eritrea, is particularly sensitive to drought and famine. Some 10 million people were affected by a severe food crisis in the region in 2010.

International non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have sounded the alarm that the Sahel could be crippled by food shortages in 2012 as a result of poor rains last year.

Oxfam has announced that harvests plummeted 25 percent in the region compared to 2010 because of lack of rains. This will leave more than one million children threatened with severe malnutrition.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/225969.html.

Guetna, Ramadan bring rare economic opportunities in Mauritania

Many Mauritanians are finding jobs during this year's date harvesting season, earning additional income from the popular iftar snack.

By Mohamed Yahya Ould Abdel Wedoud for Magharebia in Nouakchott – 10/08/11

In a rare coincidence, Mauritania's date harvesting season, or Guetna, coincides with Ramadan this year, offering new economic opportunities for the nation's unemployed youth.

Mauritanians used to depend on canned dates imported from Tunisia, Morocco and Saudi Arabia in past years. But with Guenta occurring during Ramadan this year, the increased demand created by the holy month is leading to new jobs for Mauritanians.

"Like other young people in rural areas, I have benefited from Guetna season," Mbark Ould Mohamed told Magharebia. "I started my business in trading in dates weeks ago. I transport dates from the oases in the north to capital Nouakchott, where I sell them."

Ould Mohamed said that "there is high popular demand for the dates because of the advent of Ramadan; something that made some unemployed people, mainly holders of university certificates and students, go for trading in dates in view of the profits that can be generated from such a trade."

The benefits of the Guetna season are seen by urban Mauritanians as well. Hundreds of young people in cities now buy dates from rural distributors and then market them in their own way.

"I signed a marketing agreement a few months ago with some owners of oases in remote areas who can't go to cities to market and sell their products of dates because they are busy," Mohamed Val Ould Bekren, a man in his 30s, told Magharebia. "I've hired a lot of young people to work with me in this business. Thank God, we've managed to make considerable profits, and the process is still ongoing."

Mohamed Ould Bahiye, a man in his 50s who works in the tourist sector, told Magharebia that while Mauritanian dates were of a high quality, the country lacked the factories to can and preserve them for longer periods.

"Therefore, the Guetna season is the only period in which these dates can be used. Now that Ramadan doesn't often coincide with Guetna season, Mauritanians resort to imported dates," he said, adding that "it seems that this year is an exception. There is no doubt that the fact that the Guetna season coincided with Ramadan will revive the national economy."

For his part, environmental specialist Bedder Eddine Ould Salem said: "Mauritania has about 7 million date palm trees in the northern and eastern parts of the country. They annually produce hundreds of thousands of tons of different species of dates; something that makes Mauritania's 4 million people self-sufficient, but only during the Guetna season."

"We should also take into consideration that large quantities of these dates are wasted every year because of insects and birds, and also because of the lack of refrigeration and preservation equipment that can preserve dates for longer periods of time," Ould Salem said.

"There are no companies working in the field of date palm trees oases," he added. "Most of the oases are owned by families that inherit them from generation to another away from state control."

The increase in opportunities in the date industry in Mauritania may well assuage the country's unemployment problem for a time.

Source: Magharebia.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2011/08/10/feature-04.

Mauritanian Islamists seek greater political role

Mauritanian journalists explain why Islamists in their country have lagged behind their Maghreb counterparts in terms of political gains.

By Jemal Oumar for Magharebia in Nouakchott – 16/12/11

The success of Islamist movements in Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt gave a boost to Mauritania's Tawassoul party but it also poses a challenge, some observers say.

"The Mauritanian Islamist current considers itself an extension of the Islamic currents that are now leading the political landscape in Maghreb revolutionary countries, such as Tunisia and Morocco, given that they share the same ideas, trends and methods that seek to Islamize society according to a moderate approach that conforms to modern democracy like the Turkish pattern," said journalist Zine Abedine.

The challenge, however, is that Mauritanian Islamists are "still unable to attract citizens in the same way as Ennahda Movement in Tunisia and the Justice and Development Party (PJD) in Morocco", Abedine said.

To cultivate his party's relations with Maghreb counterparts, Tawassoul leader Jamil Mansour on December 1st visited PJD chief Abdelilah Benkirane in Rabat, Mauritania's Al-Akhbar reported.

Journalist and moderate Islamist activist Ahmed Ould Wadia argued that "the Islamist movement today is assuming a prominent place in the Mauritanian political landscape and is prepared to play a role in political life".

"If there had been an Arab Spring in Mauritania, the moderate Islamist movement would have taken its share of victory," he said. "There is no doubt that Mauritania will join the other Maghreb contexts because the extent of these revolutions is the extent of injustice, despotism and unilateral rule."

Ould Wadia argued that moderate Islamist parties across the region are "governed by a strategic belief in democracy and the possibility of reconciling Islam with modernity and intellectual common ground".

To succeed, Mauritanian Islamists need to "launch a realistic field program that talks to different Mauritanian categories", according to Mohamed Salem Ould Dah, director of the African-Arab Center for Information and Development.

"It also needs some sort of reconciliation with the other political factions in the country," he added. "And I further believe that it needs to supply the scene with leaders who would be like symbols for it in the current stage because there is a shortage in leaders and a lack of their presence in tangible social work."

Islamists' standings in Morocco and Tunisia are different due to their accumulated experiences that date back to dozens of years, Ould Dah explained. "The societies of those countries have lived through a stage of spiritual and moral vacuum that made those peoples interact with parties with an Islamic reference on which they would attach their hopes to present solutions for their cultural and social problems," he said.

"Meanwhile, the Mauritanian society has a religious background by nature and has some sort of religious culture," Ould Dah added. "This is perhaps why the Islamic movement in Mauritania has been unable to present anything new unlike their counterparts in the Arab world."

Source: Magharebia.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2011/12/16/feature-03.

Algeria, Mauritania back Arab Maghreb Union

Improved relations between Algeria and Mauritania are just the latest sign of revitalized plans for a Maghreb union.

By Fidet Mansour in Algiers and Jemal Oumar in Nouakchott for Magharebia – 16/12/11

Algeria and Mauritania vowed to step up co-operation on a number of fronts, from trade and security to the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA), following a four-day visit to Algiers by Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz.

In a joint statement issued December 13th with his Algerian counterpart Abdelaziz Bouteflika, Ould Abdel Aziz pledged to reinforce "the concept of economic integration between Maghreb countries through the activation of Arab Maghreb Union structures and bodies".

The statement also expressed the two countries' satisfaction with the level of security co-operation between them, other Sahel countries and international partners concerned with combating terrorism and transnational organized crime. The two leaders also described their security collaboration as "very positive and conclusive" in the fight against al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and other regional threats.

To this end, they reiterated their "firm resolve to step up their efforts to strengthen security and stability in the Sahel region", adding that they had a "deep conviction" that the fight terrorism and organized crime would be helped by stronger international co-operation.

The presidential remarks came the same day as Algerian Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci told state-owned Russia Today that "the Arab Spring should encourage us to co-operate with all countries in the region, Morocco included".

"Our relationship with Morocco generally rises above the situation currently being experienced by the region," the chief Algerian diplomat said. "Our relationship with Morocco is the very foundation of our horizontal and strategic policies, even though the problems of the past few years have slowed down co-operation between our countries."

Meanwhile, Algeria and Mauritania signed agreements on December 11th covering the abolition of double taxation by the two countries and joint commitments on occupational health and professional insurance involving the National Institute for the Prevention of Professional Risks in Algiers and the National Bureau for Occupational Health in Mauritania.

The two countries hailed the progress made through bilateral co-operation, and invited public and private enterprises, along with economic players in the two countries, "to breathe new life into economic and trading relations, and to guarantee a favorable climate for partnership and investment projects, particularly in the fields of energy and mining, infrastructure, agriculture and fishing".

Mauritanian political analyst Dr Hussain Ould Medou said the call for a Maghreb Union was no longer a local demand. He cited recent statements by former European Commission President Romani Prodi urging the UMA's revival and support for a free trade zone.

For his part, Mohamed Salem Ould Dah, director of the Arab-African Center for Information and Development, said the visit by Ould Abdel Aziz was "part of an Algerian strategic vision through which it aims to re-arrange bilateral relations between Maghreb countries".

"We can read Ould Abdel Aziz's visit to Algiers in this framework as part of efforts to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries, especially as they are linked by security relations to combat terrorism," Ould Dah added.

Journalist Sidi Mohammed Ould al-Khalifa cited stepped up economic ties between the two neighbors, including plans for a road between Algiers and Nouakchott. Ould al-Khalifa also noted security agreements that "boost the strategic convergence between the two countries in the counter-terrorism field by depending on their own capabilities".

Source: Magharebia.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2011/12/16/feature-01.

Mauritania approves independent electoral body

An independent commission will be responsible for supervising all stages of Mauritania's electoral process.

By Raby Ould Idoumou for Magharebia in Nouakchott – 14/12/11

The Mauritanian authorities gave a green light to creating a monitoring body to ensure the independence and transparency of the country's electoral process.

The interior ministry made the announcement last Wednesday. The National Independent Electoral Commission (CENI) will follow up on recommendations made by a national dialogue held between opposition leaders and the government in October. Its members will be appointed by consensus between the ruling majority and opposition parties.

The Mauritanian national dialogue held on October 19th recommended organizing municipal and parliamentary elections before March 2012 based on a fatwa from the Mauritanian constitutional council.

The newly-created institution will monitor all future elections. It will cover the entire process, starting with the preparation of lists up to the announcement of results. The ministry assured that the commission would have full powers and capabilities to guarantee free and fair elections.

But some opposition leaders remain skeptical. Tawassoul party chief Jamil Mansour insisted that electoral changes cannot precede overarching political reforms.

"In the absence of political reforms and given the current regime's monopoly and hijacking of the state, any reform of this type will always have a limited impact," he said.

"The independent electoral commission as a product of a dialogue between the majority and some opposition parties is a committee with incomplete powers," Mansour added. "This is because there is a parallel committee operating alongside in the interior ministry. Therefore, we don't think that it will play its natural role."

The announcement was received with some apathy, said political analyst Abdallah Ould Atfagh Mokhtar. "It didn't fully meet the conditions set by the opposition parties that refused to take part in the political dialogue and considered it to be just a formality," he explained. "In addition, the government's approval of this commission was made in an emergency ministerial meeting; something that would raise doubts that this decision was taken prudently."

He alleged that the interior ministry had been "involved in large-scale rigging of election and use of unreal voters for the benefit of a candidate accepted by the military institution and security departments".

Others believe that the existence of a parallel body in the interior ministry would not affect the neutrality of the new commission.

"The committee in the interior ministry will have technical, organizational and security-related tasks only," Mohammed Lamine Ould al-Sheikh, a member of the executive bureau of the ruling Union for the Republic Party, told Magharebia. "This will help the independent electoral commission do its job competently and ideally."

He argued that CENI would fill the gaps that might have been in the previous committee and organize and supervise elections in a transparent manner.

"No political step is free from criticism, but as far as the idea is concerned, the approval of the commission will boost voters' hopes about the transparency of elections," said political activist al-Salem al-Naji Ould al-Mustafa.

Source: Magharebia.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2011/12/14/feature-02.

Mauritania receives Libyan rebel delegation

Representatives of Libya's transitional government travel to Mauritania for meetings with President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz.

By Hamdi Ould Cheikh for Magharebia in Nouakchott – 05/08/11

Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz met with envoys from Libya's National Transitional Council (TNC) this week in Nouakchott to discuss the African Union plan to bring an end to violence between the rebels and troops loyal to Moamer Kadhafi.

The delegation, led by Abdelmajid Seif Nasr, delivered a written message from TNC chairman Mustapha Abdel Jalil on Tuesday (August 2nd).

"We are here as members of the TNC coming to meet [Abdel Aziz] in his capacity as president of the [African Union's] ad hoc High-Level Committee on Libya," said Seif Nasr in a statement on Mauritanian television, adding that the goal of the visit was to "talk and work together on the issue of the Libyan people".

He said that the Libyan people would agree to the African initiative if it required Kadhafi and his sons to step down. "We are a peace-loving and unarmed people, and Kadhafi has attacked us with weapons and destruction," Seif Nasr said. "We have come to Mauritania to thank the President for the laudable position he has taken – that Kadhafi is no longer fit and must leave Libya."

Reactions to the visit varied. Mauritanian website El Badil wrote that Kadhafi could not simply be "brushed aside". "Actions by the rebels and NATO have failed to topple Kadhafi, and our role does not allow us to do it on your behalf."

Support for Kadhafi is not uncommon. These groups, close to Libya's Popular Committees, challenge Mauritania's official position in the crisis. Demonstrators burned a Qatari flag outside the Embassy of Qatar in Nouakchott, placing strain on relations between the two nations. Some Mauritanians also viewed the Libyan dictator's long "resistance" in the face of Western strikes as a sign of heroism.

Others questioned the motives of foreign powers in the region. Teacher Mohamed Ahmed told Magharebia: "Where Libya is concerned, it's France and Italy who want to get their hands on the oil. We've seen a certain reticence from the United States, Russia and China regarding NATO strikes; everyone knows that if the United States had really been committed, then in military terms Kadhafi couldn't have held out more than a few weeks."

Ibrahim Ould Dahi, a shopkeeper, was pleased to hear the calls for Kadhafi to leave power. "He is a dictator who has caused chaos throughout the whole of Africa," he said. "There's not a single African country where he hasn't caused rebellions, divisions and so on. I'm happy the Mauritanian president, who like other heads of state has received support from Kadhafi in the past, has changed his mind and called for him to go."

IT worker Aminetou Diarra was concerned about the proposed solutions to the crisis. "The problem of Libya seems to be a complex one; there's talk of the rebels being infiltrated by AQIM and heavy weapons filtering out into the Sahel region. If that's true, then the whole region is under threat. This kind of situation can only be tackled with perfect agreement between the powers of the international community."

Khalidou, N'Diaye, a lawyer, offered the following interpretation: "Whereas in Tunisia and Egypt there were genuine popular revolutions which swept away the Ben Ali and Mubarak regimes, this hasn't been the case in Libya, where there has been armed warfare, with aerial bombardments and so on. Kadhafi has no chance of remaining in power, now that everyone has called for him to go, even including his African counterparts who were close to him."

Source: Magharebia.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2011/08/05/feature-02.

Ramadan price hikes anger Mauritanians

Mounting holiday expenses are putting a heavy strain on Mauritanian families.

By Mohamed Yahya Ould Abdel Wedoud for Magharebia in Nouakchott - 03/08/11

The holy month began on Monday (August 1st), but spiking food costs are tempering celebrants' excitement about preparing Ramadan meals.

"The prices of basic items doubled in a short period without any justification, and many families became unable to bear the situation, especially with low wages," one frustrated Mauritanian shopper told Magharebia at a Nouakchott market.

"They are unable to keep up with prices and the lack of control or supervision by public authorities over the markets, leading some merchants to engage in speculation," added Zeinebou Mint Dahi, head of a household.

Most ordinary citizens are flummoxed by this spike, which affects their daily lives.

"Personally, I cannot understand the curse of the high prices that haunt Mauritanian citizens these days," civil activist Lalla Mint Mohamed. "The country is rich in wealth and exports gold, oil, iron and fish daily to the world, and with all that, we do not see or hear of any revenue. In turn, the poverty rate exceeds 70%, unemployment is approaching 50%, and prices are rising in an insane way without any logical explanation."

Traders are importing vegetables from Morocco due to the weakness of national agricultural products.

"Economic activities have been affected by several factors, including increases in fuel prices, which recently approached two dollars per liter, necessitating an increase in the prices of shipped goods," said truck driver Mohamed Ould Sayadat.

Climbing fuel costs have forced many vegetable vendors to raise the prices of their products for fear of loss. Many complain of increasing taxes and encounter difficulties in transporting and storing vegetables as well as renting shops.

Some economic experts point to the security situation as the main factor behind the low purchasing power of citizens.

"The government ended up spending a lot of money on security and the army instead of development programs and activities that benefit ordinary citizens, which contributed to higher poverty rates in general and high prices in particular," argued analyst Mohamed Moustapha.

Taxi driver Lemrabott Ould Ahmed said: "The open war on al-Qaeda should not be paid for by ordinary citizens, who are already economically exhausted".

The country needs to re-think its economic strategy, given that "poverty rates are increasing day after day amid an unprecedented decline in the purchasing power of citizens", he added.

Ould Ahmed said that price speculation especially affected poor neighborhoods in Nouakchott and the interior cities.

Source: Magharebia.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2011/08/03/feature-03.

Mauritanian president meets youth protest leaders

2011-08-02

Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz and representatives of the February 25th Youth Movement met in Nouakchott on Monday (August 1st), Journal Tahalil reported. The youth activists presented their demands for improved living conditions and a united and just Mauritania. In a statement, the February 25th coalition leadership described the meeting as "frank and sincere", adding that it was a positive indicator of the government's readiness to meet the group's demands.

Source: Magharebia.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2011/08/02/newsbrief-04.

Mauritania combats rural illiteracy

2011-08-01

A four-day training workshop for literacy teachers opened Sunday (July 31st) in Nouakchott, Journal Tahalil reported. Upon completion of the training program, the teachers will lead literacy classes for adults in Thermessa, Kerkaratt and other rural areas with vulnerable populations. Mauritanian NGO "Espoir" organized the literacy education seminar as part of the national three-year project to fight poverty (PLPV).

Source: Magharebia.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2011/08/01/newsbrief-06.

Date set for Mauritanian elections

2011-07-31

Mauritania's parliamentary and municipal elections will be held on October 16th, PANA quoted a statement of the government as saying on Saturday (July 30th). However, Mauritania's opposition, recently bolstered by migration from the ruling majority, has set the postponement of elections as a precondition for taking part in national dialogue.

Source: Magharebia.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2011/07/31/newsbrief-06.

New Mauritania motorway to link rural towns

2011-07-20

Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz on Tuesday (July 19th) launched the construction of a new motorway that will ease access for rural residents, Pana reported. The 83km road will connect the southern towns of Kiffa and Kankossa. Funded in part by the Islamic Development Bank, the three-year project is part of Mauritania's infrastructure development program.

Source: Magharebia.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2011/07/20/newsbrief-08.