Mauritanian junta assumes presidential powers amid opposition

2008-08-13

The military council that claims authority in Mauritania announced on Tuesday that General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz assumed the powers of deposed President Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdellahi.

Mohamed Yahya Ould Abdel Wedoud in Nouakchott and Naoufel Cherkaoui in Rabat contributed to this report – 13/08/08

[Mohamed Yahya Ould Abdel Wedoud] Parliament Speaker Messoud Ould Boulkheir denounced the recent coup in Mauritania and refused to recognise the council led by General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz.

Mauritania's new ruling council, responsible for last week's overthrow of democratically-elected President Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdellahi, adopted a law on Tuesday (August 12th) that transfers the power of the presidency to the junta's leader, General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz.

"Through the High State Council, the Army has put an end to the powers of the President who assumed office on April 19th, 2007, and decided to take the necessary actions to ensure the continuity of the state and to supervise... the organisation of presidential elections that would push the democratic process ahead," a statement issued Tuesday by the Council said.

Also on Tuesday, Abdel Aziz began consultations with a dozen political parties to form a new government.

Mauritanian Parliament Speaker Messoud Ould Boulkheir held a press conference on Sunday denouncing the coup and refusing to recognise the Council. Boulkheir rejected "any constitutional amendments that assign a political role to the military", and said he "will not accept any solutions to the current crisis other than the immediate release of the legitimate President and his full reinstatement to his constitutional tasks."

The speaker's statement angered pro-coup members of Parliament, who issued a communiqué calling the remarks "his personal opinion and not that of the National Assembly as an institution".

"What happened," said one parliamentarian, "is a natural outcome of the actions of the ousted president, who thwarted constitutional authority."

This squabble between the speaker and members of Parliament predates the current political crisis, said Muhammad Fadel Ould Ahmad, a political analyst.

"It started three months ago," he told Magharebia, "and reached its peak on the eve of the coup, when pro-military members of Parliament asked for an emergency session to endorse establishing a supreme court and a questioning of the funding resources of a charity organisation owned by the First Lady. The request was denied and the military took action one day later."

National television aired a story on August 11th saying the Municipal League of Mayors had come out behind the coup, with 191 out of 216 mayors voicing their support.

On Monday, the four persons detained with the president were released, including Prime Minister Yahya Ould Ahmed El Waghef, who vowed to continue the "peaceful struggle" to free the deposed president.

El Waghef told the BBC that he had been held in "good conditions" and called on the coup leaders to "return to legality".

Foreign governments and international organisations have been swift in offering criticism of the coup. Arab League Assistant Secretary-General Ahmad Bin Halli said in Cairo on Tuesday that Mauritanian military leaders had denied his request to meet with President Abdellahi.

Meanwhile, the office of the French president joined the United States in suspending aid to the country, saying: "As of today, France has decided to freeze its projects as part of the official development assistance in Mauritania, except for humanitarian and food assistance."

The French presidency of the European Union followed up on Wednesday, warning that the military junta "faces the serious risk of long-lasting isolation from the international scene", decrying the coup as "devoid of all legitimacy".

Top UN envoy to West Africa Said Djinnit called on Tuesday for an immediate return to constitutional rule in Mauritania. Speaking after talks with Abdel Aziz, Djinnit said the international community has unanimously condemned the move and called for the release of the president.

Opinion has fared no better in the region. In a statement issued August 8th, the Moroccan Centre for Human Rights (CMDH) demanded that democratic order be restored in Mauritania, and the army returned to its barracks.

"The army's justification of the coup with a desire to correct mistakes and bad political decisions by the ousted president is not acceptable at all", the statement reads. "They should have first opened the door for civil and political opposition."

The CMDH added that the military should have protected the young Mauritanian government rather than undermining it and squandering the successes of the new democratic era.

So far, there has been no official Moroccan reaction to the coup, though it is known that King Mohammed VI sent a message to General Abdel Aziz. The contents of the message are as yet unknown.

Meanwhile, al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb leader Abdelmalek Droukdel capitalised on the political turmoil in Mauritania, issuing an online statement that called for holy war in that country. "Raise the banner of jihad and let us bleed and have our limbs severed until we bring back a caliphate styled along the lines of the Prophet's way," he said.