AU Commission chief visits Mauritania to seek president, PM's release
2008-08-25
African Union Commission President Jean Ping will be in Mauritania on Monday (August 25th) to press the ruling military junta to release Prime Minister Yahya Ould el-Waghef and deposed President Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdellahi, the African Press Organisation announced. In an interview with Reuters ahead of the AU visit, Abdellahi's youngest son Ahmed said the military coup in Mauritania imperils the continent: "The future of democracy in Africa is at stake. If this coup is allowed to stand -- and it won't be -- then all the democracies in Africa are entirely threatened."
In other news, a charity NGO chaired by Abdellahi's wife Khattou Mint El Boukhari is asking that any investigation of its finances be conducted by an international commission rather than by Mauritanian deputies, AFP reported on Monday (August 25th). Alleged misappropriation of funds by KB Foundation was among junta leader General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz's reasons for calling an extraordinary session of parliament last Wednesday.
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