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Mauritania: Military Topples Mauritanian Govt - Yar'Adua, AU, US Condemn Coup
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Leadership (Abuja)
7 August 2008
Posted to the web 7 August 2008
Golu Timothy
Abuja
Africa yesterday woke up to the damning news of another unconstitutional change of government when the government of Prime Minister Yahia Ould Ahmed El-Ouakef was swept out of power via a coup d'etat led by senior military officers in Mauritania, the West African country that just struck oil in commercial quantity.
The putsch was led by the former head of the Mauritanian presidential guard, General Mohamed Ould Abdelazeez.
The coup took place after the president and prime minister fired the country's top four military officers in an announcement early yesterday.
No official reason was given for firing the officials.
According to the presidential spokesman, Abdoulaye Mamadouba, President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi was being held by renegade soldiers at the presidential village while the Prime Minister Yahya Ould Ahmed El-Ouakef, was also detained.
The Arab-dominated Mauritania with a population of about 3.4 million which gained independence from France in 1960, has been racked by more than 10 attempted coups.
In recent weeks, lawmakers had accused President Abdallahi of corruption and poor governance, in which case 69 of the country's 95 parliament members called for his resignation.
One of the lawmakers, Mohammed Al-Moukhtar, disclosed that many people were in support of the attempt, adding that Abdallahi's government was an authoritarian regime and asserted that he had marginalized the majority of the parliament.
Abdullahi's government was the first to be freely elected in the desert country in more than 20 years after a military junta seized power in a 2005 coup and stepped down after an election last year.
The United States Embassy has urged Americans in Mauritania to exercise extreme caution to ensure their safety.
Also, France's Foreign Ministry has contacted the French Embassy officials in Nouakchott and are already taking steps to protect the citizens living there, spokesman Ramain Nadal said.
Nigeria's President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua condemned in strong terms the military take-over of political power in Mauritania, saying both Nigeria and the African Union will not recognise the military coupists as leaders.
Yar'Adua was reacting while receiving the Chiefs of Defence Staff of member countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) at the State House in Abuja, yesterday.
He said Nigeria would not recognise any change of government through unconstitutional means in Mauritania.
Yar'Adua said the coup could jeopardise the democratic gains that have been achieved in the West African sub-region so far. "We cannot afford turning back the hand of the clock anywhere in the sub-region", he said.
The President noted that no nation in the sub-region can achieve meaningful socio-economic development without peace and political stability. He said Nigeria would continue to lead the efforts to maintain peace and political stability in West Africa in particular and the whole of Africa in general.
In line with this cause, President Yar'Adua stated that Nigeria would facilitate the urgent establishment of the West African Standby Force. He charged the military chiefs to name the specific assistance they would like Nigeria to render, saying his administration would not hesitate to render such assistance.
Earlier, the Chairman of the ECOWAS military chiefs, General Alli Traore of Burkina Faso, had told the president that a concrete agreement had been reached by the military chiefs for the immediate take-off of the standby force. He said the force would comprise soldiers, police and gendarmes.
He said the security situation in the sub-region has improved tremendously although uneasy calm still pervades some countries in the sub-region.
In his words, "Nigeria totally condemns the situation that took place in Mauritania this morning. Nigeria will not recognise and support any government that comes into being through unconstitutional means. The African Union (AU) pact has made it clear that AU will not recognise any government that didn't come into being through constitutional means.
"Democracy and the sustenance of democracy are vital. We cannot afford turning back the hand of the clock anywhere in the sub-region.
"Today our sub-region experiences political stability, the type that has never been experienced before since we attained political independence. It is extremely clear that for us in the African continent, the issue of peace and security is critical to our development, especially in meeting the needs and providing for our people. The region and indeed its armed forces have made tremendous sacrifices in bringing this peace.
"I want to assure you that Nigeria will continue to contribute its quota to ensure that the peace we are enjoying in the sub-region is sustained. This we will continue to do in the context of the heads of government of ECOWAS.
"We will give our total support to ensure that the ECOWAS standby force becomes a reality as soon as possible" and become the first to be established in the continent which is advocating for an Africa standby force.
"Ensure that you establish this force. Its establishment will help provide our sub-region the wherewithal to sustain the peace we have been enjoying in the sub-region."
Meanwhile, the U.S. likewise, condemned the coup, saying the country had ousted a democratically elected government.
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"This was a democratically elected, constitutional government and we condemn the act," State Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos told reporters.
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