AU Clarifies Position On Mauritania

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This Day (Lagos)

August 12, 2005
Posted to the web August 12, 2005

Onwuka Nzeshi
Abuja

The African Union (AU) yesterday denied in its entirety, media reports that the continental body had soft-pedaled on its avowed position to isolate military regimes and all forms of despotic governments across Africa.

Nigeria's Foreign Affairs Minister, Ambassador Oluyemi Adeniji who led the four-man African Union delegation to Mauritania over last week's coup in that country said contrary to the insinuations in both local and foreign media, the delegation did not at any time jettison the AU agenda to discourage the coupists but that the situation on the ground demanded that the junta was actively engaged to steer the ship of state back to constitutional government.

The high-powered delegation was on a diplomaticshuttle to Mauritania on the prompting of President Olusegun Obasanjo, current Chairman of the African Union. The delegation was detailed to meet with the junta and convey the disapproval of the AU over the coup that toppled the government of President Maoya Taya and explore ways of persuading the coupists to quit power and restore democratic rule.

Several national dailies had yesterday reported that the AU had backed down and had indeed given the junta in Nouakchott the go ahead to remain in power. But Ambassador Adeniji said the delegation made up of foreign ministers from South Africa, Gabon, Algeria and Nigeria told the military regime in no uncertain terms to restore democratic rule in the West African country without delay as the African Union will not accept the two-year transition programme being canvassed by the ruling military council.

According to Adeniji, the delegation met with the head of the junta, Col. Ely Mohammed Vall, leaders of the political parties, labour leaders, members of civil society organisations as well as members of the Mauritanian Bar Association with a view to building a consensus on how best to ensure speedy restoration of democratic rule in the country, adding that the delegation merely pledged AU's assistance to the regime in order to achieve that goal.

He said the fact that the delegation engaged the coupists and other stakeholders in dialogue to chart the way forward for the country must not be misconstrued to mean that that AU had endorsed their stay in power.

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"The African Union has not given them any support. The AU has maintained the stand it took on coups. It has condemned the coup as a matter of principle... it has suspended Mauritania from the Council of the African Union. Mauritania will remain suspended until the end of the transitional period and the installation of a democratic government. Our engaging the military regime in dialogue on how to restore democracy soonest in that country does not amount to a negation of the AU's principle of zero tolerance for any government that comes to power through the barrel of the gun. There are conditions which make the immediate reversal of situations like this (coup) very impractical," Adeniji said.

The government of President Maoya Ould Sid Ahmed Taya of Mauritania was overthrown in a military coup on Wednesday August 3, 2005, while he was out of the country. The coupists had shot their way to power accusing Taya of persecuting his political opponents by forcing them into exile while promoting racial discrimination and slavery in the country.

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