(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
He was about to leave the VIP lounge at Nouakchott Airport with Mauritania President Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh when he was arrested. Journalist Mohamed Nema Oumar, against the president's fierce protests, was taken into a civilian police car and driven to the police station where he was held for 30 hours. Two days later, the 14. June, he is charged with defaming and insulting Senator Mochen Ould El Hadj in a critical article on the state of Israel's 60 anniversary.
For President Abdallahi, who has marked himself as a supporter of freedom of the press, the incident was an embarrassing affair. After more than twenty years of dictatorship and hard repression, opposition Mauritanian people are breathing much freer today than before. In 2005, a military coup changed the political situation. Opposition politicians and human rights activists from the ethnic African opposition believe the country is now heading in the right direction.
– What we have today is a democratic development, compared to before, the parties are spoken in the public media and there is a lively discussion in parliament. says moderate Islamist Mohammed Jamil al-Mansour. He represents the newly created TAWASUL and was one of several presidential candidates during the 2007 elections.
In Mauritania, the former president ruled the country from 1984 until he lost power in 2005. While Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya was at the funeral of King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, a group of military and close allies of the dictator decided that enough was enough. enough.
– As Democrats, we are against military rule. We want democracy. But there was no possibility of a democratic distribution of power in Mauritanian society in 2005, says General Secretary Mohammed Fal Ould Mahmaadi of the African-dominated party Alliance Populaire Progressiste. After many years in opposition, the pro-African group has now entered the government.
The government's parliamentary foundations are mostly made up of independent candidates, many with backgrounds from the old regime. But some Mauritans fear that the military will seize power again, pointing out that old clan bands still control much of the country's politics.
Opposition or confrontation
In West Africa, Mali and Senegal have been at the forefront of democracy in the Islamic world for many years. In Morocco, royal power is still strong, but after King Hassan II died in 1999, the succession of Mohammed VI has opened to a number of democratic reforms. There has been greater freedom of expression and political groups that were previously banned can now operate freer. Amnesty International reports fewer political prisons and less widespread use of torture. In the West, many have welcomed the democratic reforms initiated by the new king, but in Morocco, human rights activists are still not happy.
– It is true that much has improved, but it is unfair when Western analysts compare us with backward Arab countries. We should strive for the best, says human rights lawyer Amar Ali from the Moroccan human rights organization Association Marocaine des Droits de l'Homme.
During the 2007 Morocco elections, only 37 percent of voters, the lowest number in the country's history, voted, despite democratic reforms and political freedoms. It is strictly forbidden to criticize the king nor to question Islam as the country's religion. Ali himself was recently a lawyer in the case against computer student Fouad Mourtada, who was recently granted royal amnesty for posting a false profile of Prince Mourlay Rachid on the Facebook network. The student was released on April 19, but the case is a clear reminder that criticism of the royal family is a red line that should not be crossed.
"Since the king is also amir al-mu'minin, the prince of believers, criticism of the king is considered in line with criticism of Islam and is considered heresy," the lawyer said.
- Everyone agrees that there has been greater political freedom in the country with the new king, but the problem is that the improvements are not irreversible. It's like a gift that can be withdrawn at any time.
For the political parties in this part of the world, the question is not just whether to go in opposition or not, but also how to behave when in opposition. Despite free Senegalese elections, the relationship between the government and the opposition is very tense. In Mali, the government has suffered a local uproar. The Tuaregene, a barbarian people group that has ancient roots in the Sahara, believe they are overfilled in the Malaysian math.
Progress for women
Fatima Sadiqi researches the relationship between language and women's position in the country. Illiteracy is still high, the majority of Moroccan women cannot read or write and especially in the countryside many people only speak the original language in the area, Berber.
– I think there is a strong connection between Berbers getting more linguistic rights and the progress for gender equality. It is especially women who speak Berber and who are now receiving more attention.
The new Family Laws in Morocco were passed in 2004 and consisted of a number of advances for women. The minimum age for marriage was then raised from the age of 15 to 18, women were allowed to marry without a male family member or responsible person giving consent, multilingualism is limited to cases where the wives, including the new bride, give written consent to a judge, and men can No longer divorcing women without giving them financial compensation. Before, it was enough for the man to say "I repel you" three times, and then he could leave the house with the children and leave the woman to a financially uncertain future.
Fatima Sadiqi does not fear that Islamic movements will put an end to the progress of women in the country. Muslims in the area are often quick to point out that women's positions are better in Western Africa than in other parts of the Islamic world. In both Morocco and other countries in the region, there is a far greater acceptance for female leaders in both business and politics than among carnivores and oilseeds.
Rising unemployment
A liberal economic course is being conducted in both Mali, Senegal and Mauritania.
– The framework for the economy is a liberal policy. We want to eradicate unemployment by creating jobs, especially for young people. We can not solve the poverty problem without bringing in foreign investors, says a spokesman for the Mauritanian government.
Mauritania has one of the world's richest fish stocks, oil has recently been found in the country and in 2006 it was one of the region's fastest growing economies. But it is unclear whether the liberal calculations will solve the poverty crisis. In the West African countries, unemployment is growing in line with high birth rates. In Morocco, youth and graduates have long organized large protest movements demanding more jobs. In Mauritania, too, there were major protests against price increases and poverty late in 2007. If there are no noticeable improvements in the living conditions of the citizens, the political reforms will have difficult living conditions.
