Chei! Joe, you are indeed one of the most truthful Gambian/African I have
ever come across. How could anyone of us ,your classmates at Saint Therese's
primary have guessed that in you, we were going to have such a no-nonesense
and conscientious being!!

Keep the good work and always stay the course.
Mod Ndure.




>As long as the AU cuddles the monsters in Africa, someone, some where will
>take them out to end up doing the same thing if not checked by the
>citizens.
>  While the AU is quick to blame coupists, they should be stealthy to
>prevent the events that bring them about, such as, rigging of elections;
>tweak their charter to intervene when tyrants are loose with the law; and I
>dare say that they begin to put pressure or force dictators out.  If not,
>then we can waste our time, because those that put on the sue knows where
>it
>pinches.  What choice do Africans have if a dictator wants to preserve
>their
>tyranny for the rest of their natural lives and at any cost, like we have
>in
>the Gambia currently?  Are Africans to wait for them to die naturally?  I
>think not.  I do not have a problem with the military forcing the Yaya
>Jammeh's out and the AU and the citizens pressure them to handover to
>civilian order.  If it was good for Patrick Henry to demand Liberty or
>Death, to stop the British from collecting taxes without representation in
>the US, why should it be different for Africans?  The US government has
>forced out some of the freaks they helped groom, like Saddam, Noriega,
>Taliban, etc, and the rest of the civilized world clapped for a just and
>liberating act.  So, why demand different from Africans.?  If Yaya Jammeh
>attempts to rig or steal the elections in 06, the AU better be ready to
>deal
>with more crisis in the ECOWAS.  Gambians are not going to tolerate that
>and
>we would not want any to come after the fact to preach "accept the
>results".
>  If the AU was not sleeping at the switch, the stalemate in Guinea Bissau
>would not have happened.  To send few people to monitor and have a rigged
>or
>manipulated situation, is also a thing of the past for Africans.
>
>The coupists know that the AU does not have teeth, just like the club
>member
>tyrants know they can do anything and the AU will look the other way.   Was
>Obasanjo not aware of the heavy handedness of the deposed leader?  What did
>the the AU do during that time?  Zilch.  The AU knows that the only defense
>the people have against a life long tyrant is to get rid of them by any
>means necessary, yet they stark the deck on the citizens and put them in an
>arena with a beast and referee the fight by tying the peoples' hand, and in
>some cases both - tyrant rigs elections, and AU calls for only voting as a
>means to get rid of the tyrant.  The tyrant is also a member of the club
>(AU) and the people are not.  The end result is a coup at some point,
>because something will have to give.  The AU must change their rules if
>they
>want to stop coups - they need to start reigning in on their fellow club
>members.  That is how you stop the cycle.  You do not break a fight by
>wrapping your arms around the person without a weapon and let loose the
>other with their arsenal.
>
>Chi Jaama
>
>Joe
>
>>From: Last-Card <[log in to unmask]>
>>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
>><[log in to unmask]>
>>To: [log in to unmask]
>>Subject: Mauritania Coup...(This Day Lagos)...
>>Date: Mon, 8 Aug 2005 12:28:45 -0700
>>
>>The following article from allafrica.com is a good one.This is a lesson
>>for
>>both the coupists and the deposed.Its timely! The AU is not only thinking
>>about those who overthrow as the burden.Those being overthrown are infact
>>in most cases the real cause.
>>As Bob Marley sang some decades ago.."Chances are!"
>>What chances do we have ahead...Alpha Oumar Konare has a big lump to
>>fry,grill,prepare and then serve. Its much more wiser for him and those in
>>the kitchen of the mighty AU to avoid being mild lambs of simple
>>idealism.The deposed and the coupists is Africa free from both
>>"negligence"?
>>
>>Read on....
>>The Mauritanian Coup
>>
>>
>>Email This Page
>>
>>Print This Page
>>
>>Visit The Publisher's Site
>>
>>This Day (Lagos)
>>
>>EDITORIAL
>>August 7, 2005
>>Posted to the web August 8, 2005
>>
>>Lagos
>>
>>The Islamic Republic of Mauritania has been a by-word for coups and
>>counter-coups since it became independent in 1960. The overthrow of
>>President Ould Taya on Wednesday last week would not have raised
>>eye-brows,
>>but for the fact that military coups have become loathsome to the
>>globalised village. So the volume and vehemence of world-wide denunciation
>>of the Mauritanian putschists was hardly surprising.
>>
>>Still, it doesn't appear that the coup-makers are about to budge. Instead,
>>they have proceeded to dig in, promising, as usual, to bring democracy to
>>the troubled West African country in a brief period of two years. In the
>>meantime, President Taya who was overthrown in a bloodless palace coup
>>while attending the funeral of King Fahd in Saudi Arabia has holed up in
>>the Republic of Niger. He is apparently at a loss on what to do next.
>>
>>If Taya is confused, the rest of the world shouldn't be. There is no doubt
>>at all that the Mauritanian coup, like that of Sao Tome and Principe, must
>>not be allowed to stand. Time and again, military dictatorship has proved
>>conclusively that no matter the reasons for its emergence, it is not a
>>better alternative to civil rule, not the least, a democratic one. Africa,
>>Latin America and some parts of Asia have learnt that bitter lesson at
>>great cost. Highlighting the ills of the ancien regime and promising a
>>quick restoration of democracy is usually the handy ruse of the coup-maker
>>to confer nobility on his political adventurism. No sooner he consolidates
>>his hold on power than he bares his rapacious fangs and proceeds to poison
>>the society he ostensibly came to save. Africa is dog-tired of this
>>repetitive evil and it must spearhead a global coalition to transform the
>>effusive condemnations into concrete measures to kick out the military
>>scoundrels, masquerading as saviours, from the
>>  presidential palace in Nouakchott.
>>
>>All said, however, we believe that it will serve some useful purpose to go
>>beyond merely preventing the Mauritanian pretenders from holding onto
>>power. We need to examine the stated reasons for the coup for what they
>>may
>>be worth. Here, we would readily concede that leaders like Taya represent
>>the ugly face of democracy in Africa. A former chief of army staff, Taya
>>upstaged another military dictatorship to come to power in 1984. He
>>approved a constitution in 1991, purportedly anchored on political
>>pluralism, providing for a multiparty system.
>>
>>Under this constitution, Taya organised and predictably won the
>>presidential election in 1992. He was re-elected in 1997 amid allegations
>>of massive rigging. After surviving a coup attempt in June 2003, he was
>>again elected for a third term in November that year, with even more
>>glaring electoral fraud that awarded him 66.7 percent of the votes. His
>>main challenger, Heydalla, who rejected the results was promptly charged
>>for coup-plotting, tried and sentenced to a five-year suspended jail term
>>and banned from contesting elections.
>>
>>Besides electoral manipulation, Taya has proved particularly inept at
>>economic and political management. Economically, he ran the country's once
>>thriving agricultural and mining sector aground. Today, Mauritania is
>>faced
>>with serious problems of famine.
>>
>>On the political front, Taya has equally proved that he is incapable of
>>holding the country together. His policy of virtual extermination of the
>>tiny minority tribe of Black Sonninkes has forced many of them to flee
>>Mauritania, an action that infuriated the United States into suspending
>>aid
>>to the country in 1993.
>>Relevant LinksWest Africa
>>Arms and Military Affairs
>>Nigeria
>>Mauritania
>>
>>Against Taya's miserable rule in the past two decades, there is something
>>to say for the claims by the coup-makers that they have come to "put an
>>end
>>to the totalitarian practices of the regime from which our people have
>>suffered so much in the last years."
>>
>>Unfortunately, the military cannot pretend to be in position to undertake
>>this task of national redemption. But what the coup has demonstrated
>>clearly is the urgent need for the African Union to begin to give
>>practical
>>expression to democracy on the continent. Africa's peer review mechanism,
>>for instance, must be bolstered to begin to address the issue of
>>dictators,
>>especially of the military brand, who conduct and win sham elections and
>>thereafter proceed to preside over inept and autocratic governments, all
>>in
>>the name of democracy. Putting an end to this sort of democratic charade
>>is
>>the surest way to stopping a resurgence of coups on the continent.
>>
>>
>>---------------------------------
>>Make allAfrica.com your home page | RSS Feed
>>---------------------------------
>>Top | Site Français | Site Guide | Who We Are | Advertising | Search |
>>Subscribe
>>---------------------------------
>>Copyright © 2005 This Day. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica
>>Global Media (allAfrica.com). Click here to contact the copyright holder
>>directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other
>>authorized use of this material.
>>---------------------------------
>>Questions or Comments? Contact us. Read our Privacy Statement.
>>---------------------------------
>>
>>---------------------------------
>>var bnum=new Number(Math.floor(99999999 *
>>Math.random())+1);document.write("");
>>The Mauritanian Coup
>>
>>
>>Email This Page
>>
>>Print This Page
>>
>>Visit The Publisher's Site
>>
>>This Day (Lagos)
>>
>>EDITORIAL
>>August 7, 2005
>>Posted to the web August 8, 2005
>>
>>Lagos
>>
>>The Islamic Republic of Mauritania has been a by-word for coups and
>>counter-coups since it became independent in 1960. The overthrow of
>>President Ould Taya on Wednesday last week would not have raised
>>eye-brows,
>>but for the fact that military coups have become loathsome to the
>>globalised village. So the volume and vehemence of world-wide denunciation
>>of the Mauritanian putschists was hardly surprising.
>>
>>Still, it doesn't appear that the coup-makers are about to budge. Instead,
>>they have proceeded to dig in, promising, as usual, to bring democracy to
>>the troubled West African country in a brief period of two years. In the
>>meantime, President Taya who was overthrown in a bloodless palace coup
>>while attending the funeral of King Fahd in Saudi Arabia has holed up in
>>the Republic of Niger. He is apparently at a loss on what to do next.
>>
>>If Taya is confused, the rest of the world shouldn't be. There is no doubt
>>at all that the Mauritanian coup, like that of Sao Tome and Principe, must
>>not be allowed to stand. Time and again, military dictatorship has proved
>>conclusively that no matter the reasons for its emergence, it is not a
>>better alternative to civil rule, not the least, a democratic one. Africa,
>>Latin America and some parts of Asia have learnt that bitter lesson at
>>great cost. Highlighting the ills of the ancien regime and promising a
>>quick restoration of democracy is usually the handy ruse of the coup-maker
>>to confer nobility on his political adventurism. No sooner he consolidates
>>his hold on power than he bares his rapacious fangs and proceeds to poison
>>the society he ostensibly came to save. Africa is dog-tired of this
>>repetitive evil and it must spearhead a global coalition to transform the
>>effusive condemnations into concrete measures to kick out the military
>>scoundrels, masquerading as saviours, from the
>>  presidential palace in Nouakchott.
>>
>>All said, however, we believe that it will serve some useful purpose to go
>>beyond merely preventing the Mauritanian pretenders from holding onto
>>power. We need to examine the stated reasons for the coup for what they
>>may
>>be worth. Here, we would readily concede that leaders like Taya represent
>>the ugly face of democracy in Africa. A former chief of army staff, Taya
>>upstaged another military dictatorship to come to power in 1984. He
>>approved a constitution in 1991, purportedly anchored on political
>>pluralism, providing for a multiparty system.
>>
>>Under this constitution, Taya organised and predictably won the
>>presidential election in 1992. He was re-elected in 1997 amid allegations
>>of massive rigging. After surviving a coup attempt in June 2003, he was
>>again elected for a third term in November that year, with even more
>>glaring electoral fraud that awarded him 66.7 percent of the votes. His
>>main challenger, Heydalla, who rejected the results was promptly charged
>>for coup-plotting, tried and sentenced to a five-year suspended jail term
>>and banned from contesting elections.
>>
>>Besides electoral manipulation, Taya has proved particularly inept at
>>economic and political management. Economically, he ran the country's once
>>thriving agricultural and mining sector aground. Today, Mauritania is
>>faced
>>with serious problems of famine.
>>
>>On the political front, Taya has equally proved that he is incapable of
>>holding the country together. His policy of virtual extermination of the
>>tiny minority tribe of Black Sonninkes has forced many of them to flee
>>Mauritania, an action that infuriated the United States into suspending
>>aid
>>to the country in 1993.
>>Relevant LinksWest Africa
>>Arms and Military Affairs
>>Nigeria
>>Mauritania
>>
>>Against Taya's miserable rule in the past two decades, there is something
>>to say for the claims by the coup-makers that they have come to "put an
>>end
>>to the totalitarian practices of the regime from which our people have
>>suffered so much in the last years."
>>
>>Unfortunately, the military cannot pretend to be in position to undertake
>>this task of national redemption. But what the coup has demonstrated
>>clearly is the urgent need for the African Union to begin to give
>>practical
>>expression to democracy on the continent. Africa's peer review mechanism,
>>for instance, must be bolstered to begin to address the issue of
>>dictators,
>>especially of the military brand, who conduct and win sham elections and
>>thereafter proceed to preside over inept and autocratic governments, all
>>in
>>the name of democracy. Putting an end to this sort of democratic charade
>>is
>>the surest way to stopping a resurgence of coups on the continent.
>>
>>
>>---------------------------------
>>Make allAfrica.com your home page | RSS Feed
>>---------------------------------
>>Top | Site Français | Site Guide | Who We Are | Advertising | Search |
>>Subscribe
>>---------------------------------
>>Copyright © 2005 This Day. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica
>>Global Media (allAfrica.com). Click here to contact the copyright holder
>>directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other
>>authorized use of this material.
>>---------------------------------
>>Questions or Comments? Contact us. Read our Privacy Statement.
>>---------------------------------
>>
>>---------------------------------
>>var bnum=new Number(Math.floor(99999999 *
>>Math.random())+1);document.write("");
>>The Mauritanian Coup
>>
>>
>>Email This Page
>>
>>Print This Page
>>
>>Visit The Publisher's Site
>>
>>This Day (Lagos)
>>
>>EDITORIAL
>>August 7, 2005
>>Posted to the web August 8, 2005
>>
>>Lagos
>>
>>The Islamic Republic of Mauritania has been a by-word for coups and
>>counter-coups since it became independent in 1960. The overthrow of
>>President Ould Taya on Wednesday last week would not have raised
>>eye-brows,
>>but for the fact that military coups have become loathsome to the
>>globalised village. So the volume and vehemence of world-wide denunciation
>>of the Mauritanian putschists was hardly surprising.
>>
>>Still, it doesn't appear that the coup-makers are about to budge. Instead,
>>they have proceeded to dig in, promising, as usual, to bring democracy to
>>the troubled West African country in a brief period of two years. In the
>>meantime, President Taya who was overthrown in a bloodless palace coup
>>while attending the funeral of King Fahd in Saudi Arabia has holed up in
>>the Republic of Niger. He is apparently at a loss on what to do next.
>>
>>If Taya is confused, the rest of the world shouldn't be. There is no doubt
>>at all that the Mauritanian coup, like that of Sao Tome and Principe, must
>>not be allowed to stand. Time and again, military dictatorship has proved
>>conclusively that no matter the reasons for its emergence, it is not a
>>better alternative to civil rule, not the least, a democratic one. Africa,
>>Latin America and some parts of Asia have learnt that bitter lesson at
>>great cost. Highlighting the ills of the ancien regime and promising a
>>quick restoration of democracy is usually the handy ruse of the coup-maker
>>to confer nobility on his political adventurism. No sooner he consolidates
>>his hold on power than he bares his rapacious fangs and proceeds to poison
>>the society he ostensibly came to save. Africa is dog-tired of this
>>repetitive evil and it must spearhead a global coalition to transform the
>>effusive condemnations into concrete measures to kick out the military
>>scoundrels, masquerading as saviours, from the
>>  presidential palace in Nouakchott.
>>
>>All said, however, we believe that it will serve some useful purpose to go
>>beyond merely preventing the Mauritanian pretenders from holding onto
>>power. We need to examine the stated reasons for the coup for what they
>>may
>>be worth. Here, we would readily concede that leaders like Taya represent
>>the ugly face of democracy in Africa. A former chief of army staff, Taya
>>upstaged another military dictatorship to come to power in 1984. He
>>approved a constitution in 1991, purportedly anchored on political
>>pluralism, providing for a multiparty system.
>>
>>Under this constitution, Taya organised and predictably won the
>>presidential election in 1992. He was re-elected in 1997 amid allegations
>>of massive rigging. After surviving a coup attempt in June 2003, he was
>>again elected for a third term in November that year, with even more
>>glaring electoral fraud that awarded him 66.7 percent of the votes. His
>>main challenger, Heydalla, who rejected the results was promptly charged
>>for coup-plotting, tried and sentenced to a five-year suspended jail term
>>and banned from contesting elections.
>>
>>Besides electoral manipulation, Taya has proved particularly inept at
>>economic and political management. Economically, he ran the country's once
>>thriving agricultural and mining sector aground. Today, Mauritania is
>>faced
>>with serious problems of famine.
>>
>>On the political front, Taya has equally proved that he is incapable of
>>holding the country together. His policy of virtual extermination of the
>>tiny minority tribe of Black Sonninkes has forced many of them to flee
>>Mauritania, an action that infuriated the United States into suspending
>>aid
>>to the country in 1993.
>>Relevant LinksWest Africa
>>Arms and Military Affairs
>>Nigeria
>>Mauritania
>>
>>Against Taya's miserable rule in the past two decades, there is something
>>to say for the claims by the coup-makers that they have come to "put an
>>end
>>to the totalitarian practices of the regime from which our people have
>>suffered so much in the last years."
>>
>>Unfortunately, the military cannot pretend to be in position to undertake
>>this task of national redemption. But what the coup has demonstrated
>>clearly is the urgent need for the African Union to begin to give
>>practical
>>expression to democracy on the continent. Africa's peer review mechanism,
>>for instance, must be bolstered to begin to address the issue of
>>dictators,
>>especially of the military brand, who conduct and win sham elections and
>>thereafter proceed to preside over inept and autocratic governments, all
>>in
>>the name of democracy. Putting an end to this sort of democratic charade
>>is
>>the surest way to stopping a resurgence of coups on the continent.
>>
>>
>>---------------------------------
>>Make allAfrica.com your home page | RSS Feed
>>---------------------------------
>>Top | Site Français | Site Guide | Who We Are | Advertising | Search |
>>Subscribe
>>---------------------------------
>>Copyright © 2005 This Day. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica
>>Global Media (allAfrica.com). Click here to contact the copyright holder
>>directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other
>>authorized use of this material.
>>---------------------------------
>>Questions or Comments? Contact us. Read our Privacy Statement.
>>---------------------------------
>>
>>---------------------------------
>>var bnum=new Number(Math.floor(99999999 *
>>Math.random())+1);document.write("");
>>The Mauritanian Coup
>>
>>
>>Email This Page
>>
>>Print This Page
>>
>>Visit The Publisher's Site
>>
>>This Day (Lagos)
>>
>>EDITORIAL
>>August 7, 2005
>>Posted to the web August 8, 2005
>>
>>Lagos
>>
>>The Islamic Republic of Mauritania has been a by-word for coups and
>>counter-coups since it became independent in 1960. The overthrow of
>>President Ould Taya on Wednesday last week would not have raised
>>eye-brows,
>>but for the fact that military coups have become loathsome to the
>>globalised village. So the volume and vehemence of world-wide denunciation
>>of the Mauritanian putschists was hardly surprising.
>>
>>Still, it doesn't appear that the coup-makers are about to budge. Instead,
>>they have proceeded to dig in, promising, as usual, to bring democracy to
>>the troubled West African country in a brief period of two years. In the
>>meantime, President Taya who was overthrown in a bloodless palace coup
>>while attending the funeral of King Fahd in Saudi Arabia has holed up in
>>the Republic of Niger. He is apparently at a loss on what to do next.
>>
>>If Taya is confused, the rest of the world shouldn't be. There is no doubt
>>at all that the Mauritanian coup, like that of Sao Tome and Principe, must
>>not be allowed to stand. Time and again, military dictatorship has proved
>>conclusively that no matter the reasons for its emergence, it is not a
>>better alternative to civil rule, not the least, a democratic one. Africa,
>>Latin America and some parts of Asia have learnt that bitter lesson at
>>great cost. Highlighting the ills of the ancien regime and promising a
>>quick restoration of democracy is usually the handy ruse of the coup-maker
>>to confer nobility on his political adventurism. No sooner he consolidates
>>his hold on power than he bares his rapacious fangs and proceeds to poison
>>the society he ostensibly came to save. Africa is dog-tired of this
>>repetitive evil and it must spearhead a global coalition to transform the
>>effusive condemnations into concrete measures to kick out the military
>>scoundrels, masquerading as saviours, from the
>>  presidential palace in Nouakchott.
>>
>>All said, however, we believe that it will serve some useful purpose to go
>>beyond merely preventing the Mauritanian pretenders from holding onto
>>power. We need to examine the stated reasons for the coup for what they
>>may
>>be worth. Here, we would readily concede that leaders like Taya represent
>>the ugly face of democracy in Africa. A former chief of army staff, Taya
>>upstaged another military dictatorship to come to power in 1984. He
>>approved a constitution in 1991, purportedly anchored on political
>>pluralism, providing for a multiparty system.
>>
>>Under this constitution, Taya organised and predictably won the
>>presidential election in 1992. He was re-elected in 1997 amid allegations
>>of massive rigging. After surviving a coup attempt in June 2003, he was
>>again elected for a third term in November that year, with even more
>>glaring electoral fraud that awarded him 66.7 percent of the votes. His
>>main challenger, Heydalla, who rejected the results was promptly charged
>>for coup-plotting, tried and sentenced to a five-year suspended jail term
>>and banned from contesting elections.
>>
>>Besides electoral manipulation, Taya has proved particularly inept at
>>economic and political management. Economically, he ran the country's once
>>thriving agricultural and mining sector aground. Today, Mauritania is
>>faced
>>with serious problems of famine.
>>
>>On the political front, Taya has equally proved that he is incapable of
>>holding the country together. His policy of virtual extermination of the
>>tiny minority tribe of Black Sonninkes has forced many of them to flee
>>Mauritania, an action that infuriated the United States into suspending
>>aid
>>to the country in 1993.
>>Relevant LinksWest Africa
>>Arms and Military Affairs
>>Nigeria
>>Mauritania
>>
>>Against Taya's miserable rule in the past two decades, there is something
>>to say for the claims by the coup-makers that they have come to "put an
>>end
>>to the totalitarian practices of the regime from which our people have
>>suffered so much in the last years."
>>
>>Unfortunately, the military cannot pretend to be in position to undertake
>>this task of national redemption. But what the coup has demonstrated
>>clearly is the urgent need for the African Union to begin to give
>>practical
>>expression to democracy on the continent. Africa's peer review mechanism,
>>for instance, must be bolstered to begin to address the issue of
>>dictators,
>>especially of the military brand, who conduct and win sham elections and
>>thereafter proceed to preside over inept and autocratic governments, all
>>in
>>the name of democracy. Putting an end to this sort of democratic charade
>>is
>>the surest way to stopping a resurgence of coups on the continent.
>>
>>
>>---------------------------------
>>Make allAfrica.com your home page | RSS Feed
>>---------------------------------
>>Top | Site Français | Site Guide | Who We Are | Advertising | Search |
>>Subscribe
>>---------------------------------
>>Copyright © 2005 This Day. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica
>>Global Media (allAfrica.com). Click here to contact the copyright holder
>>directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other
>>authorized use of this material.
>>---------------------------------
>>Questions or Comments? Contact us. Read our Privacy Statement.
>>---------------------------------
>>
>>---------------------------------
>>var bnum=new Number(Math.floor(99999999 *
>>Math.random())+1);document.write("");
>>The Mauritanian Coup
>>
>>
>>Email This Page
>>
>>Print This Page
>>
>>Visit The Publisher's Site
>>
>>This Day (Lagos)
>>
>>EDITORIAL
>>August 7, 2005
>>Posted to the web August 8, 2005
>>
>>Lagos
>>
>>The Islamic Republic of Mauritania has been a by-word for coups and
>>counter-coups since it became independent in 1960. The overthrow of
>>President Ould Taya on Wednesday last week would not have raised
>>eye-brows,
>>but for the fact that military coups have become loathsome to the
>>globalised village. So the volume and vehemence of world-wide denunciation
>>of the Mauritanian putschists was hardly surprising.
>>
>>Still, it doesn't appear that the coup-makers are about to budge. Instead,
>>they have proceeded to dig in, promising, as usual, to bring democracy to
>>the troubled West African country in a brief period of two years. In the
>>meantime, President Taya who was overthrown in a bloodless palace coup
>>while attending the funeral of King Fahd in Saudi Arabia has holed up in
>>the Republic of Niger. He is apparently at a loss on what to do next.
>>
>>If Taya is confused, the rest of the world shouldn't be. There is no doubt
>>at all that the Mauritanian coup, like that of Sao Tome and Principe, must
>>not be allowed to stand. Time and again, military dictatorship has proved
>>conclusively that no matter the reasons for its emergence, it is not a
>>better alternative to civil rule, not the least, a democratic one. Africa,
>>Latin America and some parts of Asia have learnt that bitter lesson at
>>great cost. Highlighting the ills of the ancien regime and promising a
>>quick restoration of democracy is usually the handy ruse of the coup-maker
>>to confer nobility on his political adventurism. No sooner he consolidates
>>his hold on power than he bares his rapacious fangs and proceeds to poison
>>the society he ostensibly came to save. Africa is dog-tired of this
>>repetitive evil and it must spearhead a global coalition to transform the
>>effusive condemnations into concrete measures to kick out the military
>>scoundrels, masquerading as saviours, from the
>>  presidential palace in Nouakchott.
>>
>>All said, however, we believe that it will serve some useful purpose to go
>>beyond merely preventing the Mauritanian pretenders from holding onto
>>power. We need to examine the stated reasons for the coup for what they
>>may
>>be worth. Here, we would readily concede that leaders like Taya represent
>>the ugly face of democracy in Africa. A former chief of army staff, Taya
>>upstaged another military dictatorship to come to power in 1984. He
>>approved a constitution in 1991, purportedly anchored on political
>>pluralism, providing for a multiparty system.
>>
>>Under this constitution, Taya organised and predictably won the
>>presidential election in 1992. He was re-elected in 1997 amid allegations
>>of massive rigging. After surviving a coup attempt in June 2003, he was
>>again elected for a third term in November that year, with even more
>>glaring electoral fraud that awarded him 66.7 percent of the votes. His
>>main challenger, Heydalla, who rejected the results was promptly charged
>>for coup-plotting, tried and sentenced to a five-year suspended jail term
>>and banned from contesting elections.
>>
>>Besides electoral manipulation, Taya has proved particularly inept at
>>economic and political management. Economically, he ran the country's once
>>thriving agricultural and mining sector aground. Today, Mauritania is
>>faced
>>with serious problems of famine.
>>
>>On the political front, Taya has equally proved that he is incapable of
>>holding the country together. His policy of virtual extermination of the
>>tiny minority tribe of Black Sonninkes has forced many of them to flee
>>Mauritania, an action that infuriated the United States into suspending
>>aid
>>to the country in 1993.
>>Relevant LinksWest Africa
>>Arms and Military Affairs
>>Nigeria
>>Mauritania
>>
>>Against Taya's miserable rule in the past two decades, there is something
>>to say for the claims by the coup-makers that they have come to "put an
>>end
>>to the totalitarian practices of the regime from which our people have
>>suffered so much in the last years."
>>
>>Unfortunately, the military cannot pretend to be in position to undertake
>>this task of national redemption. But what the coup has demonstrated
>>clearly is the urgent need for the African Union to begin to give
>>practical
>>expression to democracy on the continent. Africa's peer review mechanism,
>>for instance, must be bolstered to begin to address the issue of
>>dictators,
>>especially of the military brand, who conduct and win sham elections and
>>thereafter proceed to preside over inept and autocratic governments, all
>>in
>>the name of democracy. Putting an end to this sort of democratic charade
>>is
>>the surest way to stopping a resurgence of coups on the continent.
>>
>>
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