Should the EU sanction a popular coup, asks Alhassan Atta-Quayson On 6 August 2008, a group of high ranking military personnel, who were dismissed from their post earlier in the day, ousted Mauritanian President Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdallahi and Prime Minister Yehia Ould Ahmed Al-Waghef in a bloodless coup d'état. The coup occurred after a series of events that had sharply diminished the popularity of the fledgling government, whose election was supported by the coup makers. General Mohamed Ould Abdel-Aziz was instrumental in the August 2005 coup that got rid of Maaouya Sid Ahmed Ould Taya and ended his 21 years in power. Some of the more significant events which were alleged to have led to the overthrow of the Abdallahi government include the re- appointment of 12 ministers in May 2008 who were part of the former government and had been accused of corruption. On 2 July 2008, the government resigned before a vote of no confidence was held. It is also believed that the freeing up of suspected terrorists and alleged reaching out to Islamic hardliners earlier by President Abdallahi's government partly explains the August coup. Two days before the overthrow, the government suffered a severe blow when 25 members of the National Assembly together with 24 senators out of the party's 45 broke away from the ruling party, depriving it of its parliamentary majority. Finally, on the morning of 6 August, senior military officials including General Mohamed Ould Abdel-Aziz (head of presidential guard) and General Mohamed Ould Cheikh Mohamed Ahmed (chief of staff), who were very instrumental in the election of President Abdallahi's government, were summarily dismissed. International organisations and governments paid the usual lip-service of condemnation and repudiation which sometimes precedes taking influential strategic positions. These include the Arab League, the Arab Maghreb Union, the African Union, the European Union, the United Nations and the World Bank. Among the countries who have repudiated this coup include the United States, France, Canada, United Kingdom, Morocco, Nigeria, and even Abdoulaye Wade's Senegal. One of these condemnations is the focus of this piece. On 20 October, 2008, European Union (EU) officials had a meeting with the junta leaders of Mauritania in Paris. They called on the coup leaders to release President Abdallahi and restore constitutional rule to the country. All this was to be done within a one-month ultimatum. They cautioned the West African country's new leaders that if they are unable to show how and when they will return to democratic rule, sanctions will take effect. Mauritania stands to either gain or lose hundreds of millions of euros in development and military assistance from the largest economic bloc in the world. The question bothering observers is whether after the one-month ultimatum, Mauritania, with its new oil finds, will be sanctioned to maintain the credibility of the EU or be spared for reasons yet to be known. It is worth noting that on 13 November, ousted President Abdallahi was moved from Nouakchott, the country's capital, to his home village, Lemden. Also the coup, which has become more popular and now supported by a majority of the people of Mauritania, was supposedly a response to President Abdallahi's alleged outreach to terrorists. Now the question of whether the EU will effect its sanctions on Mauritania or spare it is synonymous with whether the bloc wants to bring back a president with alleged links to terrorists in the name of democracy, or wants to stick to its cherished belief in dialogue. Within 24 hours after the coup had taken place and Abdallahi's powers terminated, an 11-member High Council of State, with Abdel-Aziz as president was sworn in until a new "free and transparent presidential election" is held "in the shortest possible time". Mauritania's ambassador to the UN told the UN Security Council the coup was a corrective measure. A few days later, more than two-thirds of the members of the country's National Assembly released a statement which backed the coup and referred to it as "the logical and indisputable result of President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi's behaviour to stall the republic's institutions." Further, over four-fifths of the country's elected mayors have backed the coup and all arrangements are being made by the transitional leadership to restore democracy and constitutional rule in their own way, which is most likely to be different from the demands and expectations of the EU. The EU should carefully study the situation on the ground and pursue a course that will truly reflect the interests of all sections of Mauritanian society. After all, the demand for the restoration of democracy and constitutional rule is aimed at ensuring the respect for broader human rights of the people of Mauritania. The EU is commended for its determination to vigorously address some of the political challenges that confront the continent. But, it must be very cautious in how it proceeds, as these issues are usually delicate and its course of action could make or break the country. Also, the African Union Commission, a more legitimate continental body, is being called upon, at this moment, to pressure the junta leadership to quickly revert to acceptable standards of democracy. Finally, but of equal importance, is the need on the part of internal stakeholders of the country, particularly political parties, mayors, senators and members of the National Assembly, opinion leaders, and all citizens of the country who are against and in support of the coup to quickly resolve their differences and to work assiduously to restore democracy.
