Its last leader on the run, Mauritania assesses its political future after its most recent bout of musical chairs, writes Gamal Nkrumah Another coup d'etat in Mauritania is hardly earth- shattering news. The ousting of Mouaouiya Sidi Ahmed Ould Taya was nothing short of a palace reshuffle. The main instigator and ringleader was Colonel Ely Ould Mohamed Vall, 55, Ould Taya's own trusted security chief. Taya himself usurped power by force in a 1984 putsch. In short, the sprawling African desert nation of three million people appears to be prone to military takeovers. Taya, who vowed to return, was painfully unpopular, largely because he ruled with an iron fist. A 17-man strong military junta, the Military Council for Justice and Democracy, was hastily formed to run the country. They seem to have strong popular support. Indeed, it requires a PhD in politics, sociology and anthropology to understand the country's myriad internal disputes, which are invariably intertwined with race, ethnicity and class. On the face of it matters are very simple: the Moors of Arab and Berber stock, the fair-skinned lords of the land, have controlled the country since independence from France in 1960. The black- skinned non-Arabs are relegated to the status of second-class citizens. What, however, puzzles outsiders is the proliferation of internal squabbles among the country's ruling Arab-Berber elites. As the mineral-rich Arab-African country hits the international headlines, the underlying problems with the ethnically and racially composite country have come to the fore. Washington and to a lesser degree France, the former colonial power and major trading partner of Mauritania, have been trying to halt and undermine the support base of Islamist militants. Following the 11 September attacks in New York and Washington, DC, Mauritania emerged as a chief ally of the US-inspired war on terror. Taya's Mauritania also cultivated close economic and diplomatic ties with Israel. Recent years, however, have been marked by contretemps, with a groundswell of resentment among Mauritania's devout Muslim population against Taya's flirtation with the Americans and the Israelis. Hardcore Arab nationalists and Islamic militants have been bent on igniting a war against Taya and the Mauritanian state since the establishment of diplomatic relations with the State of Israel in 1999, one of only three Arab countries to do so. That outrage stood out as a direct affront to Arab and Moorish sensibilities, even in a region that had become grimly accustomed to outrages committed by ruling cliques. It is these anomalies that led the coup plotters in Mauritania to oust Ould Taya. Indeed, the junta freed Islamist militants incarcerated under the Ould Taya regime, a move that endeared the new rulers to Mauritania's numerous Islamist opposition groups. "The freeing of Islamists was one of the most important moves of the junta," Egypt's Ambassador to Mauritania Mohamed Foda told Al-Ahram Weekly. "Life has returned to normal in the country, and I don't expect that there will be major foreign policy changes. The country is going through a transitional period. People were incensed about the lack of democracy and about the heavy-handed authoritarianism of Ould Taya's regime, and because presidential elections were a sham," Ambassador Foda explained. Democracy Ould Taya-style had been scant consolation to the Mauritanian electorate. Voters in Africa are sick and tired of "new democratic political systems" that are frustratingly lacking in serious promises or commitments. Mauritania proved to be a prime example of the modern political adage, deliver or be deposed. Libya and Bourkina Faso were blamed for previous coup attempts in 2003 and 2004. There is the risk that in moving away from the murky tribal practices of its past, Mauritania will embrace the worst and most superficial aspects of Western electioneering, or veer dangerously towards a theocracy ruled by Islamist militants. Bread and butter issues also come into play. There were sound reasons for the resentment of the vast majority of Mauritanians -- rampant unemployment, high inflation levels and a serious brain drain problem. Mauritania's newfound oil wealth might be a complicating factor in the country's politics. Indeed, US President George W Bush's fixation with new African oil producers has become almost as unruly as his obsession with terrorism. Mauritania, one of Africa's major iron ore producers, is scheduled to begin oil production in 2006 -- initial output set to reach 75,000 barrels a day. The Bush administration's approach to Mauritania and other North African countries has focused narrowly on trade and terrorism. It must be broadened to include a more ambitious, far-sighted social dimension. Washington initially condemned the coup, but later said that it is willing to deal with the new regime if constitutional rule is restored in two years. The African Union (AU), meanwhile, has suspended Mauritania's membership of the 53-state organisation and sent a delegation to assess the situation. While Vall has the power of initiative, he does not appear to be fully in control of the junta's stated agenda. This is not the whole picture. Vall is a man of the system. Yet, he is obviously daring. That he usurped power in a bloodless coup should not go unnoticed. The new political figures working for the current junta appear to be veteran, well-known figures of Mauritania's political establishment. Sidi Mohamed Ould Boubacar, a leader of the former ruling Social Democratic Party (PRDS), was named prime minister. Most unpredictable have been Vall's bold attempt to court Islamists, freeing prisoners including the country's chief Islamist ideologue, Mohamed El-Hassan Ould Dedaw. As for the outgoing head of state, when deposed President Mouaouiya Ould Sid Ahmed Taya was out of the country, paying his last respects to King Fahd of Saudi Arabia. When it became clear that his time in power was over he went to Niger and then Morocco and then Gambia. Mauritania is a cornucopia of contradictions. Islam is the overriding theme and focus of Mauritanian national identity. The country is surrounded by Muslim nations, Senegal and Mali to the south and southeast, Algeria and Morocco to the north. Yet Mauritania -- or more specifically its traditional ruling elite -- has, since independence from France in 1960, looked disparagingly at the secularism of its neighbours to the north and the south. Sandwiched between North Africa and Africa south of the Sahara, Mauritania really belongs to neither. Like the rest of its immediate neighbours -- both Arab and black African -- Mauritania is francophone and predominantly Muslim but it stands apart. Officially "The Islamic Republic of Mauritania", with Israeli assistance Mauritania waged a vicious campaign against its own radical Islamists. High-ranking Islamist opposition figures were -- until now -- hounded out by the political establishment under the tutelage of the ruling PRDS; itself self-proclaimed as moderate, progressive and Islam-inspired. Arabic is the official language of Mauritania and the country is a member of the Cairo-based 22-state Arab League. Will the rapprochement with the Islamists last? There are many reasons why Mauritania without Ould Taya at the helm would not need to cultivate, or accept, a close relationship with Israel. But Vall met foreign diplomats, including the Israeli ambassador in Nouakchott. "Domestic concerns were the main cause of the coup," Ambassador Foda stressed. The special friendship with Israel has proved as much a diplomatic headache for Ould Taya as economic woes, human rights violations and the dearth of democracy. And then there is Mauritania's large, black African and non-Arab population. While other issues come and go, the black African Mauritanian crisis never goes away. Thousands of black Africans were forcibly expelled from the country in the 1990s. Mauritanian society is strictly divided into a rigid caste system that flies in the face of the country's supposed march towards political liberalisation. The lighter-skinned Arabic-speaking Moors, after whom the country's name is derived, and who have in the pre- colonial, colonial and post-independence eras monopolised power in Mauritania, are not prepared or willing to relinquish power.
