afrol News / Le Calame, 19 June - An organisation termed "Citizen Movement for the Prolongation of Transition" (MCPT) this week registered with authorities in Mauritania. The "movement" seeks to lobby for the prolonging of the current political transition period in Mauritania, which started on 3 August last year when a military council took power and is to end after the foreseen elections later this year.

The MCPT this week formally registered with the permanent session of the Military Council, which currently rules Mauritania from its Nouakchott government offices. The new movement, whose application is signed by a certain Khaled Ould Abass, assures that it already can count on 50,000 signatories from Mauritanians favouring its initiative.

The movement says its campaign is justified by several "realities" in the fragile political situation of the country. By ending the transition too early, "we are taking risks that are all too high in the sense of the collective social contract, which we cannot comply with in the current conditions," the MCPT holds.

Based on these general fears, the movement asks that a referendum be organised to seek a prolonging of the period of transition. If the majority would say "no" to such a prolongation, "it would serve as guarantee that the Mauritanian people not only is prepared to live in democracy, but also willing to fight for it and it would free the current power holders from responsibility for the future of the country."

The movement further claims to be a "victim of censorship" and last week criticised official media - both the state radio and television - for not conceding it the necessary attention to be able to communicate their initiative.

Many Mauritanians however ask themselves if this new initiative is just a bad taste joke or, even worse, an attempt to detain the historic path of the country towards the establishment of democratic institutions and a true state of law and order. Since the 3 August coup, Mauritania for the first time since independence seems to be truly engaged in a profound democratisation process. Earlier this month, even press censorship was officially abolished in a new media law.

Editors of Mauritania's leading independent newspaper, 'Le Calame', also are negative to the proposal. The newspaper sees historic parallels to other authoritarian movements in Mauritania's recent past, where groups had offered their friendship to the powerful only to attack them later, as was the case with deposed dictator Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya.

The columnist sends an appeal to Mauritania's popular military transition leader, Colonel Ely Ould Mohamed Vall, saying that he and his military colleagues, "who we consider intellectually potent, do not fall into the trap laid down by a group of individuals that considers the people being too immature for democracy - a universal value - in the current circumstances."

'Le Calame' also holds that the proposed referendum is a waste of resources in "these times of lean livestock, resulting from several years of pillage of national resources." A referendum would come as "a supplementary electoral supplement in a calendar that already is rather full and at the cost of the Mauritanian taxpayer." This "strong signal" should be avoided by the military junta, the newspaper urges.

By staff writers

© afrol News / Le Calame

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