FREETOWN // Mauritania's deposed president had supported efforts to charge members of the armed forces for human rights violations - a move that could have been the spark for Wednesday's coup, a leading Mauritanian human rights lawyer said.
An amnesty law passed by a previous government has hampered attempts to hold military officers accountable for atrocities committed against civilians, said Fatimata M'baye, who heads the Mauritanian Association for Human Rights and sits on the National Human Rights Commission.
But Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi, who was president before being ousted last week, supported their efforts to work around the agreement to achieve justice.
"He was very engaged to find a resolution to this question and to make reconciliation," said Ms M'baye, speaking from the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott. "The military know what it means - there may be a time when they go to court. To stop this process they made a coup. This is one of the causes."
She said it was one of a number of factors in a continuing struggle between Mr Abdallahi and top military officials.
On Wednesday morning, Mr Abdallahi fired four generals, including Gen Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz, the head of the presidential guard. Gen Abdelaziz led a coup later that day when presidential guards seized Mr Abdallahi.
The military quickly announced the formation of an 11-member ruling council. It pledged to "renew the democratic process" by holding a "free and democratic" presidential election, but it did not set a date.
Ms M'baye dismissed the promise, suggesting that such an election would be rigged.
"They will make an election that elects who they want to put in the president's chair," she said. "They want really to have someone they can manipulate."
The European Union, African Union and others swiftly condemned the coup. The US has suspended more than US$20 million (Dh74m) in aid, including $15m slated for Mauritania's military.
But the military council did gain some approval at home. About 1,000 people marched in support on Thursday, and some politicians spoke out in favour of the coup.
"This is a moment of correction and realignment for us to be able to go forwards towards democracy," Moustapha Ould Abeiderrahmane, a member of parliament, told Reuters. Mr Abdallahi's year in office has been marked by political crises and accusations of corruption. Facing a no-confidence vote, his cabinet resigned in July, becoming the second government to fall within three months.
Mr Abdallahi dismissed his previous government in May during widespread protests against skyrocketing food prices. Some politicians recently attempted to set up a commission to investigate the country's response to rising living costs. Mauritania has been hit particularly hard by soaring global food prices: the impoverished desert country imports 70 per cent of its food, according to the World Food Programme.
Stéphanie Savariaud, the WFP's spokesman for west Africa, said the government had responded well to the crisis, given the circumstances. "The high food prices crisis has been taken seriously by all parties in Mauritania and the country has been proactive in dealing with a crisis that cannot be solved overnight," she said.
Les Campbell, of the Washington-based National Democratic Institute, said Mauritania's political system was strong enough to withstand instability triggered by the food crisis without help from the military.
"Mauritania has ways of managing political problems that don't involve the military," said Mr Campbell, the Middle East and North Africa director for the Institute, which is affiliated with the US Democratic Party and promotes democratic development overseas.
Ms M'baye also rejected the idea that Mr Abdallahi needed to be replaced because he was unable to cope with the difficulties facing Mauritania.
"It's very early to make a judgment on his actions," she said. "He just came into power last year."
Mr Abdallahi became the country's first democratically elected president in April 2007 after riding to victory on a platform of reconciliation. Ms M'baye said the real reason the military decided to step in was to maintain its traditional grip on power, which could be weakened by Mr Abdallahi's reconciliation programme.
As part of the programme, Mr Abdallahi promised to repatriate about 30,000 refugees still living in neighbouring Senegal and Mali. About 70,000 black Mauritanians fled ethnic violence that killed hundreds in 1989 and was sponsored by the Moor-dominated military government. The first returnees arrived in January.
Ms M'baye said their return could add weight and garner support for cases being built against members of the military, including Gen Abdelaziz. While the amnesty agreement prevents lawyers from laying charges in Mauritanian courts, they have done so in France and Senegal, she said.
In 2005, human rights groups fought successfully in a French court to convict Ely Ould Dah, a Mauritanian military officer, in absentia on charges torture and barbarism. Dah fled France while on parole, and has so far avoided his 10-year sentence for torturing two black officers accused of plotting a coup.
"The military can't go outside Mauritania because they are targeted by international justice," Ms M'baye said. Mauritania has had more than 10 coups or attempted coups since gaining independence from France in 1960. It is a country deeply divided by ethnic tension between its black and Moorish populations. Moors have traditionally formed the economic and social elite, and slavery of the black population is still widespread.
Mauritania gained more acceptance in the international community after criminalising slavery last year and implementing democratic reforms - which translated into an increase of international aid.
The country has also seen modest profits from oil since becoming Africa's newest producer in 2006.
@Email:jferrie@thenational.ae
'Panga'
Directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Starring Kangana Ranaut, Richa Chadha, Jassie Gill, Yagya Bhasin, Neena Gupta
Rating: 3.5/5
Top 5 concerns globally:
1. Unemployment
2. Spread of infectious diseases
3. Fiscal crises
4. Cyber attacks
5. Profound social instability
Top 5 concerns in the Mena region
1. Energy price shock
2. Fiscal crises
3. Spread of infectious diseases
4. Unmanageable inflation
5. Cyber attacks
Source: World Economic Foundation
88 Video's most popular rentals
Avengers 3: Infinity War: an American superhero film released in 2018 and based on the Marvel Comics story.
Sholay: a 1975 Indian action-adventure film. It follows the adventures of two criminals hired by police to catch a vagabond. The film was panned on release but is now considered a classic.
Lucifer: is a 2019 Malayalam-language action film. It dives into the gritty world of Kerala’s politics and has become one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of all time.
The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Elvis
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The Africa Institute 101
Housed on the same site as the original Africa Hall, which first hosted an Arab-African Symposium in 1976, the newly renovated building will be home to a think tank and postgraduate studies hub (it will offer master’s and PhD programmes). The centre will focus on both the historical and contemporary links between Africa and the Gulf, and will serve as a meeting place for conferences, symposia, lectures, film screenings, plays, musical performances and more. In fact, today it is hosting a symposium – 5-plus-1: Rethinking Abstraction that will look at the six decades of Frank Bowling’s career, as well as those of his contemporaries that invested social, cultural and personal meaning into abstraction.
La Mer lowdown
La Mer beach is open from 10am until midnight, daily, and is located in Jumeirah 1, well after Kite Beach. Some restaurants, like Cupagahwa, are open from 8am for breakfast; most others start at noon. At the time of writing, we noticed that signs for Vicolo, an Italian eatery, and Kaftan, a Turkish restaurant, indicated that these two restaurants will be open soon, most likely this month. Parking is available, as well as a Dh100 all-day valet option or a Dh50 valet service if you’re just stopping by for a few hours.
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The Bio
Name: Lynn Davison
Profession: History teacher at Al Yasmina Academy, Abu Dhabi
Children: She has one son, Casey, 28
Hometown: Pontefract, West Yorkshire in the UK
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite Author: CJ Sansom
Favourite holiday destination: Bali
Favourite food: A Sunday roast
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Expo details
Expo 2020 Dubai will be the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia
The world fair will run for six months from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021.
It is expected to attract 25 million visits
Some 70 per cent visitors are projected to come from outside the UAE, the largest proportion of international visitors in the 167-year history of World Expos.
More than 30,000 volunteers are required for Expo 2020
The site covers a total of 4.38 sqkm, including a 2 sqkm gated area
It is located adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai South
MATCH INFO
Euro 2020 qualifier
Ukraine 2 (Yaremchuk 06', Yarmolenko 27')
Portugal 1 (Ronaldo 72' pen)
Landfill in numbers
• Landfill gas is composed of 50 per cent methane
• Methane is 28 times more harmful than Co2 in terms of global warming
• 11 million total tonnes of waste are being generated annually in Abu Dhabi
• 18,000 tonnes per year of hazardous and medical waste is produced in Abu Dhabi emirate per year
• 20,000 litres of cooking oil produced in Abu Dhabi’s cafeterias and restaurants every day is thrown away
• 50 per cent of Abu Dhabi’s waste is from construction and demolition
Results
Ashraf Ghani 50.64 per cent
Abdullah Abdullah 39.52 per cent
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar 3.85 per cent
Rahmatullah Nabil 1.8 per cent
The specs
Engine: 8.0-litre, quad-turbo 16-cylinder
Transmission: 7-speed auto
0-100kmh 2.3 seconds
0-200kmh 5.5 seconds
0-300kmh 11.6 seconds
Power: 1500hp
Torque: 1600Nm
Price: Dh13,400,000
On sale: now
Dengue%20fever%20symptoms
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THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
Zodi%20%26%20Tehu%3A%20Princes%20Of%20The%20Desert
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEric%20Barbier%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EYoussef%20Hajdi%2C%20Nadia%20Benzakour%2C%20Yasser%20Drief%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Tottenham v Ajax, Tuesday, 11pm (UAE).
Second leg
Ajax v Tottenham, Wednesday, May 8, 11pm
Games on BeIN Sports
Company%20Profile
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