Genuine political reforms cannot take place without launching a comprehensive dialogue, according to Mauritanian politicians and researchers.
Mauritanian policy-makers and experts gathered in Nouakchott last week to discuss ways to bring about democratic reforms and combat terrorism. Dialogue is the only viable means to solve national problems, attendees at the March 31st conference concluded.
"The timing of the seminar could not be better in light of the political upheavals sweeping across the region in general, making dialog an absolute necessity," Sidi Ould Lemjad said, whose Emjad Centre for Culture and Information organised the gathering.
Such events are the best contribution that civil society can offer in order to reinforce democracy, Ould Lemjad said at the opening of the forum.
In his turn, former prime minister and head of ADIL party Yahya Ould El Waghef noted that people should not give up hope on reform, no matter what the challenges are. He added that six regimes, mostly military, ruled Mauritania since the independence in 1960. The present regime appears civil on the outside, but is military on the inside.
Ould El Waghef called for building a true democracy, a modern state that ensures transparency and stability. To that end, it is necessary to "ensure that the army stays away from politics, ensure the neutrality of the state, respect the separation of powers, create free public media and launch an open and comprehensive dialogue among various political actors".
"There are things that everyone seems to agree on, be they pro or against the state, such as fighting terrorism and eradicating it completely as it is a true threat to the nation and the entire region," he said. "Therefore, we need to stress that unanimity."
Political science researcher at Nouakchott University Mohamed Ould Mohamed El Mokhtar stressed that "words and deeds are still divorced in Mauritania and so are the state and the opposition".
"Winds of change are already blowing across the region, in the wake of a series of aggravated issues that the elite failed to contain over the past decades because of the lack of dialogue," he added.
The expert also complained about mistrust between the government and the opposition.
"The regime looks at the opposition as a bunch of rioters, and the opposition only looks at the regime as a corrupt mafia," he said. Though "both parties agree on the necessity of dialogue in order to come out of that crisis", they "failed to see eye to eye" on its form.
Jemil Ould Mensour, head of Tewassoul party and parliamentarian, said that dialogue "requires getting rid of a certain mentality or a certain logic in order to adopt a different method".
"I think that as long as the army is in charge and army officers are into politics, there is never going to be real democracy. Also, as long as the ruling party stays in power, state leverage will continue to be monopolised," Ould Mensour added.
Mohamed El Moukhtar Ould Mohamed, leader in the Union for the Republic party, concluded the event, saying that there must an initiative for reform.
"President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz was elected only a year and a half ago," he said. "It would be unfair to hold him responsible for all the problems the country has been facing for the past forty years."
© Magharebia.com 2011
