A New Junta Gets to Work in Mauritania

On Saturday, the junta which has seized control assured political parties none of its members will stand for office.

Leader Colonel Ely Ould Mohamed Vall promised elections within two years.

There were celebrations on the streets of the capital, Nouakchott, following the release of members of Mauritania’s popular Islamic movement.

Mohamed el Hassan Ould Dedaw, a former Imam from Nouakchott, was one of 52 members of the movement to have been held for months without trial.

The decision by the military council to release the Islamists, just days after seizing power in a bloodless coup, is seen as confirmation that they were in fact political prisoners.

Members of the Islamic movement say their leaders were imprisoned as part of an attempt by the ousted president, Mr Taya, to crush all opposition.

Haidalla (Taya’s opponent in the 2003 elections) during the run-up to the vote appeared to have backing from a wide range of voters, including moderates weary of Taya’s long and restrictive rule.

He campaigned side-by-side with a leading Islamic cleric whom Taya’s regime had jailed for four months during the U.S.-led Iraq offensive this year.

Cleric Mohamed Hassan Dedaw, who spoke frequently to crowds during Haidalla’s campaign rallies, told The Associated Press he saw Mauritania’s ties with Israel as currently unjustifiable.