Mauritania. Many people have never heard of it, and most would probably be unable to pinpoint it on a map, even though its land mass is larger than France and Germany combined. Many Arabs are unaware that it is a member of the Arab League. Even BlackBerry does not recognise it. Its messenger service auto-corrects Mauritania to Martian and, given public ignorance of the country, Mauritania might as well be on Mars. However, this could and should change. Interviewed for a TV programme recently, I was asked whether Mauritania will be the next country to experience the Arab spring. In fact, it has been part of the spring since January 2011, when Yacoub Ould Dahoud fatally set himself alight in front of the presidential palace. Protests have taken place across Mauritania ever since, spurred by the same factors as in other Arab states: economic, political and social disenfranchisement. But unlike those in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Yemen, Syria and elsewhere in the region, Mauritanias have been barely a blip on the news radar. This has led al-Jazeera to describe it as the overlooked uprising. Very low internet usage in the country – reportedly less than 2% of households – has made it difficult for Mauritanians to get their views, eyewitness accounts and images out to the rest of the world as has happened among other restive Arab populations. The international community has historically taken little interest in Mauritania since its independence from France in 1960, because until recently it was seen as a poor expanse of desert with little strategic value (it has one of the lowest GDPs in Africa, making it among the poorest countries in the world). However, its importance is likely to increase, and with it the worlds attention. Mauritanias extensive iron ore deposits, which account for almost half of its exports, have increased in value due to rising metal prices, leading to more mines being opened, and hundreds of millions of dollars earned last year. Furthermore, oil was discovered in 2001, although Mauritanians have yet to benefit because the country lacks the necessary infrastructure to fully exploit its reserves. However, with production on the rise, several oil exploration deals inked in the last year, and a population of just over 3 million, the potential windfall is huge. As China makes economic and developmental inroads into Africa it may only be a matter of time before Mauritanias largely untapped resources come into focus. This could irk the US into also seeking greater involvement, as Africa is fast becoming an economic battleground for the current and upcoming superpowers. The rise of al-Qaida in the Maghreb is also attracting attention. While there is no evidence that it has infiltrated Mauritanias uprising, regional instability means there is always potential for the extremist group to make its presence felt. Potentially the most destabilising regional development is the secessionist movement in neighbouring northern Mali, driven by battle-hardened, largely secular Tuareg forces who fought for Libyas late dictator Muammar Gaddafi, as well as Islamist fighters. There are rising tensions between these groups, with the Islamists opposing the Tuareg declaration of independence, as well as differences over how to govern the territory, particularly with regard to Islamic law. Add to that the international communitys refusal to recognise Tuareg independence, Malis government threatening total and relentless war to recapture lost ground, tensions among residents in the north, and the Economic Community of West African States raising the prospect of military intervention, and you have a potential powder keg that could explode across a long and porous border. Thousands have already fled to Mauritania. There is also the possibility, or perhaps even the probability, that the protests in Mauritania will intensify, mainly because the government seems not to have learned from the mistakes of other Arab regimes that are under threat. It has used a combination of repression and pledges of reform that have left Mauritanians unconvinced and more frustrated. Demonstrations have thus far been peaceful and centred around reforms. However, as in other Arab states, if protesters feel they are being indefinitely ignored or oppressed, not only might calls for reform become demands for regime change, but violence may become a means to advance those demands – a particularly dangerous development given Mauritanias ethnic fault lines. When the world does start paying attention, let us hope it is because Mauritanians are no less deserving of their rights, rather than the self-interests of world powers, or the morbid media mantra: If it bleeds, it leads. • Follow Comment is free on Twitter @commentisfree
Posted on: Wed, 02 Apr 2014 11:28:50 +0000
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