Mauritania leader rules out fresh talks with opposition

By Mohamed al-Bakay

NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania

Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel-Aziz on Thursday said he would not hold any fresh political dialogue with the country’s opposition.

Speaking at a press conference in capital Nouakchott, Abdel-Aziz said his priority was to prepare for a popular referendum on a raft of proposed constitutional amendments.

He denied that he or his government had been subject to pressure -- by either the UN or the EU -- to enter into a fresh round of talks with Mauritanian opposition parties.

"The notion of such pressure exists only in the minds of those who spend their time in this or that foreign embassy,” Abdel-Aziz asserted.

“No one -- whoever they are -- can interfere in Mauritania’s domestic affairs,” he added.

Last week, Mohammed Ibn Chambas, the special representative of the UN secretary-general for West Africa, called for a fresh round of Mauritanian political dialogue.

After the country’s senate failed to endorse the proposed constitutional changes earlier this month, the country’s main opposition parties had called for a fresh round of dialogue with the government.

On Thursday, however, Abdel-Aziz declared: “There’s no time for more dialogue [with the opposition] or to waste more time on futile projects.”

He added that the upcoming constitutional referendum -- the date for which has yet to be set -- would be open to all Mauritanian citizens, but that “the door for political dialogue is closed”.

Most Mauritanian opposition parties reject the proposed constitutional changes, which they believe would only cement the current government’s grip on power.