NOUAKCHOTT - Mauritanian opposition parties were set Tuesday to defy a ban on demonstrations to keep up pressure on the military junta, which let pass an African Union deadline to reinstate the ousted president.
The military junta, led by General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, made no official declaration, as the African bloc’s deadline for deposed president Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi be returned to power “no later than Monday October 2008” he expired.
The African Union has threatened to impose sanctions, and opponents of the junta in the country called Monday on the bloc to make good on its threat against the junta, which ousted Mauritania’s first democratically-elected president on August 6.
“We demand the immediate implementation of sanctions against the junta, in line with the ultimatum set by the AU if the military does not give up power,” said Mohamed Ould Mouloud, a spokesman for the National Front for the Defence of Democracy, a coalition of five anti-coup parties.
The Front later announced plans to hold a march at 4 pm (1600 GMT) on Tuesday in Nouakchott despite a continued ban on demonstrations in order to keep up pressure on the junta.
On Sunday riot police used tear gas to disperse several small protests by supporters of the ousted president.
According to the anti-coup movement, the junta has begun an “escalation of repression against all political opposition”.
In Nouakchott, politicians backing the military coup shrugged off the African Union ultimatum.
“We don’t care about these (African Union) ultimatums, this doesn’t scare anybody,” said Sidi Mohamed Ould Maham, a spokesman for the majority of members of parliament who support the new military leadership.
But African Union chief Jean Ping and other officials said Monday that a junta delegation had arrived at the bloc’s headquarters in Addis Ababa for talks.
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