From ufpweb2 at yahoo.fr Mon May 29 05:40:51 2006 From: ufpweb2 at yahoo.fr (UFP) Date: Mon, 29 May 2006 14:40:51 +0200 (CEST) Subject: [M-net] =?iso-8859-1?q?Amath_Dansokho_re=E7oit_le_premier_vice_pr?= =?iso-8859-1?q?=E9sident_de_l=27Ufp?= Message-ID: <20060529124051.90635.qmail@web26515.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Samedi 27 mai, à 13 :00 TU, Amath Dansokho, Secrétaire général du Parti pour l’Indépendance et le Travail (PIT), a reçu à déjeuner en son domicile, B Boubakar Moussa, premier vice-président de l’UFP. La suite à .... http://ufpweb.org/vieduparti/relations/sen.htm _____________________________________________ Nouveaux : les forums du site : http://forums.ufpweb.org Bonne lecture Visitez http://ufpweb.org (Français) http://ar.ufpweb.org (Arabe) http://pulaar.ufpweb.org (Pulaar) http://congres.ufpweb.org (2e congrès ordinaire de l'Ufp) Pour toute question concernat le site de l'Ufp, écrire à : admin at ufpweb.org ou ufpweb2 at yahoo.fr Contacter la permance de l'Ufp : 00 222 529 32 66 / 00 222 660 26 23 _________________________________________________ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060529/1ca189bd/attachment.htm From ufpweb2 at yahoo.fr Mon May 29 05:52:03 2006 From: ufpweb2 at yahoo.fr (UFP) Date: Mon, 29 May 2006 14:52:03 +0200 (CEST) Subject: [M-net] Visite de l'UFP au sud Message-ID: <20060529125203.84707.qmail@web26501.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Très prochainement vous aurez le compte rendu de la mission de l'Ufp au Sud. visitez http://ufpweb.org _____________________________________________ Nouveaux : les forums du site : http://forums.ufpweb.org Bonne lecture Visitez http://ufpweb.org (Français) http://ar.ufpweb.org (Arabe) http://pulaar.ufpweb.org (Pulaar) http://congres.ufpweb.org (2e congrès ordinaire de l'Ufp) Pour toute question concernat le site de l'Ufp, écrire à : admin at ufpweb.org ou ufpweb2 at yahoo.fr Contacter la permance de l'Ufp : 00 222 529 32 66 / 00 222 660 26 23 _________________________________________________ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060529/3cb44679/attachment.htm From ufpweb2 at yahoo.fr Mon May 29 05:52:03 2006 From: ufpweb2 at yahoo.fr (UFP) Date: Mon, 29 May 2006 14:52:03 +0200 (CEST) Subject: [M-net] Visite de l'UFP au sud Message-ID: <20060529125203.84707.qmail@web26501.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Très prochainement vous aurez le compte rendu de la mission de l'Ufp au Sud. visitez http://ufpweb.org _____________________________________________ Nouveaux : les forums du site : http://forums.ufpweb.org Bonne lecture Visitez http://ufpweb.org (Français) http://ar.ufpweb.org (Arabe) http://pulaar.ufpweb.org (Pulaar) http://congres.ufpweb.org (2e congrès ordinaire de l'Ufp) Pour toute question concernat le site de l'Ufp, écrire à : admin at ufpweb.org ou ufpweb2 at yahoo.fr Contacter la permance de l'Ufp : 00 222 529 32 66 / 00 222 660 26 23 _________________________________________________ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060529/3cb44679/attachment-0001.htm From remyk at yahoo.fr Mon May 29 08:08:43 2006 From: remyk at yahoo.fr (remy kleib) Date: Mon, 29 May 2006 17:08:43 +0200 (CEST) Subject: [M-net] Mes raisons de dire Non au referendum sur la constitution du 25 juin par Dr Kleib A-S Message-ID: <20060529150843.88447.qmail@web26907.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Mes raisons de dire Non au referendum sur la constitution du 25 juin « Un homme en colère est un homme qui n'a pas su dire non et éprouve, en plus, le remords de ne pas l'avoir fait. » Tahar Ben Jelloun A quoi sert un referendum, si l’on doit voter impérativement par un OUI? Alors pourquoi dépenser les bien publics si le choix du OUI doit l’emporter sur le non ? Pourquoi nous imposer le seul et unique choix du OUI comme celui du bien sur le mal. Pourquoi donner autant de moyens pour ceux qui prônent le OUI, à leur tête le chef de l’Etat? Ce président qui sillonne le pays, pour nous imposer le vote massif du Oui pour une histoire à dormir debout de serrures, de cadenas et de tracts fictifs. Tout cela au frais du contribuable mauritanien. Nous appâter par l'amendement de 3 articles de la loi fondamentale : la réduction du mandat présidentiel à 5 ans, un mandat renouvelable une seule fois, un verrouillage juridique qui fait qu'aucune procédure de révision de la constitution ne soit possible. C’est nous sous-estimer et au delà mettre un doute la maturité du peuple mauritanien. Plutôt, Instaurons un vrai débat sur cette constitution et exigeons un décompte de temps de parole, pour les partisans et les détracteurs du OUI. Priver le chef de l’Etat fervent défenseur du OUI , de sa lépreuse TVM qu’il semble squatter avec la complicité de l’AMI, alors que aucun NON ne se fait entendre sur nos médias. Cette occasion unique qu’a le peuple mauritanien de dire NON à un gouvernement, de le désavouer massivement pour la première fois est à saisir d’une main de fer. Ainsi le chef de la junte et son « Gouvernement à usage unique » pour ne pas dire familièrement « Gouvernement jetable » en tireront les conséquences de leurs choix et sauront que l’on ne pourra pas toujours suivre ceux qui ont le pouvoir comme des moutons de panurge. Quant au peuple, en montrant son refus d’entendre et de respecter la volonté d’un groupe qui veut lui imposer à travers les urnes son choix du OUI pour cette Constitution relookée avec très peu de changement, il aura acquis le principe fondamental de la démocratie celui d’avoir un choix, un vrai choix réfléchi et réaliste. Si le peuple savait que les pères de la constitution de 1991 sont actuellement les charpentiers de cette illusion de changement de 2006, Il mesurerait à leur juste portée ces mots de Peter Genestet « Heureux et libre est celui qui ose dire non ! » Même si Le texte du projet porte uniquement sur les articles modifiés de la constitution du 20 juillet 1991 qui stipule dans son nouvel article 99 qu’«aucune procédure de révision de la Constitution ne peut être engagée si elle met en cause l’existence de l’Etat ou porte atteinte à l’intégrité du territoire, à la forme républicaine du gouvernement, au caractère pluraliste de la démocratie mauritanienne ou au principe de l’alternance démocratique au pouvoir et à son corollaire, le principe selon lequel le mandat du président de la République est de cinq ans, renouvelable une seule fois». On aura un homme fort avec des pouvoirs illimités. Qui dit un homme fort dit une tribu forte et une région privilégiée et si il y a des puissants, il y aura forcement des faibles, des soumis et des exclus. Souvenez-vous de cette Constitution de 1991 qui avait proclamé la Mauritanie "République islamique, arabe et africaine". Elle a été violée, et greffée avec le fameux article 104 issu de l’imagination illimitée de l’entourage du président. Reste enfin qu’est ce qui immunise la constitution de 2006 par rapport à celle 1991? La garde présidentielle, la maturité des militaires ou la vigilance du peuple mauritanien ? Nous le saurons bientôt. Faire confiance à la junte au pouvoir comme le font actuellement la majorité des partis politiques, alors que les vrais changements se font toujours attendre, relève de la naïveté ou de l’autisme intellectuel. Le frangin du premier président et le cousin du dernier président déchu en ont fait les frais. Rien qu’a les voir dans le sillage du moustachu de notre palais de marbre pour se dire que rien n’a changé, surtout en profondeur ; les promesse de Démocratie et de liberté restent des promesses: la réalité mauritanienne dément toute logique scientifique et toute les prévisions économétriques. Nous n’avons pas la notion de l’Etat ni de la hiérarchie, même sous la houlette d’un gouvernement d’exception ou sous la botte d’une triade de colonels et leurs vassaux nous restons des bédouins orgueilleux. Un éditorialiste français a qualifié l’après 3 août d’ère de liberté et de démocratie par ces mots: les mauritaniens sont devenus libres, ils peuvent actuellement écouter RFI en ondes courtes FM : quelle définition primitive de la liberté ! Un autre mauritanien a qualifié l’après 3 août d’ère de liberté et de démocratie on peut voir Hindou du journal le calame et Ould Daddah à la télévision ! Et Alors ! Par contre voir le putschiste du 8 juin à la télévision publique est une insulte à la mémoire des victimes du putsch, civiles ou militaires. Pour les crimes, la prescription intervient des décennies après l’acte, si aucune procédure n’a été entamée contre l’auteur du crime et non par la création d’un parti. Voilà le changement tant attendu n’a pas eu lieu, les partis politiques se sont regroupés et ils se soucient plus de leur financement que des problèmes qui secouent la société mauritanienne. Les élections qui se profilent a l’horizon serviront à réconforter un nouveau parti politique qui va vite se « PRDSiser » : en s’ouvrant à tous les transfuges des autres partis perdants pour devenir un parti- Etat, ainsi il s’implantera partout avec les moyens de l’Etat, et inventera une nouvelle idée apparentée à celle du défunt livre et ses innombrables maisons : les perdants dénonceront la triche,les urnes bourrées, de bureaux de vote volants et les observateurs étrangers bernés et l’inaptitude de la CENI sous la commande quasi militaire de son président. Si ça rassure le Tchad a aussi une CENI. D’où cette question en forme d’appel au secours : Qui pourra transgresser le principe qui régit le fonctionnement même de ce système en voulant devenir un vrai chef d’Etat à part entière dans ce pays où l'armée fait et défait les présidents ? Une chose est sûre : il y a quelque part quelqu’un qui tire les ficelles du pouvoir et ce n’est pas l’actuel président qui lui n’est qu’un acteur d’une dramatique pièce de théâtre sur fond de décors de démocratie en cinq actes par ordre, cette parodie des journées de concertation, le referendum, les municipales, les législatives et les présidentielles, mise en scène par des éminences grises bien de chez nous, quant à la production, elle est assurée par les finances publiques. Enfin, était-il vraiment nécessaire d’organiser un référendum ? C’est sûr que le gouvernement, et le Président ont un autre point de vue sur la question. Il y a sûrement des considérations qui ont poussé le CMJD à proposer ce référendum. Il fallait lire entre les lignes du discours présidentiel « One man show » le souci de bonne gouvernance, équilibres internationaux en oubliant peut-être les équilibres nationaux et sa richesse douteuse. Il faut arrêter cet abus dans l’utilisation des techniques censées mesurer les rapports de force, les tendances au niveau de l’opinion publique et les valeurs, aux fins d’apporter un plus, des améliorations. Il y a abus en nombre d’élections et de référendums, dans un laps de temps aussi court, souvent aux dépens des valeurs, que sont la participation du citoyen, le libre choix, le débat, la transparence. Ainsi le citoyen risque de se dire que les élections et les référendums, sans âme ni valeur, ne sont qu’un jeu politique, destiné à convaincre les instances internationales, au détriment des intérêts des mauritaniens. Alors que Personne ne doute que les mauritaniens méritent infiniment mieux. Dr. KLEIB Ahmed Salem Médecin - Hopital national tel : 6673276 --------------------------------- Yahoo! Mail réinvente le mail ! Découvrez le nouveau Yahoo! Mail et son interface révolutionnaire. -------------- section suivante -------------- Une pièce jointe HTML a été nettoyée... URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060529/27ae12b4/attachment-0001.htm From mohamedouldelkory at yahoo.fr Mon May 29 11:02:38 2006 From: mohamedouldelkory at yahoo.fr (ouldelkory mohamed) Date: Mon, 29 May 2006 20:02:38 +0200 (CEST) Subject: [M-net] RAISON D'ETAT Message-ID: <20060529180238.73616.qmail@web25410.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> A l'approche du référendum pour la constitution, les Mauritaniens restent anxieux. Les grands problèmes du pays n'arrivent toujours pas à trouver de solutions. Et en plus,il n'y a pas d'argent (faute de décaissements, le budget de l'Etat n'arrive toujours pas à être totalement mis en place) mais en plus devant une prolifération d'impôts, les petites usines ferment et l'économie reste totalement paralysée. Avec cette grande crise, les populations se demandent où est-ce qu'on va. Après ces déplacements à l'intérieur , le Président Ely Ould Mohamed Vall a bien compris qu'il reste toujours très attendu sur le terrain économique et social et sur les perspectives d'assainissement de la gestion publique timidement engagée par le gouvernement de transition. Récemment, le Chef de l'Etat a bien clarifié avec la création de l'Inspection Générale de l'Etat, ses intentions en matière de bonne gouvernance. Le rapport d'inspection du Commissariat aux Droits de l'Homme à la Lutte contre la Pauvreté et à l'Insertion (CDHLPI) reste très attendu. Des têtes d'affiche de la mauvaise gestion continuent au CDHLPI à piller, en toute impunité, les deniers publics. Ils font remarquer que le rapport de l'inspecteur général de l'Etat ne peut être que classer pour "raisons d'Etat". Allez savoir pourquoi. Cela vaut bien un petit détours. --------------------------------- Yahoo! Mail réinvente le mail ! Découvrez le nouveau Yahoo! Mail et son interface révolutionnaire. -------------- section suivante -------------- Une pièce jointe HTML a été nettoyée... URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060529/35f7fbd4/attachment.htm From hmeidd at yahoo.fr Mon May 29 03:00:44 2006 From: hmeidd at yahoo.fr (ahmedou bedah) Date: Mon, 29 May 2006 10:00:44 +0000 (GMT) Subject: [M-net] la semaine de l'UFP Message-ID: <20060529100044.94101.qmail@web26105.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> L'un des partis de l'ancienne opposition au regime déchu fait son chemin vers la conquête du pouvoir. Il en a les possibilités et surtout le potenciel humain.Cette semaine le parti de Mohamed ould Maouloud a fait parlé de lui. D'abord ses militants viennent d'inaugurer un siège dans la commune du Ksar ensuite la Direction du Parti dirige de grands meetings populaires dans la Moughata de Boghé et enfin le vice-President débat à la television avec jamil mansour sur le dialogue politique et l'avenir du pays. Bedredine a seduit avec son hassaniya clair et precis et surtout son franc-parler. -------------- section suivante -------------- Une pièce jointe HTML a été nettoyée... URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060529/8ac0ac24/attachment.htm From webmaster at sosesclaves.org Mon May 29 13:12:09 2006 From: webmaster at sosesclaves.org (webmaster at sosesclaves.org) Date: Mon, 29 May 2006 22:12:09 +0200 Subject: [M-net] ESCLAVAGE EN MAURITANIE ET ELY OULD MOHAMED: LA DIFFICULTE DE L'AVEU Message-ID: <29973878.286981148933529533.JavaMail.servlet@kundenserver> Nous vous informons de la nouvelle publication suivante: ESCLAVAGE EN MAURITANIE ET ELY OULD MOHAMED: LA DIFFICULTE DE L'AVEU http://www.sosesclaves.org/CommuniquesdePresse/Actualite.htm Le Webmaster WWW.SOSESCLAVES.ORG From mohamedouldelkory at yahoo.fr Mon May 29 15:36:33 2006 From: mohamedouldelkory at yahoo.fr (ouldelkory mohamed) Date: Tue, 30 May 2006 00:36:33 +0200 (CEST) Subject: [M-net] SALUT L'ARTISTE! Message-ID: <20060529223633.67424.qmail@web25404.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Les onze bougies de "NOUAKCHOTT-INFOS' sont pour moi l'occasion de féliciter mon frère et ami Cheikhna Ould Nenni. Qu'on me laisse surtout saluer le professionnalisme, la prestance et l'intelligence vive de cet illustre descendant du Prophète Mahomet Paix et Salut sur Lui qui a tenu à ce que reste debout en Mauiritanie la vraie presse indépendante et non les ersatz des jours de disette. Les quotidiens "NOUAKCHOTT-INFOS" et "AKHBAR-NOUAKCHOTT" forcent l'estime des lecteurs pour la qualité de leurs investigations et de leurs enquetes. Avec la mise en place prochaine de la Haute Autorité pour la Presse et l'Audiovisiel, ce secteur connaitra son big-bang à lui. Le groupe MAPECI qui édite les meilleurs journaux de Mauritanie aura sa radio. Normal quand on sait que le pays va connaître une vie politique intense et un champ politique traversé par une réelle dynamique. Alors, plus aucun acteur ne peut parier sur une position statique durable. Cette mutation surprenante ne pouvait qu'avoir des conséquences heureuses pour Seyid Cheikhna Ould Nenni qui reste l'un des grands phares du Paysage Médiatique Mauritanien . MOHAMED OULD EL KORY Président de l'Association des Journalistes Francophones de Mauritanie Directeur de publication du journal "INIMISH AL-WATAN" --------------------------------- Yahoo! Mail réinvente le mail ! Découvrez le nouveau Yahoo! Mail et son interface révolutionnaire. -------------- section suivante -------------- Une pièce jointe HTML a été nettoyée... URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060530/f7f920ff/attachment.htm From camarah at hotmail.com Mon May 29 16:21:55 2006 From: camarah at hotmail.com (camara hadietou) Date: Mon, 29 May 2006 23:21:55 +0000 Subject: Re : Mr Coulibaly ou l' Art de poser les mauvaises questions. Message-ID: >> > > Merci Monsieur Saaxo, > > > > Pour cette brillante réponse monsieur Coulibaly qui > > n'a pas encore > > compris qu'il navigue à contre courant de > > l'histoire. > > > > Après tout c'est l'ère de la démocratie. Hitler n'a > > t-il pas des > > supporteurs. Il n'est donc pas étonnant que Ould > > Taya en est > > également. > > > > Je pense que maintenant Mr. Saaxo, tu peux revenir > > au Black-out que > > tu avais décrété. > > > > Monsieur le professeur sans rancunes, > > > > de la part de Monsieur Hadietou Camara. > > > > PS:en mauritanie, Hadietou est un prénom masculin. > > > > > > > > > > > > --- Dans ForumDiaspora at yahoogroupes.fr, "M. Saaxo" > > > > a écrit > > > > > > Je ne devrais probablement pas m'adonner à cette > > tache puisque > > cela > > > contredit un posting dans lequel je demandais à > > certains > > > participants de ne plus répondre à Mr Coulibaly. > > > Lisez plutot le genre de questions que pose notre > > professeur: > > > > > > 1- Quelle etait la population Mauritanienne le > > 12/12/84 et > > quelle > > > etait la population Mauritanienne le 3 Aout 2005? > > > > > > Si je vous réponds qu'on était près de 2 millions > > et demi qu'on > > est > > > à un peu plus de 3 millions. Qu'est ce que cela > > apprend au > > lecteur? > > > This is only Data and data is not information. > > > > > > 2- Combien de Mauritaniens avaient accès à > > l'electricité le > > 12/12/84 > > > et combien de Mauritaniens avaient acce's a' > > l'electricite' le 3 > > > Aout 2005? > > > > > > First of all le nombre de foyers est plus > > pertinent but to be > > > meaningful, it should be relative to something. Si > > vous avez un > > > eleve dans votre classe qui est passé de la note D > > à C et que le > > > reste de la classe est passé de C à A, he/she is > > in a much worse > > > position. > > > Combien de foyers peuvent avoir accès à cette > > electricité? Better > > > yet CAN THEY AFFORD IT? > > > > > > > > > 3- Combien de Mauritaniens avaient leur > > Bac/DEUG/Maitrise/Doctorat > > > le 12/12/84 et combien de Mauritaniens avaient > > ces diplomes le 3 > > > Aout 2005? > > > > > > Quel est encore une fois l'objectif de cette > > question? Ne serait > > il > > > pas plus interessant de connaitre le nombre de > > chomeurs parmi les > > > diplomés. Si vous donner des diplomes à des > > millions de personnes > > > qui ne trouvent pas de travail, what are you > > achieving? > > > > > > 4- Combien de partis politiques existaient le > > 12/12/84 et combien > > de > > > partis politiques existaient le 3 Aout 2005? > > > > > > Quelle est la différence entre un pays avec un > > parti unique et un > > > pays plein de partis politiques dans lequel un > > seul parti controle > > > le pouvoir et toutes les ressources du pays durant > > 20 sans > > > possibilité d'alternance. > > > > > > 5- Combien de journaux independants existaient le > > 12/12/84 et > > > combien de journaux independants existaient le 3 > > Aout 2005? > > > > > > Quelle difference y a t-il entre un pays avec un > > journal et un > > pays > > > avec 10 journaux "independants" qui sont obligé de > > raconter la > > même > > > histoire, approuvée par le même ministère pour > > être mis en > > > circulation? Ask Ould Oumère he will tell you a > > thing or two about > > > this. > > > > > > 6- Combien de kilometres de routes bitume'es > > existaient le > > 12/12/84 > > > et combien de kilometres de routes bitume'es > > existaient le 3 Aout > > > 2005? > > > > > > Si en 18 ans, Ould Daddah a laissé 2000 km de > > routes bitumées, how > > > many kms did Taya leaves us. Most importantly,a > > t-il maintenu les > > > acquis (the existing 2000 km). > > > > > > 7- Combien de fonctionnaires existaient en > > Mauritanie le 12/12/84 > > > et combien de fonctionnaires existaient en > > Mauritanie le 3 Aout > > > 2005? > > > > > > No Comment > > > > > > 8- Quel etait le budget de la Mauritanie le > > 12/12/84 et quel etait > > > le budget de la Mauritanie le 3 Aout 2005? > > > > > > Quel est l'interêt d'une telle question? ne me > > dites pas que cela > > > vous impressionne qu'on parle de centaines de > > milliards d'UM!!!. > > So > > > WHAT? > > > > > > 9- Quel est le nom du president Mauritanien qui a > > exige' a' ce que > > > l'OMVS change la maniere utilise'e pour le trace' > > de la ligne de > > > haute tension afin que la partie Sud et Sud-Est de > > la Mauritanie > > > puisse avoir l'electricite' qui lui est > > necessaire? > > > > > > Ould Taya. SO WHAT? > > > > > > When I decided, in view of increased competition > > from China and a > > > Stronger canadian dollar, to gather some data and > > provide some > > > information on the furniture manifacturing > > industry in Canada to > > my > > > vice president, one of my senior managers gave me > > a great > > > advice; "ask yourself SO WHAT?" > > > > > > Si je vous donne la réponse à toutes vos > > questions, what will > > those > > > numbers tell the reader? > > > > > > In this case NOTHING, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. > > > > > > By the way Hadietou est un homme et les Camara et > > Soumare il y en > > > chez les Peuhls, Soninkés, Bambara, Sosso, > > Malinkés, etc... Again > > SO > > > WHAT? > > > > > > Mamadou Sakho Wakkané Gourda Meera Ma Kheeri Siri > > Walla (SO WHAT?) > > > Canada > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >__________________________________________________ >Do You Yahoo!? >Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around >http://mail.yahoo.com _________________________________________________________________ Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! Download today it's FREE! http://messenger.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200471ave/direct/01/ From billysidi at hotmail.com Mon May 29 18:39:00 2006 From: billysidi at hotmail.com (Billy Sidi) Date: Tue, 30 May 2006 01:39:00 +0000 Subject: [M-net] =?iso-8859-1?q?CONDOL=C9ANCES?= Message-ID: An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060530/a510089d/attachment.htm From siyam at maktoob.com Tue May 30 00:07:58 2006 From: siyam at maktoob.com (Ould Siyam) Date: Tue, 30 May 2006 07:07:58 +0000 Subject: ÇáÑÇÈØÉ ÇáãæÑíÊÇäíÉ ááÕÏÇÞÉ Message-ID:   ?????? ????? ?????? ????? ?????? ?????? ????? http://www.isslah.net/modules/news/article.php?storyid=3149 _________________________________________________ ??????? ??? ???????? ... ?? ??? ???????? ??? ????? ?????? ???????!! http://www.maktoob.com/fashion -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060530/e02192e6/attachment.htm From avommavomm at yahoo.fr Tue May 30 01:17:26 2006 From: avommavomm at yahoo.fr (avomm) Date: Tue, 30 May 2006 10:17:26 +0200 (CEST) Subject: [M-net] CONFERENCE ANNUELLE DE L'AVOMM Message-ID: <20060530081726.21551.qmail@web25806.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> L'AVOMM, (association d'aides aux veuves et orphelins de militaires mauritaniens) Vous informe qu'elle organisera sa conférence annuelle le 1er Juillet 2006 à Mantes la Jolie A cette occasion il est demandé à tous les mauritaniens et à tous les amis de la Mauritanie de se mobiliser afin de faire de cette journée un grand moment pour tous ceux qui luttent pour que lumiére soit faite sur les crimes horribles de Taya à l' endroit des négros mauritaniens, crimes que le CMJD tente de couvrir. Le programme de la journée vous sera communiqué ultérieurement . Pour le Bureau Exécutif. Le Secretaire Général. SARR Abou LE SITE OFFICIEL DE L'AVOMM http://www.avomm.com avommavomm at yahoo.fr tel fixe :0130332080 tel mobile:0667022742 --------------------------------- Yahoo! Mail réinvente le mail ! Découvrez le nouveau Yahoo! Mail et son interface révolutionnaire. -------------- section suivante -------------- Une pièce jointe HTML a été nettoyée... URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060530/223e090a/attachment.htm From afrique at rsf.org Tue May 30 00:56:24 2006 From: afrique at rsf.org (RSF Afrique / RSF Africa) Date: Tue, 30 May 2006 09:56:24 +0200 Subject: [M-net] GAMBIA - Online newspaper hacked, editor smeared and subscribers threatened / GAMBIE - Le journal en ligne Freedom Newspaper et son directeur victimes d'un piratage informatique Message-ID: English / Français Reporters Without Borders Press release 30 May 2006 GAMBIA Online newspaper hacked, editor smeared and subscribers threatened Reporters Without Borders voiced outrage today at an attempt to smear exiled Gambian journalist Pa Nderry Mbai, the editor of the online Freedom Newspaper (http://www.freedomnewspaper.com), by hacking into his website and posting a false statement of allegiance to an associate of the president together with the names, addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses of all its subscribers, describing them as "informers." The false declaration of allegiance and the names and details of the subscribers were subsequently published in Gambia in the pro-government Daily Observer, and were immediately followed by an announcement ordering all these "informers" to report to the police. "This case of hacking is serious and revolting," Reporters Without Borders said. "Not only was the reputation of a journalist besmirched but a large number of Internet users have been put in danger. And it is absolutely astounding that the Daily Observer became an accomplice by publishing the list of these so-called informers and describing them as 'subversive'." The press freedom organisation added: "The climate in which Gambian journalists work is totally poisonous. The instigators and perpetrators of this plot must be identified and punished. We reserve the right to be co-plaintiffs in any actions which Pa Nderry Mbai may bring before the British or US courts." The person who hacked into the Freedom Newspaper site on the night of 22 May was a British Telecom client using the IP address of an Internet user based in the British city of Southampton. The hacker erased all of its content and replaced the welcome page with a message purportedly signed by Mbai. The message said: "I have decided to stop producing the Freedom Newspaper as I have pledged an allegiance with my brother Ebou Jallow to join the APRC election campaign." A former army captain, Jallow used to be the spokesman of President Yahya Jammeh's military junta, which took power in a July 1994 coup. The APRC is the president's party, the Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction. The message added: "This is a list of the people that were supplying me with information." It was followed by the names and details of all those who had set up user accounts for the site. With help from the US company that hosts the site and from Reporters Without Borders, Mbai managed to regain control of the site the next day and post a denial. His e-mail address was also hacked. Freedom Newspaper was launched by Mbai at the start of this year. It is very critical of President Jammeh, especially in a column with the byline Bulfaleeh ("Doesn't Matter" in Wolof), who is portrayed as an anonymous source within the president's office. Mbai used to work for the tri-weekly newspaper The Point. He was also the Voice of America's correspondent in Gambia. He went into self-imposed exile in the United States after being arrested several times by the National Intelligence Agency (NIA). He was a good friend of The Point co-editor Deyda Hydara, the Agence France-Presse and Reporters Without Borders correspondent who was gunned down on 16 December 2004. The privately-owned Daily Observer published Mbai's photo on its front page on 24 May under the headline, "Freedom Newspaper informers exposed." Calling Mbai the editor of a "subversive" newspaper, it said he had "made a startling revelation of people passing him information against the government, while shifting allegiance to the ruling APRC and shutting down the paper." The next day it published Mbai's US address and phone number along with the names and details of all of his subscribers under the headline "Freedom Newspaper Informers list published." The same day, the Gambian police ordered all those "who continually supplied him with information which he used to castigate and vilify the democratically elected government of His Excellency President Alhaji Yahya Jammeh" to report to the nearest police station within 24 hours or face immediate arrest. Owned by Amadou Samba, a businessman who supports the president, the Daily Observer has been run since October 2005 by Saja Taal, who is its managing director, and Mam Sait Ceesay, its editor. Taal used to be permanent secretary at the education ministry. Ceesay was the president's press officer. They replaced Modou Sanyang and Lamin Cham, who were fired because of their coverage of the crisis between Gambia and Senegal over customs duties. When contacted by Reporters Without Borders, Taal refused to make any comment, saying the matter came under his editor's responsibility. Reached by telephone, Ceesay did not want to answer Reporters Without Borders' questions. A few days before his site was hacked, Mbai received a message from Jallow, the former junta spokesman. It said: "If you think that you can do whatsoever you want whilst away from the Gambia, then you better think twice... because the impending reaction in the Gambia is going to be very nasty. This is a warning from a brother." Jallow also forwarded to Mbai a message he had received from someone called William Glass Junior who claimed he was capable of hacking Mbai's site and posting a message on it "to destroy his reputation." Jallow still has not replied to the message Reporters Without Borders sent him on 26 May. ------------- GAMBIE Le journal en ligne Freedom Newspaper et son directeur victimes d'un piratage informatique Reporters sans frontières est révoltée par la campagne de diffamation organisée contre le journaliste gambien en exil Pa Nderry Mbai, directeur du site Freedom Newspaper (http://www.freedomnewspaper.com). Déjà menacé pour ses publications critiques envers le président Yahya Jammeh, le journaliste a été victime d'un pirate informatique qui a détourné son site, prétendu qu'il avait rejoint le camp présidentiel et publié les noms et les coordonnées de ses abonnés, en laissant croire qu'il s'agissait de ses "informateurs". Le faux message d'allégeance au camp présidentiel, ainsi que les noms et les coordonnées des abonnés, ont été par la suite diffusés, en Gambie, par le quotidien progouvernemental Daily Observer, entraînant la convocation par la police de tous les abonnés apparaissant dans la liste. "Cet acte de piraterie est grave et éc¦urant. Cette entreprise de délation, doublée d'une diffamation caractérisée, met en danger des internautes tout en salissant la réputation d'un journaliste. Que le Daily Observer s'en soit rendu complice, au point de publier une liste de prétendus 'informateurs' d'un journal présenté comme 'séditieux', est d'autant plus stupéfiant", a déclaré Reporters sans frontières. "Le climat dans lequel travaillent les journalistes gambiens est décidément empoisonné. Les auteurs et les commanditaires de cette machination doivent être identifiés et punis. Nous nous réservons le droit de nous joindre aux plaintes que Pa Nderry Mbai pourraient déposer devant la justice britannique ou américaine", a ajouté l'organisation. Le détournement du Freedom Newspaper a commencé dans la nuit du 22 au 23 mai, lorsqu'un pirate informatique, client de British Telecom, dont l'adresse IP correspond à un internaute de Southampton (Grande-Bretagne), a pénétré dans l'outil d'administration du site, effacé l'ensemble de son contenu et remplacé la page d'accueil. Sur cette page, le pirate a publié un message prétendument signé par Pa Nderry Mbai, disant : "J'ai décidé d'arrêter la production du Freedom Newspaper, j'ai prêté allégeance à mon frère Ebou Jallow [ancien porte-parole de la junte militaire dirigée par Yahya Jammeh, ndlr] pour me joindre à la campagne électorale de l'APRC", l'Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction, le parti du Président. Suivait la liste des noms, adresses postales et électroniques, et numéros de téléphone des abonnés du site ("User accounts"), sous le titre : "Voici la liste des gens qui me fournissaient des informations" ("This is a list of the people that were supplying me with information"). Le journaliste a pu reprendre le contrôle de son site, le 23 mai dans la journée, avec l'aide de son hébergeur américain et de Reporters sans frontières, et publier un démenti. Connu pour ses prises de position très critiques envers le président Yahya Jammeh, à travers, entre autres, sa chronique signée "Bulfaleeh" ("peu importe" en wolof), présenté comme une source anonyme au sein de la présidence gambienne, Freedom Newspaper a été fondé début 2006 par Pa Nderry Mbai, ancien journaliste du trihebdomadaire privé The Point et ancien correspondant en Gambie de la radio publique américaine Voice of America (VOA). Aujourd'hui en exil aux Etats-Unis après avoir été plusieurs fois arrêté par les services de renseignements gambiens, la National Intelligence Agency (NIA), ce journaliste était un proche de Deyda Hydara, cofondateur et directeur de The Point, corresponsant de l'Agence France-Presse (AFP) et de Reporters sans frontières, abattu par des inconnus dans la soirée du 16 décembre 2004. Outre le piratage de son site, Pa Nderry Mbai a également été victime du détournement de son adresse électronique. Le 24 mai, le quotidien privé Daily Observer a publié en une la photographie de Pa Nderry Mbai, sous le titre : "Les informateurs du Freedom Newspaper démasqués" ("Freedom Newspaper informers exposed"). Le journal écrivait que Pa Nderry Mbai, directeur d'un journal "séditieux", avait fait "la révélation spectaculaire des gens lui transmettant des informations, tout en changeant de camp pour rejoindre l'APRC et en fermant son journal". ("has made a startling revelation of people passing him information against the government, while shifting allegiance to the ruling APRC and shutting down the paper"). Le 25 mai, le Daily Observer a publié la liste complète des abonnés du site et leurs coordonnées, ainsi que celles de Pa Nderry Mbai aux Etats-Unis, sous le titre : "La liste des informateurs du Freedom Newspaper publiée" ("Freedom Newspaper Informers list published"). Le même jour, la police gambienne a ordonné à toutes les personnes qui ont "fourni de manière continue des informations utilisées pour attaquer et rabaisser le gouvernement démocratiquement élu de son Excellence le président Alhaji Yahya Jammeh" ("who continually supplied him with information which he used to castigate and vilify the democratically elected government of His Excellency President Alhaji Yahya Jammeh") de se présenter au commissariat le plus proche dans les 24 heures. Le Daily Observer, un quotidien privé appartenant à Amadou Samba, un homme d'affaires proche du Président, a été repris en main au mois d'octobre 2005 par Saja Taal, directeur de publication, et Mam Sait Ceesay, rédacteur en chef. Saja Taal est l'ancien secrétaire permanent du ministère de l'Education et Mam Sait Ceesay l'ancien attaché de presse de la présidence. Les précédents dirigeants du journal, Modou Sanyang et Lamin Cham ont été revoqués pour leur couverture de la crise ayant opposé le Sénégal et la Gambie sur la question des taxes douanières. Interrogé par Reporters sans frontières, Saja Taal s'est refusé à tout commentaire, affirmant que cette affaire était du ressort du rédacteur en chef du Daily Observer. Mam Sait Ceesay, contacté par téléphone, n'a pas souhaité répondre aux questions de l'organisation. Pa Nderry Mbai avait été préalablement mis en garde par courrier électronique, les jours précédant le piratage, par Ebou Jallow, ancien capitaine de l'armée gambienne et ex-porte-parole du Conseil provisoire de gouvernement militaire (Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council, AFPRC), la junte militaire dirigé par Yahya Jammeh qui a pris le pouvoir par un putsch, en juillet 1994. Celui-ci affirmait notamment : "Si vous pensez que vous pouvez faire tout ce que vous voulez, alors que vous êtes hors de Gambie, réfléchissez à deux fois... parce que la réaction immédiate en Gambie va être très sale. Ceci est la mise en garde d'un frère", concluait-il ("If you think that you can do whatsoever you want whilst away from the Gambia, then you better think twice... because the impending reaction in the Gambia is going to be very nasty. This is a warning from a brother."). Ebou Jallow avait également transféré à Pa Nderry Mbai, par courrier électronique, un message qui lui avait été envoyé le même jour par un certain William Glass Junior, dans lequel ce dernier affirmait qu'il était en mesure de pirater son site et d'y publier un message "pour détruire la réputation" du journaliste. A ce jour, Ebou Jallow n'a pas répondu au courrier électronique envoyé par Reporters sans frontières le 26 mai. -- Leonard VINCENT Bureau Afrique / Africa desk Reporters sans frontières / Reporters Without Borders 5, rue Geoffroy-Marie 75009 Paris, France Tel : (33) 1 44 83 84 84 Fax : (33) 1 45 23 11 51 Email : afrique at rsf.org / africa at rsf.org Web : www.rsf.org -------------- section suivante -------------- Une pièce jointe HTML a été nettoyée... URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060530/0765f381/attachment-0001.htm From ufpweb2 at yahoo.fr Tue May 30 04:38:01 2006 From: ufpweb2 at yahoo.fr (UFP) Date: Tue, 30 May 2006 13:38:01 +0200 (CEST) Subject: [M-net] =?iso-8859-1?q?Nouakchott=2C_Ksar_=3A_la_police_envahit_l?= =?iso-8859-1?q?e_si=E8ge_de_l=27UFP?= Message-ID: <20060530113801.73514.qmail@web26512.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> mardii 30 mai 2006 : la direction de l'UFP au sud du pays (Horizons) http://ufpweb.org/federations/boghe.htm mardii 30 mai 2006 : Ksar Nouakchott : la police envahit le siège de l'UFP .... http://ufpweb.org/federations/ksar.htm _____________________________________________ Nouveaux : les forums du site : http://forums.ufpweb.org Bonne lecture Visitez http://ufpweb.org (Français) http://ar.ufpweb.org (Arabe) http://pulaar.ufpweb.org (Pulaar) http://congres.ufpweb.org (2e congrès ordinaire de l'Ufp) Pour toute question concernat le site de l'Ufp, écrire à : admin at ufpweb.org ou ufpweb2 at yahoo.fr Contacter la permance de l'Ufp : 00 222 529 32 66 / 00 222 660 26 23 _________________________________________________ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060530/509ce559/attachment.htm From ufpweb2 at yahoo.fr Tue May 30 04:38:01 2006 From: ufpweb2 at yahoo.fr (UFP) Date: Tue, 30 May 2006 13:38:01 +0200 (CEST) Subject: [M-net] =?iso-8859-1?q?Nouakchott=2C_Ksar_=3A_la_police_envahit_l?= =?iso-8859-1?q?e_si=E8ge_de_l=27UFP?= Message-ID: <20060530113801.73514.qmail@web26512.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> mardii 30 mai 2006 : la direction de l'UFP au sud du pays (Horizons) http://ufpweb.org/federations/boghe.htm mardii 30 mai 2006 : Ksar Nouakchott : la police envahit le siège de l'UFP .... http://ufpweb.org/federations/ksar.htm _____________________________________________ Nouveaux : les forums du site : http://forums.ufpweb.org Bonne lecture Visitez http://ufpweb.org (Français) http://ar.ufpweb.org (Arabe) http://pulaar.ufpweb.org (Pulaar) http://congres.ufpweb.org (2e congrès ordinaire de l'Ufp) Pour toute question concernat le site de l'Ufp, écrire à : admin at ufpweb.org ou ufpweb2 at yahoo.fr Contacter la permance de l'Ufp : 00 222 529 32 66 / 00 222 660 26 23 _________________________________________________ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060530/509ce559/attachment-0001.htm From mauritanienet at gmail.com Tue May 30 12:36:26 2006 From: mauritanienet at gmail.com (News-Bulletin de M-Net) Date: Tue, 30 May 2006 22:36:26 +0300 Subject: [M-net] Fwd: Revue hebdomadaire de la presse mauritanienne du 22 au 29 mai 2006 In-Reply-To: <75e0d4ed0605300122g56d830bfibf829dfa301a11c0@mail.gmail.com> References: <75e0d4ed0605300122g56d830bfibf829dfa301a11c0@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Moulaye M'bareck Date: 29 mai 2006 20:19 Subject: Revue hebdomadaire de la presse mauritanienne du 22 au 29 mai 2006 To: Bonjour, Veuillez trouver ci-dessous la revue hebdomadaire de la presse mauritanienne du 22 au 29 mai 2006. Cliquez sur « suite » pour lire les articles en format PDF sans sortir de votre logiciel de messagerie. Sinon, retrouvez les archives de la revue de presse sur notre site Internet : www.un.mr/revuepresse Bonne lecture ! ------------------------------ * Accueil* FAO FMI HCR OMS PAM PNUD UNICEF UNFPA Banque Mondiale ONUSIDA *Le Centre d'Information* * * *et de Documentation (CID) des Nations Unies en Mauritanie* *Revue hebdomadaire de la presse mauritanienne * * Parution de la semaine du 22 au 29 mai 2006 * *ELECTIONS* *Financement des Partis Politiques : Le NDI s'implique. («Nouakchott Info Quotidien», n°991 du 23 mai 2006, PDF 216 ko) * L'épineuse question du financement des partis politiques n'a pas échappé au NDI (National Democratic Institute) qui s'est mis volontiers à la recherche d'une solution consensuelle pour la classe politique. C'est du moins ce qu'il faut comprendre des rencontres tenues, du 14 au 18 mai courant entre M. Eric Duhaime, directeur du Programme des Partis Politiques au sein du NDI, avec les leaders politiques qu'il a rencontré individuellement pour tenter de dégager un seuil minimum de financement accepté par tous. Suite ? *La Coordination des Partis Politiques éclate : Vers un nouveau front ? («Nouakchott Info Quotidien», n°991 du 23 mai 2006, PDF 138 ko) * La Coordination des Partis Politiques constituée des huit formations que sont l'AFP, le Front Populaire, le Sawab, le RFD, l'UDP, l'UFP, le Renouveau Démocratique et le RPM aura, à son tour, volé en éclats. Exactement somme cela s'était passé chez tous les autres blocs de partis dont l'éclatement n'a été une surprise pour personne, leurs constitutions n'ayant jamais convaincu personne, parce que dirigés par des hommes aux tempéraments différents voire inconciliables depuis toujours, même si les circonstances les obligent, parfois, à afficher une réconciliation ? Suite ? * POLITIQUE INTERIEURE* *Le parti Sawab serait-il un parti exclusiviste ? («L'Authentique Quotidien», n°309 du 22 mai 2006, PDF 85 ko) * Le jeudi 18, le parti Sawab a tenu un meeting populaire au niveau des Blocs rouges pour fêter ses deux ans d'existence. Une manifestation qui se tient après la visite du Chef de l'Etat dans trois régions du sud (Guidimakha, Gorgol, Brakna). Suite? *Visite du chef de l'Etat au Tiris Zemmour : « Qu'ils continuent à lancer des tracts, nous n'interpellerons personne ! » («L'Authentique Quotidien», n°309 du 22 mai 2006, PDF 113 ko) * Pour sa troisième sortie à l'intérieur du pays, le chef de l'Etat a choisi le région du Tiris Zemmour. L'occasion pour lui de revenir sur sa campagne en faveur du referendum constitutionnel et d'indiquer entre autres que l'espace d'expression étant désormais libre, il n'y avait plus de place aux tracts et autres inscriptions revendicatives murales. Suite ? *Tournée de Ely Ould Mohamed Vall à Zouerate et Nouadhibou : Chappe de fer et coulée halieutique. («L'Authentique Quotidien», n°311 du 23 mai 2006, PDF 657 ko) * Le président du Conseil Militaire pour la Justice et la Démocratie (CMJD) chef de l'Etat, le colonel Ely Ould Mohamed Vall, a entrepris, les 20 et 21 mai 2006, son troisième périple à l'intérieur du pays par une visite à Zouerate et Nouadhibou, les deux poumons économiques du pays, celle du fer et celle du poisson. Dans ces deux étapes, beaucoup d'approximations, de tâtonnements, de choses sérieuses bien dites et d'à-côtés inédits. Suite ? *Interview Exclusive : Le Président du CMJD à Nouakchott Info : "Aucune ingérence extérieure dans les affaires de la Mauritanie ne sera acceptée qu'elle concerne l'ex-président ou toute autre personne quelle qu'elle soit." («Nouakchott Info Quotidien», n°990 du 22 mai 2006, PDF 657 ko) * C'est un président mauritanien très disposé et très courtois malgré son agenda très chargé en visites et en rencontres avec les autorités tunisiennes et les autres acteurs de la vie économique et civile tunisienne qui a accepté de répondre à nos questions. Le Colonel Ely Ould Mohamed Vall, président du Conseil Militaire pour la Justice et la Démocratie qui vient d'effectuer une visite officielle en Tunisie sur invitation de son frère M. Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, n'a ménagé aucun effort pour lever le voile avec une certaine clarté sur nos questions. Suite ? *Affaire X Ould Y : Zakaria Ould Amar porte plainte contre Nouakchott-Info. («Nouakchott Info Quotidien», n°991 du 23 mai 2006, PDF 190 ko) * Zakaria Ould Amar, qui s'est reconnu derrière les initiales Z.O.A dans le numéro 989 de Nouakchott-Info faisant état de rumeurs d'arrestation de X Ould Y, ne s'est pas contenté de la précision et des excuses adressées par le quotidien "à tous ceux qui se reconnaîtraient dans ces initiales." Le Professeur Ould Amar a décidé de porter plainte contre Nouakchott-Info pour "diffamation et atteintes graves et injurieuses à sa réputation et à son honneur". Suite? *Conseil des ministres : Médecine du travail et projet navigation de l'OMVS à l'ordre du jour. («Nouakchott Info Quotidien», n°993 du 26 mai 2006, PDF 93 ko) * Les travaux du conseil des ministres réuni ce mercredi 24 mai sous la présidence du colonel Ely Ould Mohamed Vall, président du Conseil Militaire pour la Justice et la Démocratie (Cmjd), chef de l'Etat ont été commentés par le porte parole du Gouvernement M. Cheikh Ould Ebbe, ministre de la communication. Au cours de cette réunion, le conseil a examiné et approuvé plusieurs projets de décrets dont le premier est un projet d'ordonnance autorisant la ratification du droit international pour la navigation et les transports sur le Fleuve Sénégal. Suite ? *Le ministre de la Communication commente les travaux du Conseil des ministres. («Horizons», n°4234 du 26-27 mai 2006, PDF 81 ko) Suite ? * * SYSTEME DES NATIONS UNIES. * *La Mauritanie financée de partout. («L'Authentique Quotidien», n°309 du 22 mai 2006, PDF 274 ko) * En fin de semaine dernière, trois nouvelles sont venues réconforter les populations dans les perspectives financières du pays : le mois de juin sera consacré par la suppression de la dette mauritanienne auprès du FMI, la signature du contrat de compensation avec Woodside qui va procurer au pays 100 millions de dollars et la reprise des versements d'aide de l'Union Européenne. La cagnotte globale, ajoutée aux réserves du pays en liquidités, produit un imposant pactole qui devrait servir à relancer l'économie nationale, et partant améliorer le quotidien du Mauritanien. Suite ? *PAM ? Mauritanie : Marche mondiale contre la faim. («L'Eveil Hebdo», n°632 du 23 mai 2006, PDF 70 ko) * Devenue une tradition, la "Marche mondiale contre la faim" a eu lieu le dimanche 21 mai 2006. elle est organisée par le Programme Alimentaire Mondial (PAM), à travers le monde. En Mauritanie, la marche a été l'?uvre de la représentation du PAM. Un millier de personnes a convergé, dès 8 heures, au stade Olympique. Suite ? *Evaluation intégrée des écosystèmes : Un accent sur la formation continue. («Horizons», n°4234 du 26-27 mai 2006, PDF 45 ko) * Un atelier de formation sur l'évaluation intégrée des écosystèmes a débuté mercredi à Nouakchott au Centre d'Echange et de Formation à Distance (CFED). L'objectif de cet atelier est de contribuer au renforcement des capacités nationales en matière de conduite, d'exercice, de planification, de gestion et de suivi de l'évaluation intégrée des écosystèmes. L'organisation de cette session est le fruit de la coopération entre le ministère du Développement rural et de l'Environnement (MDRE) et le Programme des Nations Unies pour le Développement (PNUD). Suite ? *Formation sur le code de protection pénale de l'enfant. («Horizons», n°4234 du 26-27 mai 2006, PDF 43 ko) * Les travaux de l'atelier de formation sur le code de protection pénale de l'enfant en Mauritanie organisé par le ministère de la Justice en collaboration avec l'UNICEF et l'ONG Terre des Hommes, se sont achevés jeudi à Nouakchott. Clôturant l'atelier, M. Mohamed Ould Bah Ould Hamed, secrétaire général du ministère de la Justice a indiqué que cette rencontre marque la volonté des pouvoirs publics de réaliser la justice des mineurs qui constitue l'un des chantiers fondamentaux de la réforme de la justice. Suite ? *Formation sur la protection pénale de l'enfant. («Le Calame», n°539 du 24 mai 2006, PDF 33 ko) * Le ministère de la justice a organisé cette semaine (lundi) un atelier de formation sur le code de protection pénale de l'enfant. Cette session de formation qui intervient quelques semaines après la sortie du code de protection pénale pour enfants bénéficie de l'appui de l'UNICEF et de l'ONG "Terre des Hommes". Cette manifestation qui rentre dans le cadre général de la réforme de la justice doit conduire à la mise en chantier d'une justice juvénile pour "permettre à la Mauritanie de se doter d'un arsenal juridique et institutionnel de nature à garantir une justice conforme à la personnalité des enfants" ? Suite ? *Site www.un.mr* Contact - Copyright Nations Unies 2005 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060530/a152f4bc/attachment-0001.htm From bahouldrabah at yahoo.fr Tue May 30 15:47:47 2006 From: bahouldrabah at yahoo.fr (Ould Rabah Bah) Date: Wed, 31 May 2006 00:47:47 +0200 (CEST) Subject: [M-net] =?iso-8859-1?q?_Re=A0=3A_RAISON_D=27ETAT?= Message-ID: <20060530224747.52530.qmail@web27313.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Cette histoire d'inspection générale de l'Etat est un os qu'on a jeté à l'opinion. Mohamed Ould Horma est un simple fonctionnaire du Premier ministère. Sid'El Mokhtar Ould Cheikh Abdellahi, le commissaire adjoint chargé des Droits de l'Homme, à la lutte contre la pauvreté et à l'insertion a bien toutes les raisons d'affirmer qu'on ne peut rien faire contre lui. Il se vante de donner de l'argent public chaque semaine à l'épouse du Premier ministre Oumou El Kiram après lui avoir engagé son propre frère un handicapé comme consultant avec un salaire mensuel de 400.000 Ouguiya. L'une des maisons d'Oumou El Kiram louée par le fameux Commissariat a vu son loyer mensuel doublé. Et puis, Ould Cheikh Abdellahi est chaque jour dans l'anti-chambre du premier ministre Ould Boubacar. Ce type-là s'est payé une voiture d'occasion comme voiture officielle pour 27 millions d'ouguiya. L'extension de sa maison et le garage de celle-ci, situés sur la route de Nouadhibou, ont été facturés pour 71 millions d'Ouguiya payables de l'argent du contribuable. En plus, il a avec son alter- ego Zeini Ould ahmed El Hadi des papiers en tete d'ONG fictives, d'auberges et de sociétés de services. Leurs sur-facturations et leurs consulattions brumeuses ont couté rien que depuis janvier 2006 plus de 318 millions d'Ouguiya à l'Etat mauritanien. Mais ces deux-types là auront leur quitus du duo Ely-Ould Boubacar. Un duo de super-menteurs qui n'ont rien à offrir au peuple mauritanien. Le discours d'Ely l'autre jour à Akjoujt sur l'esclavage est bien celle d'un flic léger, vulgaire qui n'a rien dans la tete. Après la dictature d'Ould Taya, nous vivons aujourd'hui celle de son vizir en attendant d'un moment à l'autre le retour programmé du PRDR au pouvoir. La Mauritanie, pays maudit! certainement Bah Ould Rabah Militant des Droits de l'Homme Portable:6948803 --- Dans M-Net at Mauritanie-net.com, ouldelkory mohamed a écrit > > A l'approche du référendum pour la constitution, les Mauritaniens restent anxieux. Les grands problèmes du pays n'arrivent toujours pas à trouver de solutions. Et en plus,il n'y a pas d'argent (faute de décaissements, le budget de l'Etat n'arrive toujours pas à être totalement mis en place) mais en plus devant une prolifération d'impôts, les petites usines ferment et l'économie reste totalement paralysée. > Avec cette grande crise, les populations se demandent où est-ce qu'on va. > Après ces déplacements à l'intérieur , le Président Ely Ould Mohamed Vall a bien compris qu'il reste toujours très attendu sur le terrain économique et social et sur les perspectives d'assainissement de la gestion publique timidement engagée par le gouvernement de transition. > Récemment, le Chef de l'Etat a bien clarifié avec la création de l'Inspection Générale de l'Etat, ses intentions en matière de bonne gouvernance. > Le rapport d'inspection du Commissariat aux Droits de l'Homme à la Lutte contre la Pauvreté et à l'Insertion (CDHLPI) reste très attendu. Des têtes d'affiche de la mauvaise gestion continuent au CDHLPI à piller, en toute impunité, les deniers publics. Ils font remarquer que le rapport de l'inspecteur général de l'Etat ne peut être que classer pour "raisons d'Etat". > Allez savoir pourquoi. Cela vaut bien un petit détours. > > > > > > --------------------------------- > Yahoo! Mail réinvente le mail ! Découvrez le nouveau Yahoo! Mail et son interface révolutionnaire. > > [Les parties de ce message comportant autre chose que du texte seul on été supprimées] > --------------------------------- Yahoo! Mail réinvente le mail ! Découvrez le nouveau Yahoo! Mail et son interface révolutionnaire. -------------- section suivante -------------- Une pièce jointe HTML a été nettoyée... URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060531/1146dabc/attachment.htm From touldely at netscape.net Tue May 30 22:16:52 2006 From: touldely at netscape.net (touldely at netscape.net) Date: Wed, 31 May 2006 01:16:52 -0400 Subject: [M-net] nanodust-reforme de l'education Message-ID: <8C852888FDCC2EB-7F4-14F95@mblkn-m08.sysops.aol.com> Quick Search: within 21 of 38 Volume 1, Issue 2 , May 2006, Pages 40-43 This Document SummaryPlus Full Text + Links ·Full Size Images PDF (2180 K) Actions Cited By Save as Citation Alert E-mail Article Export Citation Insight Feature Education moves to a new scale Peter Goodhew UK Centre for Materials Education, Department of Engineering, Victoria Building, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3GH, UK Available online 3 May 2006. Around the world, nanoscience and nanoengineering courses are being developed for undergraduates, postgraduates, and even school children. Is this a manifestation of a widespread mission to explain the way modern science is heading, or a cynical attempt to attract increasingly savvy students onto existing courses in materials science or chemistry? In this article, the content of some of the courses currently on offer is reviewed and it is argued that it is difficult to omit a significant amount of 'conventional' materials science at undergraduate level, even if it might be badged with a 'nano' prefix. Article Outline Universities rise to the challenge Undergraduate programs in nanoscience The future market? References I received an iPod nano for Christmas. It is very good at what it does, but I'm not clear what is 'nano' about it. The implication that it is 10?9 the volume of its predecessor would imply that the basic iPod is about the same size as an average hotel. This is not what the word is intended to mean - in street parlance it simply means 'perceptibly smaller that the last one'. However, it demonstrates the pervasiveness and ubiquity of this simple four-letter prefix. The education sector has not been slow to notice this. In 2004, a consortium led by Robert P. H. Chang at Northwestern University received a five-year, $15 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to create the first US Center for Learning and Teaching in Nanoscale Science and Engineering (NCLT)1. The center intends to develop "scientist-educators who can introduce nanoscience and nanoengineering concepts into schools and undergraduate classrooms" and it involves a partnership between Northwestern, Purdue University, the University of Michigan, Argonne National Laboratory, and the Universities of Illinois at Chicago and Urbana-Champaign. The NCLT's initial target is school children and the first teaching modules will concentrate on the core idea of materials science - that behavior and properties are controlled by what we used to call microstructure, but is now increasingly considered to be nanostructure. At one level this is straightforward; since school children have little prior experience of the relationship between structure and properties, it is possible to introduce these important ideas using the term 'nanostructure' where previously we would have used 'microstructure'. The rate-limiting step is the familiarization of teachers with this terminology, which is neither quick nor easy. It is equally difficult, but in a different way, to deal with the educational issues at university level. The limiting step is now less likely to be staff experience but instead the inadequate preparation of the freshman and the need to embark on explaining nanoscale and bulk behaviors in a sophisticated way, but in parallel. Universities rise to the challenge Universities and colleges around the world are rising to this challenge and offering a rapidly increasing number of courses, at a variety of levels, with 'nano' in their titles. In this case, they do indeed mean 'on a scale measured in nanometers'. Recent examples range from the relatively straightforward 'nanoscience' or 'nanotechnology' to the more exotic 'nanobiotechnology' or 'nanosystems engineering'. In this article, I explore what lies behind these modern attention-seeking titles. What should we tell students about nanoscience or nanoengineering? The key messages are simple: nanoscale objects are small; they stand a better chance of being perfect; they are likely to have a large fraction of their atoms at surfaces or interfaces; they might be able to exhibit quantum effects; oh, and the bigger ones (not really 'nano' anything) might be able to interact with light. What is a student to make of these simple messages? Very little unless they already understand the relationship between microstructural size and strength; the role of defects in controlling deformation; how the bonding state and chemical/biological activity of surface atoms or molecules differs from the bulk, and the implications of this; quantum theory, electron energies, and densities of states; diffraction and so on. This analysis gives educators three ways to get across the concepts and benefits of the nanoscale: Type A - they can offer specialist short modules either to graduates or as a modest part of an existing undergraduate program that already deals with the behavior of bulk materials; Type B - they can devise Masters programs to take graduates who are already familiar with bulk behavior into the nanoworld; or Type C - they can construct new undergraduate programs, three or four years in duration, in which nanoscale concepts are firmly embedded from the start. Some illustrative, but far from comprehensive, examples of each of these approaches are listed in Table 1. Table 1. Some illustrative courses of types A, B, and C3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. Interestingly, institutions have chosen to use a wide variety of words to describe their offerings. It is fascinating to look at the public recognition of 'nano' words as measured by Google hits. Table 2 shows the result of a search in late 2005. It is no surprise that 'nanotechnology' leads by a factor of ten, but it might be more significant that 'nanotubes' (real things, even if no one can see them) out-score 'nanoengineering' (the hugely important set of processes by which many things are going to be made on the nanoscale) by a factor of 30. The titles of courses so far available mirror this pattern, with nanotechnology being the leading word in the titles of programs. Table 2. Use of terms including the prefix 'nano' in 2005. It is easy to see how some really useful content can be introduced into a single focused module covering, for instance, nanolithography, nanofluids, quantum behavior, toxicity, or carbon nanotubes. It is also not difficult to construct a Masters program based on the presumption that entrants have a good grounding in the behavior of bulk solids - with a degree in chemistry, materials, or physics. The examples in Table 1 are a small selection from those available around the world, many of them based in, or supported by, recently established nanoscience research centres. In many cases, this has resulted in governmental funding for nano-related research trickling through into education. Undergraduate programs in nanoscience It is much trickier to establish an undergraduate program with a substantial content of nanoscience and engineering. Many 'new' undergraduate programs have been launched throughout the world over the past five years and a few are listed in Table 1. However, it is not possible to assume that entrants into an undergraduate program have a grounding in the behavior of bulk solids, nor even that they possess the vocabulary to read it up. A further issue is the increased perception that many future advances will come from the interfaces between physical, chemical, and biological sciences and engineering. This adds a requirement that the student understands the vocabulary and basic concepts of biology. Nanoscience undergraduate programs must therefore address both bulk and surface properties in hard and soft systems - ideally they would need about 50% of the content of degrees in materials, chemistry, biology, and physics, plus a further 50% or so of nanoscience. This 250% quart will not fit into the available four-year pint pot and compromises will have to be struck. An undergraduate nanotechnology program should thus contain lots of conventional physics, chemistry, biology, and materials science. But time has also to be found for modules with 'nano' in their title. The effect of this is that the conventional physics, chemistry, biology, and materials science is squeezed and instead of 'lots', many students are exposed to 'a smattering' of science. Examples must properly be anonymous and the practice is widespread: in a three-year program entitled 'nanotechnology', one quarter of the first year is committed to introductions to chemistry, physics, maths, biophysics, and electrical engineering. In so little time these can only be the thinnest of introductions. This is followed in the second year by a further 25% of time devoted to more advanced topics in physics, materials, biochemistry, and maths. The whole science base taking half of one year has to underpin modules on nanoparticle manufacture, molecular machines, quantum computers, lab-on-a-chip, biomedical nanotechnology, and much more. Wow! This represents one extreme of the ratio between 'conventional' science and 'new' nano-related material. At the other extreme, in another institution in the same country, a program on nanoscale science involves classical physics, oscillations and waves, thermodynamics and kinetics, bonding and spectroscopy, electromagnetism, molecular dynamics, colloids, surface science, and proteins before getting to the only two modules with 'nano' in their titles in the third year. This recognizes the practical reality but threatens to oversell itself as nanoscale science. Child exploring nanostructures as part of the 'Too Small to See: Zoom into Nanotechnology' hands-on, traveling, interacting museum exhibition focusing on introducing nanoscale science and engineering to 8-13 year-olds. (Courtesy of Anna Waldron, Sciencenter, Ithaca, NY.) Barber et al.2, 3 and 4 found the same pattern when they examined a dozen nanotechnology and nanoscience undergraduate degrees in Australian universities. They found substantial amounts of 'ordinary' chemistry in every program and concluded that this is extremely helpful in advancing the cause of chemical education: students attracted by the nano titles of their programs were in fact being exposed to substantial amounts of mainstream chemistry, and this is no bad thing. Similar arguments can be made for physics-based programs. (307K) Another educational program, the 'nanoTruck' features an extensive exhibition made up of posters and exhibits on the basic principles, areas of application, opportunities, and risks involved in nanotechnology. Launched in January 2004 and supported by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research in Germany, the nanoTruck has been touring the country. (© Flad & Flad Communication Group.) Most 'nano' programs launched so far are based on either chemistry or physics. However, materials science programs, where they exist, should have a flying start on nanoscale education. It is the conventional wisdom in materials education that most properties of interest are controlled by nanoscale features. What has been missing is the terminology to make this clear: materials scientists understand (and preach) the importance of the two dimensional (boundaries, interfaces, and thin films), the one dimensional (dislocations and quantum wires), and the zero dimensional (point defects, small precipitates, and quantum dots). Perhaps these ideas would be better marketed as having one, two, or three nano-dimensions, in contrast with bulk behavior with zero nano-dimensions. This is almost a reciprocal space view of materials - which we teach in other contexts already! The future market? Semantics aside, it is not clear that any university has yet squared the bulk science/nanoscience circle at the undergraduate level, and it perhaps indicates that the burgeoning market for postgraduate (mainly Masters) courses is more likely to survive the next ten years. However, an interesting precedent has been set by the Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Studies track at the University of Central Florida, the final entry in Table 19. This is a liberal studies program comprising six primary disciplines and as many as fifteen minors, but it sits alongside a nanotechnology research center. The huge breadth of the curriculum and its interdisciplinary nature clearly mitigate against depth of understanding in the physical and materials sciences. However, it might be an excellent basis for an informed decision on a future career path or for an entry into science journalism. The jury is out on this and on all other nano-related offerings. It is not clear whether nanoscience will make it into the main stream of undergraduate studies or will be best as a postgraduate specialism. In this latter case, it would be in good company - in several countries you still cannot study materials science at undergraduate level, never mind nanoscience. References 1 R.P.H. Chang, Am. Ceram. Soc. Bull. 83 (2004), p. 6. see also this issue of Nano Today 1 (2006) (2), p. 6. 2 J. Barber et al., Chem. Australia (2005), p. 6. 3 J.G. Shapter et al., Int. J. Eng. Ed. 18 (2002), p. 512. 4 J.G. Shapter et al., J. Mater. Ed. 26 (2004), p. 185. 5 www.nano.org.uk/courses.htm. 6 www.nano.gov/html/edu/home_edu.html. 7 www.nano.ku.dk/education/start.htm. 8 www.nano.washington.edu/NINN/RET.html. 9 www.ucf.edu/catalog/current/UCF_Degree_Programs/dp_liberal_studies_nano.html. This Document SummaryPlus Full Text + Links ·Full Size Images PDF (2180 K) Actions Cited By Save as Citation Alert E-mail Article Export Citation Nano Today Volume 1, Issue 2 , May 2006, Pages 40-43 21 of 38 Contact Us | Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy ___________________________________________________ Try the New Netscape Mail Today! Virtually Spam-Free | More Storage | Import Your Contact List http://mail.netscape.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060531/e391025f/attachment-0001.htm From touldely at netscape.net Tue May 30 22:22:01 2006 From: touldely at netscape.net (touldely at netscape.net) Date: Wed, 31 May 2006 01:22:01 -0400 Subject: [M-net] Reforme de l'education Message-ID: <8C85289479BD809-7F4-14FA6@mblkn-m08.sysops.aol.com> Insight Feature Education moves to a new scale Peter Goodhew UK Centre for Materials Education, Department of Engineering, Victoria Building, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3GH, UK Available online 3 May 2006. Around the world, nanoscience and nanoengineering courses are being developed for undergraduates, postgraduates, and even school children. Is this a manifestation of a widespread mission to explain the way modern science is heading, or a cynical attempt to attract increasingly savvy students onto existing courses in materials science or chemistry? In this article, the content of some of the courses currently on offer is reviewed and it is argued that it is difficult to omit a significant amount of 'conventional' materials science at undergraduate level, even if it might be badged with a 'nano' prefix. Article Outline Universities rise to the challenge Undergraduate programs in nanoscience The future market? References I received an iPod nano for Christmas. It is very good at what it does, but I'm not clear what is 'nano' about it. The implication that it is 10?9 the volume of its predecessor would imply that the basic iPod is about the same size as an average hotel. This is not what the word is intended to mean - in street parlance it simply means 'perceptibly smaller that the last one'. However, it demonstrates the pervasiveness and ubiquity of this simple four-letter prefix. The education sector has not been slow to notice this. In 2004, a consortium led by Robert P. H. Chang at Northwestern University received a five-year, $15 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to create the first US Center for Learning and Teaching in Nanoscale Science and Engineering (NCLT)1. The center intends to develop "scientist-educators who can introduce nanoscience and nanoengineering concepts into schools and undergraduate classrooms" and it involves a partnership between Northwestern, Purdue University, the University of Michigan, Argonne National Laboratory, and the Universities of Illinois at Chicago and Urbana-Champaign. The NCLT's initial target is school children and the first teaching modules will concentrate on the core idea of materials science - that behavior and properties are controlled by what we used to call microstructure, but is now increasingly considered to be nanostructure. At one level this is straightforward; since school children have little prior experience of the relationship between structure and properties, it is possible to introduce these important ideas using the term 'nanostructure' where previously we would have used 'microstructure'. The rate-limiting step is the familiarization of teachers with this terminology, which is neither quick nor easy. It is equally difficult, but in a different way, to deal with the educational issues at university level. The limiting step is now less likely to be staff experience but instead the inadequate preparation of the freshman and the need to embark on explaining nanoscale and bulk behaviors in a sophisticated way, but in parallel. Universities rise to the challenge Universities and colleges around the world are rising to this challenge and offering a rapidly increasing number of courses, at a variety of levels, with 'nano' in their titles. In this case, they do indeed mean 'on a scale measured in nanometers'. Recent examples range from the relatively straightforward 'nanoscience' or 'nanotechnology' to the more exotic 'nanobiotechnology' or 'nanosystems engineering'. In this article, I explore what lies behind these modern attention-seeking titles. What should we tell students about nanoscience or nanoengineering? The key messages are simple: nanoscale objects are small; they stand a better chance of being perfect; they are likely to have a large fraction of their atoms at surfaces or interfaces; they might be able to exhibit quantum effects; oh, and the bigger ones (not really 'nano' anything) might be able to interact with light. What is a student to make of these simple messages? Very little unless they already understand the relationship between microstructural size and strength; the role of defects in controlling deformation; how the bonding state and chemical/biological activity of surface atoms or molecules differs from the bulk, and the implications of this; quantum theory, electron energies, and densities of states; diffraction and so on. This analysis gives educators three ways to get across the concepts and benefits of the nanoscale: Type A - they can offer specialist short modules either to graduates or as a modest part of an existing undergraduate program that already deals with the behavior of bulk materials; Type B - they can devise Masters programs to take graduates who are already familiar with bulk behavior into the nanoworld; or Type C - they can construct new undergraduate programs, three or four years in duration, in which nanoscale concepts are firmly embedded from the start. Some illustrative, but far from comprehensive, examples of each of these approaches are listed in Table 1. Table 1. Some illustrative courses of types A, B, and C3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. Interestingly, institutions have chosen to use a wide variety of words to describe their offerings. It is fascinating to look at the public recognition of 'nano' words as measured by Google hits. Table 2 shows the result of a search in late 2005. It is no surprise that 'nanotechnology' leads by a factor of ten, but it might be more significant that 'nanotubes' (real things, even if no one can see them) out-score 'nanoengineering' (the hugely important set of processes by which many things are going to be made on the nanoscale) by a factor of 30. The titles of courses so far available mirror this pattern, with nanotechnology being the leading word in the titles of programs. Table 2. Use of terms including the prefix 'nano' in 2005. It is easy to see how some really useful content can be introduced into a single focused module covering, for instance, nanolithography, nanofluids, quantum behavior, toxicity, or carbon nanotubes. It is also not difficult to construct a Masters program based on the presumption that entrants have a good grounding in the behavior of bulk solids - with a degree in chemistry, materials, or physics. The examples in Table 1 are a small selection from those available around the world, many of them based in, or supported by, recently established nanoscience research centres. In many cases, this has resulted in governmental funding for nano-related research trickling through into education. Undergraduate programs in nanoscience It is much trickier to establish an undergraduate program with a substantial content of nanoscience and engineering. Many 'new' undergraduate programs have been launched throughout the world over the past five years and a few are listed in Table 1. However, it is not possible to assume that entrants into an undergraduate program have a grounding in the behavior of bulk solids, nor even that they possess the vocabulary to read it up. A further issue is the increased perception that many future advances will come from the interfaces between physical, chemical, and biological sciences and engineering. This adds a requirement that the student understands the vocabulary and basic concepts of biology. Nanoscience undergraduate programs must therefore address both bulk and surface properties in hard and soft systems - ideally they would need about 50% of the content of degrees in materials, chemistry, biology, and physics, plus a further 50% or so of nanoscience. This 250% quart will not fit into the available four-year pint pot and compromises will have to be struck. An undergraduate nanotechnology program should thus contain lots of conventional physics, chemistry, biology, and materials science. But time has also to be found for modules with 'nano' in their title. The effect of this is that the conventional physics, chemistry, biology, and materials science is squeezed and instead of 'lots', many students are exposed to 'a smattering' of science. Examples must properly be anonymous and the practice is widespread: in a three-year program entitled 'nanotechnology', one quarter of the first year is committed to introductions to chemistry, physics, maths, biophysics, and electrical engineering. In so little time these can only be the thinnest of introductions. This is followed in the second year by a further 25% of time devoted to more advanced topics in physics, materials, biochemistry, and maths. The whole science base taking half of one year has to underpin modules on nanoparticle manufacture, molecular machines, quantum computers, lab-on-a-chip, biomedical nanotechnology, and much more. Wow! This represents one extreme of the ratio between 'conventional' science and 'new' nano-related material. At the other extreme, in another institution in the same country, a program on nanoscale science involves classical physics, oscillations and waves, thermodynamics and kinetics, bonding and spectroscopy, electromagnetism, molecular dynamics, colloids, surface science, and proteins before getting to the only two modules with 'nano' in their titles in the third year. This recognizes the practical reality but threatens to oversell itself as nanoscale science. Child exploring nanostructures as part of the 'Too Small to See: Zoom into Nanotechnology' hands-on, traveling, interacting museum exhibition focusing on introducing nanoscale science and engineering to 8-13 year-olds. (Courtesy of Anna Waldron, Sciencenter, Ithaca, NY.) Barber et al.2, 3 and 4 found the same pattern when they examined a dozen nanotechnology and nanoscience undergraduate degrees in Australian universities. They found substantial amounts of 'ordinary' chemistry in every program and concluded that this is extremely helpful in advancing the cause of chemical education: students attracted by the nano titles of their programs were in fact being exposed to substantial amounts of mainstream chemistry, and this is no bad thing. Similar arguments can be made for physics-based programs. (307K) Another educational program, the 'nanoTruck' features an extensive exhibition made up of posters and exhibits on the basic principles, areas of application, opportunities, and risks involved in nanotechnology. Launched in January 2004 and supported by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research in Germany, the nanoTruck has been touring the country. (© Flad & Flad Communication Group.) Most 'nano' programs launched so far are based on either chemistry or physics. However, materials science programs, where they exist, should have a flying start on nanoscale education. It is the conventional wisdom in materials education that most properties of interest are controlled by nanoscale features. What has been missing is the terminology to make this clear: materials scientists understand (and preach) the importance of the two dimensional (boundaries, interfaces, and thin films), the one dimensional (dislocations and quantum wires), and the zero dimensional (point defects, small precipitates, and quantum dots). Perhaps these ideas would be better marketed as having one, two, or three nano-dimensions, in contrast with bulk behavior with zero nano-dimensions. This is almost a reciprocal space view of materials - which we teach in other contexts already! The future market? Semantics aside, it is not clear that any university has yet squared the bulk science/nanoscience circle at the undergraduate level, and it perhaps indicates that the burgeoning market for postgraduate (mainly Masters) courses is more likely to survive the next ten years. However, an interesting precedent has been set by the Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Studies track at the University of Central Florida, the final entry in Table 19. This is a liberal studies program comprising six primary disciplines and as many as fifteen minors, but it sits alongside a nanotechnology research center. The huge breadth of the curriculum and its interdisciplinary nature clearly mitigate against depth of understanding in the physical and materials sciences. However, it might be an excellent basis for an informed decision on a future career path or for an entry into science journalism. The jury is out on this and on all other nano-related offerings. It is not clear whether nanoscience will make it into the main stream of undergraduate studies or will be best as a postgraduate specialism. In this latter case, it would be in good company - in several countries you still cannot study materials science at undergraduate level, never mind nanoscience. References 1 R.P.H. Chang, Am. Ceram. Soc. Bull. 83 (2004), p. 6. see also this issue of Nano Today 1 (2006) (2), p. 6. 2 J. Barber et al., Chem. Australia (2005), p. 6. 3 J.G. Shapter et al., Int. J. Eng. Ed. 18 (2002), p. 512. 4 J.G. Shapter et al., J. Mater. Ed. 26 (2004), p. 185. 5 www.nano.org.uk/courses.htm. 6 www.nano.gov/html/edu/home_edu.html. 7 www.nano.ku.dk/education/start.htm. 8 www.nano.washington.edu/NINN/RET.html. 9 www.ucf.edu/catalog/current/UCF_Degree_Programs/dp_liberal_studies_nano.html. Source : http://www.nanotoday.com/ teyeb- ___________________________________________________ Try the New Netscape Mail Today! Virtually Spam-Free | More Storage | Import Your Contact List http://mail.netscape.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060531/74a5c84b/attachment-0001.htm From ufpweb2 at yahoo.fr Wed May 31 05:31:59 2006 From: ufpweb2 at yahoo.fr (UFP) Date: Wed, 31 May 2006 14:31:59 +0200 (CEST) Subject: [M-net] L'UFP au sud du Brakna : Nous ne sommes pas surpris par la mobilisation (Nouakchott Infos du 30 mai 2006) Message-ID: <20060531123159.29126.qmail@web26511.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> mercredi 31 mai 2006 : L'UFP au sud du Brakna : Nous ne sommes pas surpris par la mobilisation (Nouakchott Infos du 30 mai 2006) http://ufpweb.org/federations/boghe/meet.htm mercredi 31 mai 2006 : Landing Savané, Ministre d’Etat à la Présidence de la République du Sénégal, Secrétaire général de And Jëff, reçoit Bâ Boubacar Moussa, 1er vice-président de l'UFP http://ufpweb.org/vieduparti/relations/sen.htm _____________________________________________ Nouveaux : les forums du site : http://forums.ufpweb.org Bonne lecture Visitez http://ufpweb.org (Français) http://ar.ufpweb.org (Arabe) http://pulaar.ufpweb.org (Pulaar) http://congres.ufpweb.org (2e congrès ordinaire de l'Ufp) Pour toute question concernat le site de l'Ufp, écrire à : admin at ufpweb.org ou ufpweb2 at yahoo.fr Contacter la permance de l'Ufp : 00 222 529 32 66 / 00 222 660 26 23 _________________________________________________ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060531/43503078/attachment.htm From ufpweb2 at yahoo.fr Wed May 31 05:31:59 2006 From: ufpweb2 at yahoo.fr (UFP) Date: Wed, 31 May 2006 14:31:59 +0200 (CEST) Subject: [M-net] L'UFP au sud du Brakna : Nous ne sommes pas surpris par la mobilisation (Nouakchott Infos du 30 mai 2006) Message-ID: <20060531123159.29126.qmail@web26511.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> mercredi 31 mai 2006 : L'UFP au sud du Brakna : Nous ne sommes pas surpris par la mobilisation (Nouakchott Infos du 30 mai 2006) http://ufpweb.org/federations/boghe/meet.htm mercredi 31 mai 2006 : Landing Savané, Ministre d’Etat à la Présidence de la République du Sénégal, Secrétaire général de And Jëff, reçoit Bâ Boubacar Moussa, 1er vice-président de l'UFP http://ufpweb.org/vieduparti/relations/sen.htm _____________________________________________ Nouveaux : les forums du site : http://forums.ufpweb.org Bonne lecture Visitez http://ufpweb.org (Français) http://ar.ufpweb.org (Arabe) http://pulaar.ufpweb.org (Pulaar) http://congres.ufpweb.org (2e congrès ordinaire de l'Ufp) Pour toute question concernat le site de l'Ufp, écrire à : admin at ufpweb.org ou ufpweb2 at yahoo.fr Contacter la permance de l'Ufp : 00 222 529 32 66 / 00 222 660 26 23 _________________________________________________ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060531/43503078/attachment-0001.htm From mohamedouldelkory at yahoo.fr Wed May 31 06:43:23 2006 From: mohamedouldelkory at yahoo.fr (ouldelkory mohamed) Date: Wed, 31 May 2006 15:43:23 +0200 (CEST) Subject: [M-net] ELY, MON FRERE, NE VOIS-TU RIEN VENIR ? ! Message-ID: <20060531134323.64280.qmail@web25406.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Ely, mon frère, ne vois-tu rien venir?! Depuis le 03 Août 2005, la Mauritanie est en mouvement. C'est tout un pays qui bouge. L'homme fort du pays Ely Ould Mohamed Vall n'a pas seulment augmenté de 50% les salaires des fonctionnaires. Il a annoncé un vrai changement dans la gestion de l'Etat en promettant de mettre l'administration au service des citoyens.Ely Ould Mohamed Vall a toujours occupé ces vingt dernières années une place centrale dans le dispositif politico-sécuritaire autour d'Ould Taya. The right man. Le colonel Ely passe pour un modèle d'intégrité et de compétence. S'il est d'une loyauté toute militaire, ce professionnel de la sécurité se double d'un intellectuel patriote d'une totale liberté d'esprit. Portrait de l'homme fort de la transition en Mauritanie. Né en 1952 à Nouakchott, Ely Ould Mohamed Vall a d'abord commencé ses études primaires de 1960 à 1966 à la capitale. A partir de 1966 à 1973, il a fréquenté différentes écoles d'enfants de troupe en France (collège et lycée à Aix-En-Provence et Le Mans). En 1973, Ely Ould Mohamed Vall décroche son baccalauréat série B. A partir de 1973 et après la résiliation des accords militaires de coopération avec la France, l'officier Ely Ould Mohamed Vall fera partie de la première promotion de la prestigieuse Accadémie militaire de Meknès dont il a été le major (la même Accadémie a formé les colonels Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz (BASEP) et Mohamed Ould Cheikh Al Ghazouani Al Ansari (DGSN), deux poids lourds du coup d'état militaire du 03 Août 2005). En parralèle avec la formation militaire, Ely s'inscrit à l'Université de Fès où il décroche une licence en droit. Rentré au pays, Ely Ould Mohamed Vall sera envoyé au front en pleine guerre du Sahara Occidental. Il commandera les postes militaires de Bir-Mogreïn, Ouadane et Aïn-Benteli. Très courageux et intègre, l'homme force l'estime et la considération de la Grande Muette. Décoré plusieurs fois, il a été même pressenti pour un avancement exceptionnel. A partir de 1979 et jusqu'à 1981, il a commandé le CQG (Compagnie du Quartier Général) à l'Etat-Major National. De 1982 à 1983, Ely Ould Mohamed Vall devient Commandant de la septième militaire de Rosso. De 1983 à 1985, le Colonel Ely Ould Mohamed Vall dirige le commandement de la place de Nouakchott (sixième région militaire). De novembre 1985 au 03 Août 2005: Ely Ould Mohamed Vall est resté pendant plus de vingt ans directeur général de la Sûreté Nationale. Depuis le 03 Août 2005, cet homme droit et juste s'est trouvé contraint devant la situation explosive que connait ce pays fragile à assumer les plus hautes responsabilités de l'Etat mauritanien. Compétence certaine et intelligence vive, son arrivée au pouvoir a été accueillie par des manifestations spontanées de joie des différentes couches de la population. Ely est l'anti-Taya par excellence. Il a lancé rapidement les grands chantiers de la transition. Dans l'affaire Woodside et son combat pour l'instauration d'une bonne gouvernance, les Mauritaniens médusés, découvrent un honnête homme, imprégné de savoirs académiques et de bons sentiments. L'homme reste très proche des pauvres et de gens simples. Modeste, sa vie de premier responsable de la nation ne l'a pas changé. Son épouse qui était en déplacement à Paris le mois dernier pour des soins était l'hôte comme naguère de la famille de Hassan Ould Guerram dans leur modeste appartement et son séjour n'a pas coûté un khoums à l'Etat mauritanien. Ah! Il est loin le temps où Aicha Mint Ahmed Letolba vidait les caisses de la Banque Centrale de Mauritanie pour son shopping parisien (rien que pour les huit premiers mois de 2005, Aïcha a eu, et les chiffres peuvent être confirmés à la BCM, onze millions d'Euro des services de l'institut d'émission). Depuiis qu'il est au pouvoir, Ely travaille dix-huit heures sur vingt-quatre et a perdu huit kilos. L'homme accorde une attention particulière aux plus humbles. Mais les attentes suscitées sont immenses dans un pays où les inégalités sont criantes. Après dix mois de transition, le gouvernement qui a été formé à la va-vite ne joue pas totalement le jeu. Sans oublier les attaques souvent outrées des FLAM et d'une partie de la presse à caniveau...Il en faudrait plus pour entamer la sérénité de cette force tranquille. Rien ne l'éloignera de son grand dessein: organiser les premières élections vraiment libres en Mauritanie. Et mettre sur pied les grands mécanismes d'une bonne gouvernance. MOHAMED OULD EL KORY PRESIDENT DE L'ASSOCIATION DES JOURNALISTES FRANCOPHONES DE MAURITANIE DIRECTEUR DU JOURNAL "INIMISH AL-WATAN" --------------------------------- --------------------------------- __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? En finir avec le spam? Yahoo! Mail vous offre la meilleure protection possible contre les messages non sollicités http://mail.yahoo.fr Yahoo! Mail -------------- section suivante -------------- Une pièce jointe HTML a été nettoyée... URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060531/e1d20862/attachment.htm From moustaphaoabdera at yahoo.com Wed May 31 11:55:44 2006 From: moustaphaoabdera at yahoo.com (moustapha abderahim) Date: Wed, 31 May 2006 11:55:44 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Condoleances à Ehl Addoud Message-ID: <20060531185544.67238.qmail@web55402.mail.re4.yahoo.com> CONDOLEANCES Nous venons d'apprendre avec beaucoup de regrets la disparition de notre érudit Mohamed Yahya Ould Addoud, l’imam de la localité d’Oum El Kora. Suite à la disparition du défunt, nous présentons nos sincères condoléances à toute l’honorable famille Ehl Addoud, spécialement à son frère Mohamed Salem Ould Addoud. Que dieu l'accueille en son saint paradis. INNA LILLAHI WA INNA ILEIHI RAJI'OUN Le 31 mai 2006 Moctar Cheine, New York, USA Moustapha Ould Ibn Mogdad, Montreal, Canada --------------------------------- Be a chatter box. Enjoy free PC-to-PC calls with Yahoo! Messenger with Voice. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060531/48031abe/attachment.htm From mauritanienet at gmail.com Wed May 31 14:16:33 2006 From: mauritanienet at gmail.com (News-Bulletin de M-Net) Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2006 00:16:33 +0300 Subject: [M-net] =?windows-1252?q?Cr=E9ation_d=92une_coalition_pour_contre?= =?windows-1252?q?r_l=92ancien_syst=E8me?= Message-ID: ----- Le News-Bulletin de Mauritanie-Net, vous informe sur les actualites de la Mauritanie email de la rédaction : mauritanienet at gmail.com ----- Création d'une coalition pour contrer l'ancien système L'Economiste du Maroc , http://www.leconomiste.com/article.html?a=70966 *Elle se nomme l'Alliance des forces du changement *Douze partis de l'ex-opposition mauritanienne ont formé une «alliance» dans la perspective des futures élections pour empêcher un retour au pouvoir de «l'ancien système politique» mauritanien. Elle se nomme l'Alliance des forces du changement (AFC), a indiqué Mohamed Ould Moloud, président de l'Union des forces du progrès (UFP), un parti membre de l'Alliance. Outre l'UFP, l'AFC, qui a été mise sur pied le 27 mai, compte d'autres formations parmi les plus représentatives de l'ex-opposition mauritanienne dont l'Alliance populaire progressiste (APP), le Rassemblement des forces démocratiques (RFD), le Mouvement des réformistes islamistes et l'Union pour le changement en Mauritanie (ex-Cavaliers du changement, un ex-mouvement en exil). Selon des observateurs, l'ancien parti au pouvoir, le Parti républicain pour la démocratie et le renouveau (PRDR) et ses hommes sont encore très présents dans les milieux traditionnels dont l'influence dans le jeu politique demeure très forte en Mauritanie, dans l'intérieur du pays notamment. «Nous allons, à partir du 7 juin, soumettre à la discussion un canevas de travail pour un programme politique concerté afin de nous dresser contre toute éventualité de reproduction de l'ancien système du président Maouiya Ould Taya», a déclaré Ould Moloud. Ce dernier a été renversé le 3 août 2005 par une junte dirigée par le colonel Ely Ould Mohamed Vall. Le processus électoral engagé par la junte militaire au pouvoir dans le cadre d'une transition démocratique débutera avec un référendum constitutionnel le 25 juin 2006, suivi de législatives et de municipales couplées en novembre de la même année, et des sénatoriales et une présidentielle respectivement en janvier et mars 2007. Synthèse L'Economiste ===== INFORMATION : Les articles sélectionnés pour cette revue de ­presse ne reflètent pas nécessairement l'opinion du comite de gestion de Mauritanie-Net. Nous ne nous portons pas garant de la véracité ­et de l'objectivité des informations publiées dans ces articles ­qui engagent la responsabilité des seuls auteurs. Nous vous prio­ns de bien vouloir en tenir compte. Merci. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060601/88928aa0/attachment.htm From mauritanienet at gmail.com Wed May 31 14:17:48 2006 From: mauritanienet at gmail.com (News-Bulletin de M-Net) Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2006 00:17:48 +0300 Subject: [M-net] =?windows-1252?q?Fwd=3A_=5B_Ocvidh_=5D_Le_D=E9sespoir_des?= =?windows-1252?q?_n=E9gros_mauritaniens_!!!=2E=2E=2E?= In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: cridemwebmaster Date: May 31, 2006 1:20 PM Subject: [ Ocvidh ] Le Désespoir des négros mauritaniens !!!... To: Ocvidh at yahoogroupes.fr *Le Désespoir des négros mauritaniens !!!... *La *Mauritanie*, ce pays au c?ur du désert, ne laisse personne indifférent non pas par son développement, mais par ses dérives raciales que subissent en permanence la population négro-africaine. En effet, cette souffrance de l'oppression, de la dictature et mépris, les noirs le vivent depuis l'indépendance. Voilà que *Tailla* est évincé de son règne d'un quart de siècle, le 3 Août 2005. Cette lueur d'espoir, tous les noirs victimes de l'arbitraire l'ont ressentie grandement, car par le simple fait d'apprendre que le dictateur en chef a perdu son pouvoir, nous donnait l'impression d'être libéré, comme une bête libérée de sa cage. Un soulagement libérateur nous traversa le c?ur. A cet instant, nous sentîmes une nouvelle ère de vie naître à l'horizon. Oui, des perspectives d'avenir nourries d'espoirs réels nous bombaient la poitrine comme un guerrier rentré victorieux. Retrouver ce beau pays qui nous a vu naître, que nous avons quitté par contrainte, qui recèle d'énormes potentialités, tels sont les quelques réflexes qui nous habitaient. Nos soucis, à ce moment précis, ne sont pas de savoir qui sont à l'origine du renversement du régime de *Maouiya*, mais de savourer cette "*victoire*" du peuple noir (Mauritanien) opprimé Hélas ! Nous ferons mieux de désenchanter. Un désespoir qui s'était éclipsé, comme pour nous donner une sommation de ne croire au bonheur, resurgit en nous tel un coup de massue par le fait du nom de *Ely*. Mon c?ur battait, et battait fort, mon esprit désemparé. Je restais quelques moments pour appréhender le mieux cette nouvelle situation que mon peuple est en train de traverser. Cet homme qui vient de s'emparer du pouvoir en *Mauritanie* n'est d'autre en réalité, que l'ancien directeur général de la sûreté nationale depuis 21 ans, c'est-à-dire depuis tout le temps que *Taya* était au pouvoir. Ce colonel, dont le nom raisonnait aux maux de la communauté noire, a su se propulser au sommet de l'état. Lui dont le rôle essentiel était de veiller à la protection civile de ses concitoyens et qui n'hésitait en aucun moment de donner des ordres répressifs aux noirs, surtout à ceux-là, qui n'ont la langue de bois, qui décriaient les conditions inhumaines des noirs, qui protestaient contre l'injustice sociale ou prônaient simplement l'égalité de tous les fils et filles du pays. â?ª Si chacun de nous se rappelle que c'est sous ordre policier que nous avons subi autant d'arrestations, que nous avons été torturés, emprisonnés arbitrairement, que nous avons été humiliés et déportés. â?ª Si chacun de nous se rappelle que c'est sous la coordination de Ely que des officiers, sous- officiers, des policiers, gardes ou hommes de troupes ont été horriblement tués. â?ª Si on se rappelle que c'est par simples soupçons d'appartenir à un mouvement, que des milliers de négro- africains ont été torturés et laissés pour morts. â?ª Si on se rappelle des vécus quotidiens d'humiliations, d'injustice sans précédent et de mépris que les noirs dans leur ensemble ont enduré, la question qui nous trotte dans la tête est : Pouvons- nous être réceptifs à cet ancien tortionnaire qui se veut homme de providence ? Comment peut- on accepter et être convaincu par ce dictateur à la tête de notre pays, même provisoirement ? Lui qui a toujours martelé et sans scrupule « les noirs doivent partir ou avaler en permanence des couleuvres «.* Nous le reconnaissons plus stratège que son prédécesseur*. Par sa position d'alors, *Ely* est au fait des grands remous et agissements du peuple et même au-delà de nos frontières. Pour sauver sa peau et se désolidariser du passé horrible que Taya et lui- même ont fait subir aux noirs, il prône une nouvelle ère de paix à laquelle il ne croit pas. De la poudre aux yeux ? Ça a tout l'air. Veut- il s'inspirer du modèle démocratique malien ? Cela le ressemble. Malheureusement pour lui et dommage pour le peuple car il refuse de reconnaître l'existence des réfugiés mauritaniens issus des crises 1989 et 1990. Il s'acharne et s'obstine à nier l'existence des réfugiés arguant qu'ils sont libres de rentrer chez ? eux. Mais, de qui se moque ? t- on ? Ignorer l'existence des réfugiés, c'est une preuve de mépris envers tous ses hommes, femmes et enfants qui ont vécu des événements douloureux depuis des années. C'est fermer les yeux sur une divergence fondamentale des couches sociales du peuple mauritanien. Ce n'est pas respecter ses hommes et femmes qui ont été dépourvus de leurs biens matériels et ressources humaines, qui ont été chassés de leur environnement, de leur habitation et de leur milieu culturel et social. Cet homme qui ne parvient pas à comprendre que notre seule opposition farouche au régime dont il a toujours appartenu, est leur partialité, se fait découvrir jour après jour par sa culture d'oppression à l'homme noir. Et bien, c'est regrettable ! Mais l'arabo- berbère ne peut admettre ni tolérer qu'un noir se mesure ou soit de la même catégorie sociale que lui. Cet apartheid longtemps vécu en *Afrique du Sud*, se vit depuis un siècle chez en Mauritanie. Nous avons été atteints dans notre dignité, nos valeurs culturelles bafouées, notre avenir et celui de nos enfants compromis. Nous avons mal, mal de vivre l'oppression, mal de ne pouvoir goutter à la liberté chez ? nous entourés des nôtres. Si la liberté s'achetait, nous aurions franchi des terres et des montagnes pour en acquérir et quel qu'en soit le prix. Malheureusement, la liberté n'a pas de prix, ne s'achète pas. *Moctar Bachirou Thiam* Réfugié Mauritanien Info source : *Moctar Bachirou Thiam* (Réfugié) via www.cridem.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060601/36f8769a/attachment.htm From mauritanienet at gmail.com Wed May 31 14:19:36 2006 From: mauritanienet at gmail.com (News-Bulletin de M-Net) Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2006 00:19:36 +0300 Subject: [M-net] Mic mac de Mint AbdelWedoud: le syndrome de la mouche Bezz-Bezz Message-ID: ----- Le News-Bulletin de Mauritanie-Net, vous informe sur les actualites de la Mauritanie email de la rédaction : mauritanienet at gmail.com ----- Mic mac: le syndrome de la mouche Bezz-Bezz Irabiha Mint abdel Wedoud LE CALAME DU 31-05-2006 Tenez-vous bien : notre Cmjdissime Khalife Ely se serait fait piquer malencontreusement à Akjoujt par l'irascible mouche Bzz-Bzz, un terrible diptère qui transformerait les personnalités, conduisant parfois à de délires avec des accès de schizo?. C'est ainsi qu'au beau milieu d'un brillant discours politiquement correct sans chichis, la mouche aurait fait son ?uvre sur le Raiss , qui, du coup, se serait métamorphosé en Victor Schoelcher, célèbre gaulois abolitionniste, qui a consacré sa vie à la lutte contre l'esclavage. Le Cmjdissime et vénéré Khalife Ely, du haut de sa prestance, se serait élevé dans un état de transe puis une voie d'outre -tombe de Victor serait sortie de sa bouche et il déclara ; « Oui à l'abolition de l'esclavage », « Je suis le premier adhérant à toutes les institutions abolitionnistes de l'esclavage ». Les populations inchiriennes, blasées par un air de déjà vu et accablées par la misère et la canicule, n'en revenaient pas ; c'est quoi le truc que le Raiss vient de leur sortir, c'est du hors sujet, non ??...les notables, qui se pavanaient avec le derniers cri de Izbi et Keneibo, se regardaient bouche bée, les saffagas en oubliaient leur partition bien rodée de gospel clap-clap?.. bref, c'était la consternation : le grand khalife serait-il victime de la malédiction inchirienne ? Cheikh Malaine l'avait bien prédit, non ?? La voie du Khalife continua, tel Martin Luter King relatant son Rêve , dans le ciel akjoujtois et dépassa le Guelb Oumougrien : « J'exhorte tous les mauritaniens à aller dans le sens de l'abolition de l'esclavage ». La foule, éberluée, oublia les tesfagues d'usage, mais l'ingénieuse société Avrah avait tout prévu, avec une panoplie de cassettes de clap clap cadencés et des youyous harangueurs. L'honneur de l'inchiri fit sauf et le Raiss, désomais Cmgjdissime Khalif fut applaudi généreusement par une sonorisation nippone du nec plus ultra. Quelle mouche donc avait piqué notre Khalife, la transition n'avait pas prévu ça, c'était comme pour l'épineux passif humanitaire, des questions remises sine die? Mais bon ! le fait est : la mouche Bzz-Bzz, galvanisée par la désapprobation de l'assemblée inchirienne , s'en donnait à c?ur joie et continua son ?uvre de phagocytose de l'âme du Raiss qui se mua complètement en héros abolitionniste. La délégation gouvernementale ne savait plus à quel saint se vouer, quelqu'un suggéra de bénir le Khalife à l'eau miraculeuse de Bennichab, d'autres voulaient l'amener derechef pour se ressourcer à El Asma? Non mais dites donc, la Mauritanie, ne reconnaît que les séquelles de l'esclavage, le reste c'est du délire non, ce discours présidentiel prenait le gouvernement à contre ?pied. C'était une claque pour ce gouvernement , un acte politiquement incorrect. Mais d'abord, si on se demandait ce qu'est notre perception de l'esclavage, ce mal qui est en nous, que l'on voudrait nier à tous prix, cette pratique qui perdure malgré tout. Stricto sensu, c'est d'abord cette personne qui est asservie au travail par des maîtres, le plus souvent dans les contrées lointaines, en marge de la vigilance des organisations de droit de l'Homme. Mais des formes plus nuancées s'observent avec des actes de barbarie, comme ces petites filles placées dans des familles, comme domestiques, dans la douleur de l'exploitation, dans la misère morale et l'humiliation de l'enfance meurtrie. Si l'on continue dans les méandres typologiques de cette souffrance humaine et de cette privation de liberté, on s'achemine vers le racket alcaponien des anciens maîtres que subissent à vie les affranchis, dans la honte et la complicité sociale ambiante. Vu sous ces différents angles, l'esclavage et les séquelles , c'est du kif-kif, reconnaissons-le ! Les conséquences sont incalculables, humainement insupportables avec la privation de tous les droits fondamentaux relatifs à la dignité humaine. Et notre fameuse Constitution, malgré son caractère avant-gardiste en matière de droits humains, n'a jamais été appliquée, c'est du répertoire de la défunte Dalida , « paroles et paroles et paroles?.. ». Ainsi, l'exploitation et les abus multiformes relatifs à la dignité humaine défraient la chronique, dans l'indifférence totale de l'opinion publique, de l'appareil judiciaire et des autorités ; seuls les cris d'indignations de quelques organisations de droits de l'Homme, qui, tel Sysiphe se battent contre vents et marées, s'entend dans l'indifférence totale? Tout donc allait bien dans le meilleur des mondes sans cette maudite mouche Bzz-Bzzqui a osé piqué au vif notre cmjdissime Khalife. Et du coup, on se remet à des cogitations juridiques qui nous font découvrir un arsenal déficient, avec un Code pénal muet sur la question de l'esclavage, une loi sur la traite des personnes qui ignore superbement cette pratique et enfin un Code du travail flambant neuf qui reprend des sanctions puisées dans cette loi ; d'où une incompatibilité et une inadéquation entre ces deux textes. Triste conséquence, les esclavagiste et les néo esclavagistes se la coulent douce, en s'appropriant les âmes des personnes et leurs héritages , privant ainsi les ayant droits légitimes de leurs biens. Toute cette mascarade de violation délibérée des droits de l'Homme, dont nous sommes responsables collectivement, se fait malgré l'ordonnance Haydalienne de 1981 et la réforme foncière et domaniale de 1983. En somme, la mouche Bzz-Bzz, en faisant un bobo rédempteur à notre Khalife, nous a donc rendu un gentil service : la balle est désormais dans le camp du gouvernement, qui doit nécessairement accorder ses violents avec cette volonté politique du Raiss de circonscrire à l'esclavage, pratique inhumaine et dégradante d'un autre âge. Le Code pénal devait être amendé en incriminant vigoureusement l'esclavage, et les organisations de droits de l'Homme devraient avoir la possibilité de se constituer parties civiles dans les procès. Pourquoi ne pas prendre ses responsabittés et aller au delà de l'optique juridique ? Pourquoi ne pas voir dans cette repentance du Khalife Ely la possibilité d'indemniser les victimes de l'esclavage? Si le Raiss, sous le coup de l'adorable mouche Bzz-Nzz (je suis en train de préconiser son élévage) a fait son mea culpa et exprimé sa volonté de lutter contre l'esclavage,ne devrione-nous pas tous avoir un sursaut national et banir à jamais ce crime contre l'humainité ? ===== INFORMATION : Les articles sélectionnés pour cette revue de ­presse ne reflètent pas nécessairement l'opinion du comite de gestion de Mauritanie-Net. Nous ne nous portons pas garant de la véracité ­et de l'objectivité des informations publiées dans ces articles ­qui engagent la responsabilité des seuls auteurs. Nous vous prio­ns de bien vouloir en tenir compte. Merci. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060601/28911225/attachment-0001.htm From mauritanienet at gmail.com Wed May 31 14:20:49 2006 From: mauritanienet at gmail.com (News-Bulletin de M-Net) Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2006 00:20:49 +0300 Subject: [M-net] Ouvrez les vannes ! ( Jeune Afrique L'INTELLIGENT ) Message-ID: -- ----- Le News-Bulletin de Mauritanie-Net, vous informe sur les actualites de la Mauritanie email de la rédaction : mauritanienet at gmail.com ----- Ouvrez les vannes ! J.A L'intelligent - 28 mai 2006 - par ABDALLAH BEN ALI *Règlement définitif du contentieux avec la compagnie australienne Woodside : l'aventure pétrolière peut commencer.* A la présidence de la République, au ministère de l'Énergie et du Pétrole et, surtout, à la direction générale de la toute jeune Société mauritanienne des hydrocarbures (SMH), personne, en ce mardi 23 mai, ne cherche à cacher son soulagement. À l'issue de deux mois de tractations aussi discrètes que laborieuses, les Mauritaniens viennent en effet d'obtenir - de « haute lutte », précise-t-on à Nouakchott -, que leurs relations avec le consortium de firmes étrangères qui exploite leur pétrole s'inscrivent à l'avenir dans un nouveau cadre juridique. « Tout est bouclé. Quatre nouveaux accords de production sont déjà "figés" et n'attendent plus que la signature imminente des parties concernées », confirme un haut responsable mauritanien qui se félicite de « l'équilibre » et du caractère « mutuellement avantageux » des nouveaux textes. « Nous revenons de loin », ajoute-t-il, pour expliquer l'euphorie qui règne à Nouakchott. Il y a six mois, les autorités mauritaniennes avaient en effet spectaculairement dénoncé quatre avenants aux contrats de production qui les liaient à la compagnie australienne Wooside Petroleum, chef de file du consortium. Selon elles, ces modifications, introduites à l'époque de Maaouiya Ould Taya (l'ancien chef de l'État renversé le 3 août 2005), étaient « frauduleuses » et « spoliaient » le pays en réduisant sa part des revenus pétroliers et en allégeant les taxes versées par la firme australienne. Ministre du Pétrole du président déchu et, à ce titre, signataire des avenants controversés, Zeidane Ould Hmeida avait été arrêté à la fin du mois de décembre 2005 et inculpé, le 16 janvier suivant, de « crimes économiques ». Dans un premier temps, Woodside choisit de faire la sourde oreille, ce qui fait craindre le pire : soumis à l'arbitrage de la Chambre de commerce international de Paris, le contentieux risque de compromettre la future « aventure pétrolière » mauritanienne. Les premiers barils sont extraits le 24 février du puits de Chinguetti, à 65 km au large de Nouakchott. Mais l'entrée de la Mauritanie dans le cartel des pays exportateurs est remise à plus tard. Nouveau chef de l'État, le colonel Ely Ould Mohamed Vall entreprend alors de mobiliser toute la classe politique derrière son gouvernement. Avec succès. Les Mauritaniens tiennent bon et, finalement, Woodside cède. Le 25 mars, à Dubaï, Don Voelte, son PDG, signe avec Aboubakr Maroini, le patron de la SMH, un protocole d'accord mettant fin au conflit. Grâce à la médiation de Cheikh Abdallah Al Thani, le PDG du groupe émirati Al Thani Investment, impliqué lui aussi dans l'exploration pétrolière en Mauritanie. Les avenants sont suspendus et les clauses plus spécialement dénoncées par Nouakchott, abrogées. Mieux : Woodside s'engage à verser à la partie mauritanienne un bonus de 100 millions de dollars. En échange de quoi ? « De la régularisation des périodes d'exploration, que l'annulation des avenants aurait pu rendre caduques », répond Maroini. La firme australienne accepte par ailleurs de débloquer une enveloppe de 1 million de dollars, qui sera consacrée à la réparation des dommages que l'exploitation pétrolière risque de causer à l'environnement. Enfin, il est convenu que Woodside, dont la zone exclusive d'exploitation de Chinguetti a été sensiblement réduite, devra créer à Nouakchott un « centre opérationnel » destiné à renforcer sa collaboration avec les Mauritaniens, mais aussi, et surtout, à piloter un transfert de compétences et de technologies au bénéfice de ces derniers. Restait à intégrer ces dispositions aux accords globaux qui serviront de référence unique aux deux parties. Ce à quoi, justement, les négociateurs viennent de procéder. Estimées dans un premier temps à 120 000 millions de barils, les réserves de Chinguetti seraient, en réalité, deux fois plus importantes. Le gisement produit déjà 75 000 barils de brut par jour. Et trois autres sont encore inexploités. Les recettes pétrolières avoisineront, cette année, 380 millions de dollars. Et le taux de croissance devrait culminer à 26,9 %. Un chiffre sans équivalent en Afrique. ===== INFORMATION : Les articles sélectionnés pour cette revue de ­presse ne reflètent pas nécessairement l'opinion du comite de gestion de Mauritanie-Net. Nous ne nous portons pas garant de la véracité ­et de l'objectivité des informations publiées dans ces articles ­qui engagent la responsabilité des seuls auteurs. Nous vous prio­ns de bien vouloir en tenir compte. Merci. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060601/066f8e90/attachment.htm From mauritanienet at gmail.com Wed May 31 21:06:29 2006 From: mauritanienet at gmail.com (News-Bulletin de M-Net) Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2006 07:06:29 +0300 Subject: [M-net] Dans Albayan Numero 528, Mauritanie-NETte, La Chronique de Gharib Arsalan Message-ID: ----- Le News-Bulletin de Mauritanie-Net, vous informe sur les actualites de la Mauritanie email de la rédaction : mauritanienet at gmail.com ----- Mauritanie-net*te *** ** Par Gharib ARSALAN (gharib_arsalane at yahoo.fr) « Le meilleur moyen pour apprendre à se connaître, c'est de chercher à comprendre autrui » André Gide* * * * *LA REVOLTE DES** HOMMES BLEUS* Depuis leur première révolte en 1990, maté dans le sang par un colonel dictateur de sinistre mémoire Moussa Traoré(condamné à la peine capitale puis gracié au bout de 10 ans de taule par Konaré) les *Brabich* (d'origine *sanhaja,* dont les *kounta, tajakenet*?) et les Touaregs( tribus berbères enracinées dans la nuit des temps dans le désert ). L'arrivée d' ATT puis celle de Konaré, le sage, a permis de régler momentanément le problème. ATT poussa la logique de réconciliation nationale jusqu'à la nomination (acte courageux dans un pays abritant des milices comme les *ganda koy*, issues de l'ethnie Bambara, ils furent impliqués dans les atrocités commises contre les hommes bleus à Tombouctou), d'un premier ministre touareg. Cependant depuis quelques temps un ex maquisard, *Hassan Fagaga*, menace ces accords fragiles. C'est lui qui a revendiqué l'attaque qui fit des morts cette semaine dans la caserne de *kidal *au nord du Pays. Cette affaire, à mon avis, recèle d'ingrédients dangereux pour la stabilité de la mauritanie. De un, beaucoup de réfugiés vont venir à nos frontières du côté de *Fassala*et *Aghour*, ce qui ne manquera pas d'alourdir un climat social, déjà bien amoché, par les rivalités tribales. De deux, l'envoi prévisible de nos troupes armées à la frontière malienne, est source de conflit avec ce pays frère. L'histoire de ce fragile pays qu'est la Mauritanie nous a appris, qu'à chaque fois que l'armée est expédiée à nos frontières, survient des coups d'état à répétition. Le premier du genre fut la guerre du sahara et le coup de 1978, le second est celui plus récent de *lemgueyti*?.la suite vous la connaissez. *?ET LE 5e NAQUIT DANS LA PENOMBRE* AFP ; *« Le gouvernement de Mauritanie et la compagnie australienne Woodside signeront ce mercredi, un nouvel accord pétrolier qui régira en toute transparence le partage de la production pétrolière»* Cet avenant la, ne connaitra pas le chemin sinistre de ses quatre prédécesseurs, déclarés nuls non avenant et non avenus. Le cinquième aura visiblement meilleure fortune. Je me turlupine le cortex la zone limbique de ma cervelle depuis quelques jours pour percer le mystère de cette « avenance »soudaine dont est parée le cinquième. Je crois qu'il a du s'habiller en boubou *bazin riche hazin, *couvrant un *serwal* *laisse tomb*er en *melikane, *le tout magnifié par un* hawli *de *ahmada alhamdi*. C'est par le truchement de cet accoutrement, certes étrange pour un « avenant » venant d'Australie, que le 5 ème a du être accepté par les notres. Nous autres ?taniens, sommes habitués aux venants de France. Nos voitures, nos pneus, nos médicaments, nos montres, les sacs Chanel de nos gardiennes du temple, nos présidents usurpateurs successifs, et surtout l'actuel, sont tous des « venants » ; notre administration, nos procédures (trop latines) de passation des marchés publics, nos rapports avec les bailleurs de fonds et les investisseurs, tous est estampillé venant de France?mais le 5éme doit avoir compris tout ce mic-mac (que ma chère irabiha me pardonne le plagiat, elle n'a pas encore breveté le mot ), il mis sur la table et devant témoins la coquette somme de 100 millions de $, en plus de ce qui doit se mettre la dessous et pataras, par je ne sais quelle magie, les 4 avenants jadis non avenus deviennent avenants et en guise d'enchantement on vous en offre un de plus?avenant. C'est ainsi que naquit le 5éme?avenant. * * *ABAS VS HAMAS* *PANA ; « Israël a décidé d'autoriser le transfert d'armes légères et de munitions aux forces fidèles au président de l'Autorité palestinienne, Mahmoud Abbas, a indiqué jeudi 25 mai le bureau du ministre de la défense israélien, Amir Péretz. »* Pauvres de palestiniens, si c'est izrael qui devient le « médiateur » armée, entre Hamas et Abbas ? Voici un peuple des plus héroïques que la planète ai pu connaître, encore sous occupation au 21eme siècle et sous embargo par une communauté internationale, les dictateurs arabes compris, lâches, qui tentent en vain de l'obliger à reconnaître son bourreau d'occupant et si possible l'embrasser sur la joue gauche, celle que Jésus le nazaréen, l'hébreux à l'origine d'une des entreprises humaines les plus réussies 3000 ans durant, prophète des uns, père, fils et saint esprit, pour les autres, tendit au romain qui le gifla. Une fois cette étape franchit, gageons que la communauté internationale, leur demandera de se prosterner devant le peuple élu et d'accepter la domination, comme une volonté divine, n'est ce pas ils sont descendant de hajar esclave de sarah, mère des hébreux, et qui pressa le patriarche Abraham de chasser de la Judée Samarie, cette esclave dont le jeune fils Ismail commençait à disputer le c?ur de son illustre père au jeune Jacob fils de Sara (c'est ce que prétendent les loubavitchs). Voyez vous comme s'était déjà compliqué dans le *bilad Kenaan* entre les descendants d'abraham, c ?à-d, Ismail et Israil . Revenons à nos moutons et notre temps, je disais que ce peuple héroïque après avoir été durant 30 ans une patate chaude que se refilait les régimes arabes au gré de leurs difficultés internes, a finit par comprendre qu'il était temps de prendre son destin en main, muni d'une petite pierre à défaut de F16, et ne plus compter sur des despotes arabes incapables de juger correctement leurs milliers de prisonniers d'opinion. Ce fut la déclaration d'Alger de 1988 et la reconnaissance de deux états, puis Oslo ?13 ans après, les palestiniens, même si la quasi totalité de l'opinion internationale est acquise à leur cause, se retrouvent dans le collimateur du lobby des dirigeants de cette planète ; USA, UE, Egypte, Jordanie?etc Sachez le, l'enjeu principal de l'embargo actuel est de pousser ce peuple à une guerre civile, avant d'avoir droit à leur micro Etat chimérique et fantoche aux allures de bantoustan ou d'une peau de zèbre. Dans la foulée, on oubli, que ce peuple est en lutte pour LA LIBERATION NATIONALE. N'ayez crainte, malgré le travail de sape du Mossad, les armes fournies à Abbas, les divergences Idéologiques fortes entre l'OLP et le HAMAS, les escarmouches entre les milices, malgré tous ces avatars, les palestiniens sont mûrs et agairis, pour tomber dans le piège d'une guerre civile qu'ils sont les premiers à savoir destructrice pour leur corps, déjà meurtri par izrael et ses alliés. Ce peuple par lequel l'exercice démocratique pénétrera le corps sclérose des arabes, se bat contre tous. Je suis certain qu'ils gagneront cette légitimité, voire, le moment venu, beaucoup plus, mais ça ne sera pas pour demain la veille *DR JEKYLE ET MISTER HYDE* La semaine dernière, dans un pays du nord, ou la loi est impersonnelle, n'acceptant que l'erreur est humaine, un policier aussi rigide et droit qu'une armoire en marbre, lors d'un contrôle de véhicule se rendit compte que j'avais oublié ma pièce d'identité? malgré mes supplications et le fait que je pouvais aller chez moi à moins de 30 mn de marche récupérer le sésame sacré et éviter l'humiliante et coûteuse contravention de 3eme catégorie ; rien, *walou, dara, nada*, cette citadelle froide incarnant à la nausée un jacobinisme républicain aphone, n'a rien voulu savoir et s'est contenté d'un silence glacial durant tout le temps que je déblaterais mon charabia de bougnoule pris au piège, avant de pérorer la cinglante formule : « Mr, la loi est dure mais c'est la loi ». Oui en effet, et j'en sais quelques chose Mr, je suis nomade originaire d'un univers mental où la loi n'existait pas et l'humain est plus que faillible qu'ailleurs. Cette semaine, comme à l'accoutumée, je suis descendu en Afrique, en partance pour le pays de mes ancêtres, humer l'air chaud de l'harmattan fertilisant pour la *guetna*, me ferait du bien.. .Entre l'aéroport et mon lieu de villégiature, je fus apostrophé par un gendarme qui contrôla la validité de mes papiers et celle de ma monture des temps modernes. Un foutu papelard dénommé « passavant » et qui, de part, sa nomenclature doit permettre au nomade que je suis, de passer en avant ou de l'avant ou par avant, bref de déguerpir ; Ce malheureux document parait- il n'était plus dans les délais qui lui été imparti par les autorités. Moi qui me suis souvent revoté contre le manque d'état de droit en Afrique et pris comme modèle les pays émancipés où la loi est têtue et impersonnelle ne souffrant d'aucune connivence transversale, j'en eu pour mon grade. Non seulement le gendarme me menaçait de prison mais en guise de prime il veut confisquer la monture pour l'acquisition de laquelle, mes pores cutanés se vidèrent de leur suc, trois ans durant. Après une âpre discussion sur le droit et l'état du même nom, vint le moment ou il faut utiliser une arme redoutable en Afrique, la palabre. J'ai toujours été convaincu, et l'incident d'hier me conforte de plus belle, qu'en chacun de nous sommeille, à dosage homéopathique, une double personnalité ; Un gentil et adorable docteur gekyle, mais aussi un odieux mister hide ; un haineux, un calculateur, un psychopathe, un psycho rigide, un froid calculateur et glacial tel un iceberg arraché par une tempête de neige à la mer de barentz. Mon gendarme- traitant était une caricature de cette description. Aprés les quolibets contre les arabes, race à laquelle votre serviteur est sensé appartenir théoriquement, les menaces, dieu merci verbales, bref le Mister hide était déchaîné, je me mis à chercher avec tact, les traces du gekyle glissant au fond de ses tripes. Au détours de quleques phrases mielleuses, du genre quel votre nom ? ne vous énervez pas, cela risque de vous faire perdre la beauté de votre visage? il finit par faire émerger un petit sourire salvateur et le comble, il découvre que *aradi, sama sokhna,* *diom soudam,* assise à mes cotés, partagent le même patronyme? Ouf quel soulagement. Vous ne pouvez imaginer le renversement de la situation. D'un potentiel embastiller, je vis mon statut, aux yeux de ce colosse aux allures d'un hercule tropical, faire un saut de joie d'une personne qui rencontre son *dendam *, sacre dans la culture de cette contrée. Voici la question que je soumets à votre perspicacité. Vaut- il mieux vivre sous un ordre jacobin ne laissant aucune chance au hasard ou vivre sous un toit ouvrant où tout est possible ? Pour ma part, j'aurai aimé vivre dans un néo-système, à inventer, où la loi régie les contradictions sociales, mais où le Dr *gekyl * qui est en chacun de nous ait droit de cité dans la cité . *PS : cette rubrique est un hommage permanent au regretté HABIB* ===== INFORMATION : Les articles sélectionnés pour cette revue de ­presse ne reflètent pas nécessairement l'opinion du comite de gestion de Mauritanie-Net. Nous ne nous portons pas garant de la véracité ­et de l'objectivité des informations publiées dans ces articles ­qui engagent la responsabilité des seuls auteurs. Nous vous prio­ns de bien vouloir en tenir compte. Merci. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060601/e461a1ad/attachment-0001.htm From info at pointschauds.info Wed May 31 12:07:00 2006 From: info at pointschauds.info (Webmaster) Date: Wed, 31 May 2006 21:07:00 +0200 (CEST) Subject: [M-net] Lu sur Points Chauds Online Message-ID: <20060531190700.08468867C@90plan.ovh.net> Bonjour Z: Votre ami(e) Webmaster a trouvé l'article suivant intéressant et a souhaité vous l'envoyer. Opérations anti-terroristes:Les services de sécurité sur les trousses de présum (Date: 2006-05-31 20:56:49) Sujet: National URL: http://www.pointschauds.info/fr/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=133 Vous pouvez lire d'autres articles intéressant sur Points Chauds Online http://www.pointschauds.info/fr From mauritanienet at gmail.com Wed May 31 21:53:32 2006 From: mauritanienet at gmail.com (News-Bulletin de M-Net) Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2006 07:53:32 +0300 Subject: [M-net] Le groupe saoudien SABIC en Mauritanie Message-ID: ----- Le News-Bulletin de Mauritanie-Net, vous informe sur les actualites de la Mauritanie email de la rédaction : mauritanienet at gmail.com ----- *Le groupe saoudien SABIC en Mauritanie* La société publique de pétrochimie saoudienne (SABIC) a conclu lundi avec la Société nationale industrielle et minière (SNIM, Mauritanie) un accord d'investissement pour un projet de transformation du fer mauritanien, a-t-on appris mardi auprès de la SNIM. "Les deux parties ont signé un procès verbal par lequel elles s'engagent à coopérer dans le cadre d'un projet de transformation du fer à El-Aouj (extrême nord)", a déclaré à l'AFP Mohamed Khalifa Ould Beyah, directeur de la production de la SNIM. Le projet qui nécessitera un investissement de l'ordre d'un milliard de dollars prévoit la construction de deux usines de pré-enrichissement du fer brut et de fabrication de granulés de fer enrichi. "Le projet permettra de réaliser une très forte valeur ajoutée de 60 à 65% et portera la production de la SNIM de 12 millions de tonnes à 19 millions annuellement", a poursuivi M. Ould Beyah. Les deux usines devraient démarrer leur production à l'horizon 2009-2010, alors que devrait être mis en service un nouveau port minéralier de la SNIM à Nouadhibou (nord) pour un coût global de 50 millions d'euros. Le groupe SABIC intègre un consortium regroupant déjà la société de fer australienne "Sphère", la compagnie qatari "Qasco" et la SNIM dont la répartition des parts reste encore à négocier, a précisé M. Ould Beyah. ===== INFORMATION : Les articles sélectionnés pour cette revue de ­presse ne reflètent pas nécessairement l'opinion du comite de gestion de Mauritanie-Net. Nous ne nous portons pas garant de la véracité ­et de l'objectivité des informations publiées dans ces articles ­qui engagent la responsabilité des seuls auteurs. Nous vous prio­ns de bien vouloir en tenir compte. Merci. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... 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URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060601/638ef82e/attachment.htm From afrique at rsf.org Thu Jun 1 02:02:36 2006 From: afrique at rsf.org (RSF Afrique / RSF Africa) Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2006 11:02:36 +0200 Subject: [M-net] =?iso-8859-1?q?THE_GAMBIA_-_African_human_rights_body_urg?= =?iso-8859-1?q?ed_to_pull_out_of_Banjul_because_of_climate_of_fear_impose?= =?iso-8859-1?q?d_by_President_Jammeh_/_GAMBIE_-_Face__au_climat_de_peur_i?= =?iso-8859-1?q?mpos=E9_par_le_pr=E9sident_Jammeh_=2C_Reporters_sans_front?= =?iso-8859-1?q?i=E8res_demande_=E0_la_Commission_africaine_des_droits_de_?= =?iso-8859-1?q?l=27homme_et_des_peuples_d=27envisager_de_quitter_Banjul?= Message-ID: English / Français Reporters Without Borders Press release 1 June 2006 THE GAMBIA African human rights body urged to pull out of Banjul because of climate of fear imposed by President Jammeh Reporters Without Borders wrote today to Salamata Sawadogo, the chairperson of the African Commission on Human and People's Rights (ACHPR), voicing "extreme concern about free expression" in Gambia and suggesting the time has come for the commission to consider transferring its headquarters from Gambia "until the civil and political liberties of Gambians, including freedom of expression, are respected." After thanking Sawadogo for taking advantage of a news conference on 29 May to mention The Point co-editor Deyda Hydara, the Agence France-Presse and Reporters Without Borders correspondent who was gunned down on 16 December 2004, the organisation voiced its "disgust at the behaviour of the Gambian authorities" in this still unpunished murder. "Nearly 18 months have gone by since the murder of one of West Africa's most respected journalists without any real progress in the case to give the family hope that justice will one day be done," the letter said. "What is known about the circumstances surrounding Hydara's murder, including the modus operandi, the repeated prior threats against him and the political context, have not been used by the National Intelligence Agency (NIA)." The letter continued: "The likelihood that it was a political murder linked to the victim's work as a journalist has not been explored. Forensic analyses of evidence found at the murder scene, including ballistic reports, have not been released. The autopsy report, which the family needs to claim Hydara's life insurance benefit, has never been made available, despite repeated requests. Even more disturbing is the fact that our investigations revealed that Hydara had been threatened by the NIA and was still under its surveillance just a few minutes before the murder." In its letter, Reporters Without Borders spoke of its "extreme concern about the unacceptable treatment that press freedom has received in Gambia for several years," adding that: "The deterioration in the situation, which has been particularly marked in recent weeks, is all the more appalling as Gambia is supposed to host a summit of African Union leaders next month and hold a presidential election in October." At least three journalists are currently detained in Gambia in violation of all legal procedures and the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights that was adopted by the ACHPR. Articles 6, 7, 8 and 9 of this charter, which Gambia signed, provide for protection against arbitrary arrest, the right to a free trial, freedom of opinion and the right to news and information. "All these provisions have recently been flouted by the Gambian authorities, who show no hesitation in arresting people arbitrarily." Musa Sheriff, a journalist with the privately-owned weekly Gambia News & Report, and Malick Mboob, a former journalist with the privately-owned Daily Observer, were arrested on 26 May and were thereafter held at NIA headquarters in Banjul. They were picked up after their names appeared on a list of subscribers to the online opposition Freedom Newspaper, whose website had been hacked a few days before. Pa Modou Faal, a journalist with the state-owned Gambian Radio Television Service (GRTS), was arrested at the same time and was freed along with Sheriff on 30 May. Mboob is still being held. None of them was charged or saw a lawyer within the 72-hour deadline set by the law. Lamin Cham, a BBC correspondent and former editor of the Daily Observer, was arrested yesterday, while Daily Observer news editor Omar Bah went into hiding to avoid arrest by the NIA. Lamin Fatty, a journalist with the privately-owned bi-weekly The Independent, was arrested at his home by police on 12 April and was held for more than a month without being allowed to see a lawyer. He was charged on 24 May with "publishing false news" under a draconian law providing for heavy prison sentences that was adopted despite the protests of local and international press freedom groups on the eve of Hydara's murder. The Independent's general manager, Madi Ceesay, who is also president of the Gambia Press Union, and his editor, Musa Saidykhan, were held secretly for nearly three weeks, from 28 March to 20 April, in violation of all legal procedures. The premises of their newspaper were closed and sealed and have since been illegally prevented from reopening, despite the NIA's promises. ----------- GAMBIE Face au climat de peur imposé par le président Jammeh, Reporters sans frontières demande à la Commission africaine des droits de l'homme et des peuples d'envisager de quitter Banjul Dans une lettre datée du 31 mai 2006, Reporters sans frontières a fait part à Salamata Sawadogo, présidente de la Commission africaine des droits de l'homme et des peuples (CADHP), de son "extrême inquiétude pour la liberté d'expression" en Gambie, estimant qu'il lui semblerait "opportun" que la CADHP envisage "la possibilité de déménager son siège hors de Gambie, jusqu'à ce que les libertés civiles et politiques des Gambiens soient respectées, et notamment leur droit à l'expression libre." Après avoir remercié Salamata Sawadogo d'avoir, lors d'une conférence de presse le 29 mai, publiquement évoqué Deyda Hydara, l'organisation lui a exprimé "son écoeurement face au comportement des autorités gambiennes" dans l'affaire de l'assassinat encore impuni du cofondateur et directeur de The Point, par ailleurs correspondant de l'Agence France-Presse (AFP) et de Reporters sans frontières, abattu le 16 décembre 2004. "Près de dix-huit mois ont passé depuis l'assassinat de l'un des journalistes les plus respectés d'Afrique de l'Ouest, sans qu'aucune avancée sérieuse dans l'enquête laisse espérer que justice pourra un jour être rendue à sa famille, a ajouté Reporters sans frontières. (...) Les éléments connus sur les circonstances entourant l'assassinat de Deyda Hydara, notamment le mode opératoire utilisé, les menaces répétées préalablement proférées contre le journaliste et le contexte politique dans lequel le crime a eu lieu, n'ont pas été retenus par la National Intelligence Agency (NIA, services de renseignements). La piste du crime politique, lié à l'activité de journaliste de la victime, n'a pas été approfondie. Les analyses techniques de la scène du crime (analyse balistique, relevés de traces, etc.) n'ont pas été communiquées. Le rapport d'autopsie, indispensable à la famille Hydara pour obtenir le versement de l'assurance-vie souscrite par le défunt, ne lui a jamais été fourni, malgré plusieurs demandes. Plus troublant enfin, des investigations menées par notre organisation ont révélé que Deyda Hydara était menacé et surveillé par la NIA, quelques minutes encore avant son assassinat." L'organisation informe par ailleurs la président de la CADHP de son "extrême préoccupation face au traitement inadmissible réservé à la liberté de la presse en Gambie depuis plusieurs années". "La dégradation de la situation, particulièrement nette ces dernières semaines, est d'autant plus révoltante que la Gambie doit accueillir le mois prochain le sommet des chefs d'Etat de l'Union africaine et organiser une élection présidentielle au mois d'octobre", ajoute Reporters sans frontières. Au moins trois journalistes sont actuellement détenus dans le pays, hors de toute procédure légale et au mépris de la Charte africaine des droits de l'homme et des peuples, dont la Gambie est signataire. Dans ses articles 6, 7, 8 et 9, le texte tutélaire de la CADHP prévoit en effet une protection des individus contre l'arrestation arbitraire, le droit à un procès équitable, la liberté de conscience et le droit à l'information. "Or, l'ensemble de ces dispositions a été récemment bafoué par les autorités gambiennes, qui font un usage sans scrupule de la détention arbitraire", a écrit l'organisation. Musa Sheriff, journaliste de l'hebdomadaire privé Gambia News & Report, et Malick Mboob, ancien journaliste du quotidien privé Daily Observer, ont été arrêtés le 26 mai et placés en détention au quartier général de la NIA à Banjul. Ils ont été raflés après que leur nom est apparu dans la liste des abonnés du site d'opposition Freedom Newspaper, piraté par un internaute quelques jours auparavant. Pa Modou Faal, journaliste de la télévision publique Gambian Radio Television Service (GRTS), a été arrêté en même temps qu'eux, avant d'être relâché le 30 mai, en compagnie de Musa Sherrif. Le délai de détention maximum de 72 heures a expiré sans que ces journalistes n'aient été inculpés ou n'aient eu accès à un avocat. Le lendemain, Lamin Cham, ancien rédacteur en chef du Daily Observer, correspondant de la radio publique britannique British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), a été arrêté à son tour, tandis que Omar Bah, journaliste du Daily Observer, est entré en clandestinité pour fuir la NIA. Un journaliste du bihebdomadaire privé The Independent, Lamin Fatty, a été arrêté le 12 avril 2006 à son domicile par la police et détenu pendant plus d'un mois, sans avoir accès à un avocat. Le 24 mai, il a été inculpé de "publication de fausses nouvelles" en vertu d'une loi draconienne prévoyant de lourdes peines de prison, votée, malgré les protestations des organisations locales et internationales de défense des journalistes, à la veille de l'assassinat de Deyda Hydara. Le directeur général de The Independent, Madi Ceesay, par ailleurs président de la Gambia Press Union (GPU), et son rédacteur en chef, Musa Saidykhan, ont été quant à eux détenus au secret pendant près de trois semaines, entre le 28 mars et le 20 avril, en dehors de toute procédure légale. Leur journal a été mis sous scellés et illégalement empêché de rouvrir depuis, malgré les promesses des services de renseignements. -- Leonard VINCENT Bureau Afrique / Africa desk Reporters sans frontières / Reporters Without Borders 5, rue Geoffroy-Marie 75009 Paris, France Tel : (33) 1 44 83 84 84 Fax : (33) 1 45 23 11 51 Email : afrique at rsf.org / africa at rsf.org Web : www.rsf.org -------------- section suivante -------------- Une pièce jointe HTML a été nettoyée... URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060601/9672f86a/attachment-0001.htm From ufpweb2 at yahoo.fr Thu Jun 1 06:03:15 2006 From: ufpweb2 at yahoo.fr (UFP) Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2006 15:03:15 +0200 (CEST) Subject: [M-net] Gourmo Lo : Ultimes observations sur le projet de constitution Message-ID: <20060601130315.13230.qmail@web26503.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> jeudi 1er juin 2006 : Gourmo Abdoul LÔ : "Ultimes observations sur le projet de reforme de la constitution" (Nouakchott Infos du 31 mai 2006) http://ufpweb.org/transition/constitution/ultimes.htm _____________________________________________ Nouveaux : les forums du site : http://forums.ufpweb.org Bonne lecture Visitez http://ufpweb.org (Français) http://ar.ufpweb.org (Arabe) http://pulaar.ufpweb.org (Pulaar) http://congres.ufpweb.org (2e congrès ordinaire de l'Ufp) Pour toute question concernat le site de l'Ufp, écrire à : admin at ufpweb.org ou ufpweb2 at yahoo.fr Contacter la permance de l'Ufp : 00 222 529 32 66 / 00 222 660 26 23 _________________________________________________ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060601/04a8129c/attachment.htm From ufpweb2 at yahoo.fr Thu Jun 1 06:03:15 2006 From: ufpweb2 at yahoo.fr (UFP) Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2006 15:03:15 +0200 (CEST) Subject: [M-net] Gourmo Lo : Ultimes observations sur le projet de constitution Message-ID: <20060601130315.13230.qmail@web26503.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> jeudi 1er juin 2006 : Gourmo Abdoul LÔ : "Ultimes observations sur le projet de reforme de la constitution" (Nouakchott Infos du 31 mai 2006) http://ufpweb.org/transition/constitution/ultimes.htm _____________________________________________ Nouveaux : les forums du site : http://forums.ufpweb.org Bonne lecture Visitez http://ufpweb.org (Français) http://ar.ufpweb.org (Arabe) http://pulaar.ufpweb.org (Pulaar) http://congres.ufpweb.org (2e congrès ordinaire de l'Ufp) Pour toute question concernat le site de l'Ufp, écrire à : admin at ufpweb.org ou ufpweb2 at yahoo.fr Contacter la permance de l'Ufp : 00 222 529 32 66 / 00 222 660 26 23 _________________________________________________ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060601/04a8129c/attachment-0001.htm From ufpweb2 at yahoo.fr Thu Jun 1 06:07:06 2006 From: ufpweb2 at yahoo.fr (UFP) Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2006 15:07:06 +0200 (CEST) Subject: [M-net] =?iso-8859-1?q?F=E9licitations_du_Pr=E9sident_de_l=27Ufp_?= =?iso-8859-1?q?aux_popualations_du_Sud_du_Brakna?= Message-ID: <20060601130706.8321.qmail@web26510.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Félicitations du Président de l'Ufp aux popualations du Sud du Brakna http://ufpweb.org _____________________________________________ Nouveaux : les forums du site : http://forums.ufpweb.org Bonne lecture Visitez http://ufpweb.org (Français) http://ar.ufpweb.org (Arabe) http://pulaar.ufpweb.org (Pulaar) http://congres.ufpweb.org (2e congrès ordinaire de l'Ufp) Pour toute question concernat le site de l'Ufp, écrire à : admin at ufpweb.org ou ufpweb2 at yahoo.fr Contacter la permance de l'Ufp : 00 222 529 32 66 / 00 222 660 26 23 _________________________________________________ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060601/3c793447/attachment.htm From ufpweb2 at yahoo.fr Thu Jun 1 06:07:06 2006 From: ufpweb2 at yahoo.fr (UFP) Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2006 15:07:06 +0200 (CEST) Subject: [M-net] =?iso-8859-1?q?F=E9licitations_du_Pr=E9sident_de_l=27Ufp_?= =?iso-8859-1?q?aux_popualations_du_Sud_du_Brakna?= Message-ID: <20060601130706.8321.qmail@web26510.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Félicitations du Président de l'Ufp aux popualations du Sud du Brakna http://ufpweb.org _____________________________________________ Nouveaux : les forums du site : http://forums.ufpweb.org Bonne lecture Visitez http://ufpweb.org (Français) http://ar.ufpweb.org (Arabe) http://pulaar.ufpweb.org (Pulaar) http://congres.ufpweb.org (2e congrès ordinaire de l'Ufp) Pour toute question concernat le site de l'Ufp, écrire à : admin at ufpweb.org ou ufpweb2 at yahoo.fr Contacter la permance de l'Ufp : 00 222 529 32 66 / 00 222 660 26 23 _________________________________________________ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060601/3c793447/attachment-0001.htm From mohamedouldelkory at yahoo.fr Thu Jun 1 07:10:18 2006 From: mohamedouldelkory at yahoo.fr (ouldelkory mohamed) Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2006 16:10:18 +0200 (CEST) Subject: [M-net] JUSTE UNE PRECISION Message-ID: <20060601141018.61491.qmail@web25414.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Le nom "Mahomet" (Paix et Salut sur Lui) est bien la latinisation du terme turc "Meh(e)met", à cela une raison historique: quand le terme se forme, ce sont les otthomans qui règnent sur le monde musulman, c'est donc avec eux que les occidentaux sont en contact, tout simplement. Donc, je confirme bien l'origine turque (otthomane) de la transformation de Mohammed en Mehmet, puis la latinisation postérieure en Mahomet. Mahomet (Paix et Salut sur Lui) est donc bien le nom qui désigne le prophète Mohammed pour les langues latines et n'a aucune signification particulière...signification qui lui prête ceux qui refont une traduction infondée vers l'arabe. MOHAMED OULD EL KORY DIRECTEUR DU JOURNAL "INIMISH AL-WATAN" __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? En finir avec le spam? Yahoo! Mail vous offre la meilleure protection possible contre les messages non sollicités http://mail.yahoo.fr Yahoo! Mail -------------- section suivante -------------- Une pièce jointe HTML a été nettoyée... URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060601/0dacf9e3/attachment.htm From medaliveten at gmail.com Thu Jun 1 10:07:15 2006 From: medaliveten at gmail.com (Mohamed-Ali Ould Veten) Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2006 20:07:15 +0300 Subject: [M-net] Rep: JUSTE UNE PRECISION Message-ID: <75e0d4ed0606011007m1ced7f34web455a4bc2a22489@mail.gmail.com> Assalam, Cher Mohamed, Excuse-moi de te dire que X Ould Y a raison, *le prophète ne s'appelle pas Mahomet, nom que lui collent les mécréants !* * * De nombreux sur-noms ont été attribués a Mohamed *Sala Ellahou Aleihi Wassalama* , soit de son vivant, soit par les oulemas. On en compte 201 et Essiouti a compte pres de 1000 noms ( voir Elkhessaiess Elkoubra d'Eessiouti et Elmewaheb Eleddouniye : les deux ouvrages sont connus aux miliuex traditionnelles en Mauritanie ) , dont le nom Mohamed qui est couramment, mais incorrectement, transcrit en français, via le turc Mehmet ou Mehemet (« Mahumeth ») . Cette variante francisée , Mahomet , est cependant rejetée par une partie des musulmans ( la ligue internationale pour la défense de l'islam et des musulmans ) . Un débat récent qui a fait l'objet d'une pétition expédiée à l'Académie françaiseestimait que *: « Mohammed signifie en arabe, le Béni. Et ce sens est parfaitement apparent dans le terme lui-même alors que Mahomet provient de l'expression « Mâ houmid » qui en est la négation. »,* signifiant exactement le contraire ( celui qui n'est pas beni ) ou encore en « Mahoud » , prince de ténèbre , autre nom de diable ( voir l'ouvrage de Watt intitule « Mahomet a la Mecque ») , Donc cette ligue a écrit a l'Académie de Cardinal de Richelieu pour demander la modification de son celebre dictionnaire , Elle demande la suppression du Mahomet au profit de Mohamed *PS : Faire respecter le nom de sceau de la prophète est un devoir , le devoir de tous , Toutefois , Il faudra le faire avec sagesse .* * * Wa'asalam Fraternellement, Mohamed-Ali Ould Veten A lire : - Nouzhet Al-afkar bi Shereh Qourat AL-absar d'Abdelkader Ould Mohamed Ould Mohamed SALEM. - Shereh Elkhessaeiss de Lemrabett Mohemden Vall Ould Moutaly. - Elkhessaeiss Elkoubra d'Eessiouti et Elmewaheb Elledouniye d'Eshami. - l'ouvrage de Victor Chauvin et Revue de Monde Musulman . -------------- section suivante -------------- Une pièce jointe HTML a été nettoyée... URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060601/490c0d6c/attachment-0001.htm From mohamedouldelkory at yahoo.fr Thu Jun 1 11:29:39 2006 From: mohamedouldelkory at yahoo.fr (ouldelkory mohamed) Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2006 20:29:39 +0200 (CEST) Subject: [M-net] VIVEMENT MAINTENANT ! Message-ID: <20060601182939.66301.qmail@web25403.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Tout doit être entrepris par chacun de nous pour trouver une solution aux problèmes des déportés mauritaniens au Sénégal et au Mali. Ils sont 60.000, 50.000,48.000, qu'importe le nombre quand il s'agit de comptabliser la souffrance humaine. Victimes des évènements d'Avril 1989, ils sont nombreux ceux qui se sont retrouvés du jour au lendemain de l'autre côté du Fleuve que l'on croyait celui de l'espoir. Revenir sur la façon dont ils ont été déclarés parias dans leur propre pays, situer les nombreux responsbles de ce crime ou la façon ignomineuse de ces déportations massives est louable certes; mais les rétablir dans leur droit et leur dignité doit être la priorité des priorités. Le Chef de l'Etat doit leur demander pardon au nom de la Nation toute entière et un Fonds de 20 milliards d'Ouguiya (moins que le bonus qui sera offert au Trésor mauritanien le 21 juin prochain par Woodside) doit leur être alloué pour que cesse leur calvaire dans les camps ou ailleurs, loin de leur patrie et de leurs proches. Plusieurs de nos compatriotes sont morts,d'autres sont malades et tous souffrent d'être à la charge de pays qui ne sont pas le leur. Qu'ils reviennent. Maintenant et tout de suite. Cette transition salutaire nous permettra ainsi de nous regarder et de regarder les autres sans rougir ni brunir de honte. Toute autre "solution" ou fuite en avant ne serait qu'amalgame de nature à discréditer plus encore l'image-ô combien ternie- de notre pays. MOHAMED OULD EL KORY PRESIDENT DE L'ASSOCIATION DES JOURNALISTES FRANCOPHONES DE MAURITANIE DIRECTEUR DU JOURNAL "INIMISH AL-WATAN" ___________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? En finir avec le spam? Yahoo! Mail vous offre la meilleure protection possible contre les messages non sollicités http://mail.yahoo.fr Yahoo! Mail -------------- section suivante -------------- Une pièce jointe HTML a été nettoyée... URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060601/8f4662d9/attachment.htm From mohamedelmehdi at maktoob.com Thu Jun 1 13:31:53 2006 From: mohamedelmehdi at maktoob.com (mohamedelmehdi ouldmohamedelbechir) Date: Thu, 01 Jun 2006 20:31:53 +0000 Subject: [M-net] M-net@mauritanie-net.com Message-ID: ??????? ???? ????? ???????: ?????? ??????? ???? ??????? ????     ???? ?????? ??? ???? ??????   ???????? ?? ?????? ???????? ?? ?? ???? ?????? ?? ??????? ????? ????? ???? ?????? ??? ????? ???? ??????? ?? ?????? ??? ??? ??? ?? ???? ?? ???? ?? ???? ?? ???? ?? ???? ??? ?? ????? ????? ?????? ?? ??? ?????? ??? ????? ?? ?????? ?? ??? ??????? ?????? ????? ??? ???????? ?? ????? ????? ????????? ??? ????? ??????? ?? ????? ???? ????? ??? ??? ?? ???? ??????? ??? ????? ?? ?????? ?????? ?? ??????? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ????? ????? ?????? ??? ??? ???? ?? ??? ????? ?????? ?? ??????? ?? ????? ?? ????? ??? ??????. ???? ????? ??? ??????? ????? ?? ????? ??????? ?????? ???????? ??????? ??? ???????? ???? ????? ??? ???????? ?????? ??????? ???????? ?????? ??? ????? ????? ??? ???? ???? ?????? ???????? ???? ?????? ?????? ??????? ???? ?? ??? ??? ?? ????? - ????? ????????? ? ????? ??? ????? ????????? ?? ?????? ???????? ???? ??????? ??? ????: "?? ???????? ????? ?? ???? ??????? ????? ???? ??? ?? ??????? ??????? ?????? ??? ???? ???? ??????? ????? ??? ???? ??????? ????????? ??????? ????? ????????? ??????" ??? ???? ?????????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ????? ?? ???? ???? ??? ???? ????????: " ... ??? ???? ?????? ??? ????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ????????? ??????" ? ????? ???????? ????????? ?????? ????? ????????? ????? ???? ?? ???? ??? ?? ????? ??????? " ????? ?????? ??????? ????????" ????? " ?????? ??????? ?? ??? ??? ?? ????? ??? ????? ??????? ?? ????? ????? ????? ??? ?? ??? ???? ????? ????? ?????" ???? ???? ????? - ?? ????? ?????? ????????? ?? ??????? ? ??? ????? " ?????? ?????? ????? ???????? ?????? ? ??????? ?? - ??????? ???????? ?? ?????? ??????? ??????? ?????? ???????? ???????" ? ????? ?? ??????? ?? ?????? ? ?? ????? ????? ????????? - : " ... ???? ?????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?? ????? ????????? ??????" ?? ???? ???????? ??????? ??????? ?????: " ??? ?? ???????? ?? ????? ??? ???? ??????? ??????? ?????" ?????: " ??? ???????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ???????? ???? ?????? ???????" ???? ?? ???? ???? ?? ??????? ??? ???? ???? " ???? ????? ???? ??? ??????? ?????? ???? ????? ?????? ??? ??????? ???? ???? ??????? ????? ???? ??????? ?? ????? ?? ???????"? ????? ?? ?????? ?? ??? ????? ? ??? ???? ??? - " ??? ??? ?????? ?????? ?? [ ??? ]????? ??? ???? ?? ?? ??? ????? ?????? ??? ????? ?? ???? ?????? ???? ???? ?? ????? ?? ??? ?????? ????? ????? ?? ?????? ???????? ???? ????? ?? ????? ????? ???????? ???? ????? ?? ?????" . ???? ??? ??????? ?? ??? ????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ???? ???? ??????? ??? ????? ?? ???? ?? ????? ?????? ??? ???? ?? ????? ?? ?????? ???????? - ??? ?? ???? - ??? ?? ??????? ?????? ???? ???? ???????? ??????????? ???? ??????? ??? ?? ???????? ???????? ???? ????? ?? ?????? ?? ????? ?? " ???????" ? ?? ????? ?????? ????. ?? ??? " ???? ?? ?? ???" ? ??? ??? ??????? ?? ???? ???? ?????? ???????? ????? ??? ???? ??? ????? ?????? ????? ???:" ?? ????? ?????? ????????? ??? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ????? ??????? ?? ???????? ????????? ????? ????? ?????? ????? ?????? ??? ?????? ?? ??? ????? ????? ??????? ????? ?????? ?????? ????? ?? ???????? ????????? ???? ??? ??? ?????? ?? ????? ???"? ??? ??? ??????? ???? ???? ??? ???? ?? ??? ????? ?????? ?????? ?? ???? ????? ?? ???? ?? ?????? ?????? ???? ?? ??? ?? ????? ?? ?????? ?? ????? ?????? ????? ? 1080 ? ????? ???: " "??????? ??? ??? ??? ???? ????? ??????"? ??? ???? ??? ???? - ?? ????? ????? ????? ???????? - : " ?? ??? ???? ?? ??????? ???? ?? ??? ???? ??????? ???????? ????????? ????????? ??? ???? ??? ???? ???? ????? ?????? ???? ?????? ???? ! ?? ?? ???? ?????? ???? ????? ??????? ??????? "? ??? ????? ??? ??????? ??? ???? ????? ?????? ??? ??? ????? ??????? ?????????? ?????? ???????? ????????? ??? ?? ????? ????? ??? ????? ?? ????? ???? ?????? ??????. ????? ?? ??????? ????? ?????? ?? ??????- ?? ????? ????? ????????? -" ?? ???? ?????? ????????? ??? ????? ?? ???? ????? ??????? ?????? ???? ?????? ????????? ??? ??? ???????? ?????? ?????? ????? ???? ?????? ????? ??? ??? ??????? ?????? ?????? ?? ??? ?????? ??????" ??? ??? ?? ??? ??????? ??????? ?????? ????? ??? ???? " ?? ??????? ?? ???? ??? ???????? ???????? ???? ??? ??????? ??? ????? ?? ??? ?????? ???? ?? ???? ?????? ?? ?????? ????? ??????? ?? ????? ????? ?????? ????? ???? ?????? ??? ??? ???? ?? ???". ??? ??? ??????? ??? ????? ??????? ???????? ????? ??? ??????: 1- ??? ????? ??????? ????? ??????? ????????? ???? ????? ???????? ???? ??? ??????? ?? ??? ?????? ??? ??? ???? ????? ?????? ???? ???? ????? ???????? ??????? ???? ?? ???????? ????? ??????? ????????? ??? ????? ?? ?????? ???????? ???? ?????? ?????? ??????? ???: ? - ????? : ???? ??????? - ?? ????? ????? ????? ???????? - : " ??? ?????? ???? ????? ????? ?? ???? ???? ??????? ???? ?? ?????? ??? ????? "? ??? ??????? ??? ????? ??????? ???????? ?? ??? ?? ?????? ???? ?????? ????????? ?? ?????? ?????? ??? ??? ????? ????? ?????? ????? ???? ?????? ???????? ???????? ?? ??????? ???????? ????? ?????? ?? ?????? ???? ?? ????? ????? ?? ??? ???? ?????? ???? ??? ????? ?????? ?? ?? ??? ?? ???? ??? ??? ??????? ??? ???????? ???????? ??? ???? ?? ????????? ??????? ????????? ??????? ?????????? ????? ?????? ?? ????. ???? ????? ???????? ?????? ?? ?????? ???? ????? ??? ??????? ????? ???????? ???????? ???? ??? ????? ???? ??? ????? ??????? ???? ??????? ????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?? ??????? ??????? ??? ?? ?? ??????? ????? ??????? ?????? ??? ???? ?? ????? ?????? ??????? ? 19-10-1986 -"?? ??????? ????? ??????? ?????.. ??? ????????? ?? ????? ??????.. ??? ????? ?? ?????? ?????? ???? ?? ????? ?? ???.. ??? ???? ?? ???? ?? ???? ??? ????? ?? ????? ?? ?????? ????.. ??? ??? ??? ????.. ?????? ????? ?? ???? ?? ????? ?????? ???? ?? ?????? ????????? ????????". ????? ????? ????? ????? ????? ???? ?? ??? ??? ?????? ??????? ???????? ?????????? ???? ?? ???? ?? ????? "?????? ????????? ?? ???????" :" ?? ????? ?????? ???????? ?????? ?????? ???????? ?? ?? ?????? ... ?????? ?? ???? ????? ???? ????? ??? ???? ?????? ????? ?? ???????? ???? ???? ???? ? ??? ?????? ??????? ??????? ???????". ????? ???? ??? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?? "??????????? ???????" ??? ???? ??????????? ????? ????? ??? ???????? ??????? ???? ??? ??? 1517? ? ?????? ??? ?????? ????? ???? ???? ??? ???? ???????? ????? ??? 1520? ?????? ???? ?????? ??? ?????? "??? ?????? " ???? ??? : " ??? ???? ?? ???? ????? ??????? ????????? ???? ?? ?????? ??? ??? ???? ?? ???? ???? ??? ?????? ?? ???? ????? ? ??? ?????? ??????? ? ???????? ????? ??? ????? ??????? ???? ??? ???? ???? ? ???? ??????? ???????? ? ???? ????? ? ????? ????? ?? ??? ??? ??? ???? ???? ???????". ???? ???? ??????? ??????????? ?? ????? ???? ??????? ?? ????? ???? ??????? ???????? ?? ??????? ??? ?? ?????? ??????? ??? ????? ???????? ?? ????? ??????? ?? ??? ?? ? ?? ??????? ????? ?? ????? ????????? - ???? ?? ???? ??? " ???????" ?? ???????? ??????? ???????? ??? ???? ??????? ???? ? ???? ?? ??? ??? ??? ???????? ??? ??? ??? ???? ??? ??????? - ?? ????? ??????? ???????? ???? ?? ??? ????? ?????? ? ??? ???? " ???? ??????? ??? ??????? ??? "?????" ?"??????" ???? ???? ??? ???? ????? "???? ?????" ???? ???????? ??????? ?? ??????? ??? "???????" ?"?????". ???? ??? ??? ?????? ????? ????? ??? ??? ???????? ?? ???? ?????? ??? ???? ????? ???? ??????? ????? ????? ????? ???? - ?? ????? ?????? ????????? ?? ??????? - : " ?? ?????? ????? ????????? ? ?? ?? ????? ??????? ?????? ??? ???????? ? ????? ?? ??????? ???? ?? ?????? ??? ??????? ???? ?? ????? .... ???? ?? ????? ??? ???????? ?????? ?? ???????? ???? ?????? ??????? " ???? ??? ???? ?? ????? ??????? ??????? ????????? ?? ???? ??????? ???? ????? ??? ? ?? ????? ????? ????????? -: " ?? ???? ?????? ??????? ??????? ???????. ???????? ????????? ???? ??? ???? ?????? ?? ?? ???? ?????? ???? ???? ????? ????? ?????? ????????? ????????? ????? ?????????? ???? ?????????" ??? ????? ??? ??????? ?? ??? ?? ???? ??? ??? ???? ???? ??????????? ??? ??? ???? ? ? ? ?????? ?????? : ???? ??????? : " ?? ???? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ????? ?? ?????? ?? ??? ???? ???? ??????? ? ???? ??? ??????? ?? ??? ???? ? ??? ???? ??? ?? ????? ????? ?? ??? ???? ????? ?? ???? ??????? "? ??? ??? ?? ????? ??? ???? ??? ???? ????? ??? ???? ???? ? ?? ????? ????? ????????? - : " ??? ??? ????? ??? ???????? ?? ?????? ??????? ??????? ????? ?? ????? ?????? ???? ??????? ?? ???? ???????? ??????? ?? ???? ???? ?? ???? ??????? ???. ???? ???? ???? ?? ????? ??? ???????" ??? ??? ??????? ??? ???? ?????? ?? ???????? ???? ??? ???????? ??? ??????? ??? ???? ??? ??? ??? ??? ????? ??? ???? ????? ???????? ?? ???? ???? ?????? ? ???? ?????? ??? ??? ?? ???? ???. ? ? ?????? ?????? : ??? ??????? ??? ????? ??? ??? ???????? ???? ??????? ????? ????? ??????? ????? ??????? ?? ???????? ??????? ???? : " ???? ????? ???????? ???? ??? ?? ????? ??? ????? ?? ??????? ?? ???? ????? ?????? ? ??? ?? ?????? ?? ??? ????? ???? ??? ?? ?? ????? ?? ???? ?? ???? ????? ? ??????? ?? ????? ??????? ???? ?????? ??????? ???? ???????? ??? ????? " ????? ?? ????? ? ????? ????????? ? " ??? ????? ???? ? ???? ???????? - ???? ????? ????? ??? ?????? ???? ??? ??? ???? ??? ???? ????? ?? ????? ?? ????? ????? ????? ?? ??? ?????? ?? ?? ???? ????? ? ??? ??????? ?? ?????? ?????? ??????" . ??? ??? ??? ?? ????? ??????? ??? ?? ???????? ?? ??????? ?????????? ???? ?? ???? ????? ???????? ?? ???? ??? ??? ?? ??? ???????? ?? ?? ??????? ???? ????? ??????? ??? ???????? ?????? ??????? ?? ??????? ???? " ??????" ? ?? ??? ???? ??? ??? ????????? ???? ??? ????? ???????? ??????? ?? ?????? ??????? { ??????? ??? ????? ?? ???? ?? ?????? } { ??? ???? ??? ???? ??????? ????? ????? ????????? ???? } ???????? ?? ??????? ???? ?? ????? ??? ????? ????? ????? ?? ??? ???? ??????. ????? ??? ????? ???? ?? ?????? ?? ?? ????? ??????-1/8/1994] ??? ????: "???? ???? ???????? ????? ????? ??? ???? ??? ?? ???? ???? ??? ?????? ??????? ??? ????. ???? ????? ??? ?????? ??????? ?? ????????? ????? ??? ???? ?????" ????? ???? ????? ???????: "?? ???? ?? ?????? ??? ?? ?????? ???? ????????? ??? ???? ???????? ??????? ?????: "???. ???. ? ???????? ???? ??? ??????? ??? ?????? ?????? ?? ??? ??? ??? ???. ???? ?? ?? ????? ???? ??????? ???? ?? ???? ?????? ???????...?? ???? ??????? ????????? ?? ???? ?? ??? ????? ???? ? ????. ???? ?? ???? ????? ???? ??????? ????????? ". ??? ??? ?? ?????? ??????? ???? ???? ?? ??????? ?? ???? ????? ????? ??? ????? ????? ?? ???? "???????" ???? "???????" ??????? ???? ???? ???? ????? ??????? ???? ?????? ?? ????? ??? ??? ????? ???? ?????? ???????? ???????? ?????? ???????? ????? ???????? ??? ?? ??? ?????? ?? ?????? ??? ????? ???????? ??? ???? ???? ?? ???? ????? ?? ????? " ???????" ????????. 2 ? ????? ??????? ??????? ?? ??????? : ?????? ??????? ?? ?????? ?????? ??? ????? ??????? ????????? ?? ???????? ??? ????? ??? ?? ????? " ?????? ??????? " ? " ?????? ?????? " ? " ????????? ?????? " ? " ???????? ???? "? ?????? ???? ????? ??? ??????? ??? ???? ?? ????? - ??????? ?????? - " ??? ?? ???? ???? ????? ???????? ?????? ???? ??????? ???????" ????? ?? ????? ? ?? ????? ?????? ????????? -: " ????? ?? ???????? ???? ???? ???? ? ??? ?????? ??????? ??????? ???????"? ????? ????? ??? ???: ? - ??????? : ???? ??????? ?? ???? ???????? ?? ????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ????????? ?????? ????? ?????? ??? ????? " ???????" ?? ?????? ??????? ???? ???? ?? ??? ????????? ??????? ????? ??? ???? ?????? ??? ???? : " ???? ??????? ???? ???? ????? ????? ???????? ? ????? ???? ????? ??? ?? ???? ???? ?????? ?????? ??? ??? ???? ????? ?? ??????? ??????? ? ?? ????? ???? ?????? ?????? ?? ???????? ? ????? ?????? ?? ????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ???? ???? ?? ???????? ? ??????? ?? ?? ???? ??????? ??? ??????? ??? ???? ??????? " ????? ????? : " ???? ?? ??? ??? ??????? ??????? ???? ???? ??? ?? ????? ???? ??????? ??????? ? ??? ???? ??????? ? ????? ???? ?? ????? ???? ????? ???????? ? ????? ????? ????? ??????? ?? ????? ?????? ? ????? ????? ?????? ???? ????? ?? ???? ??????? ?? ??????? 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        http://alasr.ws/index.cfm?method=home.con&contentid=7835   http://www.isslah.net/modules/news/article.php?storyid=3151   _________________________________________________ ???? ??? ????? ??????... ??? ???? ?????? ??? ??? ??? ????? ?????? ???????!! http://www.maktoob.com/fashion -------------- section suivante -------------- Une pièce jointe HTML a été nettoyée... URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060601/47b4a9dc/attachment-0001.htm From mauritanienet at gmail.com Thu Jun 1 14:21:51 2006 From: mauritanienet at gmail.com (News-Bulletin de M-Net) Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2006 00:21:51 +0300 Subject: [M-net] =?windows-1252?q?Mauritanie=3AL=92or_noir_dope_la_croissa?= =?windows-1252?q?nce?= Message-ID: ----- Le News-Bulletin de Mauritanie-Net, vous informe sur les actualites de la Mauritanie email de la rédaction : mauritanienet at gmail.com ----- MAURITANIE L'or noir dope la croissance http://www.nouvelhorizon-senegal.com/detail_articles.php?id=64505&idrub=94&cat=ECONOMIE%20&%20DEVELOPPEMENT L'année 2006 ne sera pas comme celles qui l'ont précédé pour la République Islamique de Mauritanie au plan économique. Le pétrole découvert à Chinguetti, en 2001, et dont l'exploitation a commencé cette année laisse penser que la croissance économique de ce pays va connaître un bond très significatif. En effet, selon des informations tirées d'une étude commandée par l'Organisation pour la coopération et le développement économique (OCDE), une croissance économique de 26,9 % devrait être enregistrée cette année. Dans cette étude rendue publique le week-end dernier à Paris et intitulée « Perspectives économiques en Afrique 2005-2006 », on explique la progression spectaculaire de la croissance économique en Mauritanie par le début des exportations du pétrole. Ce début de l'exportation du pétrole mauritanien coïncide avec une période de hausse des prix du baril de l'or noir qui ne peut qu'être profitable à ce pays. Ainsi, ce sont plusieurs milliards qui vont entrer dans les caisses de l'Etat. Mieux, la production journalière qui est à l'heure actuelle de 75 mille barils pourrait être multipliée par quatre dans les prochains mois. La Mauritanie est donc bien partie pour devenir, sous peu, un vrai Eldorado. ===== INFORMATION : Les articles sélectionnés pour cette revue de ­presse ne reflètent pas nécessairement l'opinion du comite de gestion de Mauritanie-Net. Nous ne nous portons pas garant de la véracité ­et de l'objectivité des informations publiées dans ces articles ­qui engagent la responsabilité des seuls auteurs. Nous vous prio­ns de bien vouloir en tenir compte. Merci. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060602/12ff3566/attachment.htm From mauritanienet at gmail.com Thu Jun 1 14:27:07 2006 From: mauritanienet at gmail.com (News-Bulletin de M-Net) Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2006 00:27:07 +0300 Subject: [M-net] Point de vue de HASSENA OULD ELY Message-ID: ----- Le News-Bulletin de Mauritanie-Net, vous informe sur les actualites de la Mauritanie email de la rédaction : mauritanienet at gmail.com ----- *Point de vue - Par HASSENA OULD ELY* http://www.akhbarnouakchott.com/imagesprg/zeit_221_1.pdf Que savait-on de la Mauritanie depuis le départ de Ould Taya ? Rien, ou si peu de choses. Une fois le dictateur parti, certains ténors du PRDS désarmés, les malheurs de la médiocrité écartés, ce pays qui habita ma conscience durant quinze ans fut rayé de ma carte mentale. Plus de dictateur, plus de nouvelles. Une transformation en profondeur de ce pays était pourtant à l'oeuvre durant toutes ces dernières années, alchimie secrète et complexe où se mélangèrent la prise de conscience de certains responsables de l'urgence d'un changement politique et éthique dans ce pays et l'arrivée à l'âge adulte d'une génération qui ne connut que la dictature et rêvait de liberté et de révolution sociale. De cette alliance, à elle-même inconnue, naquit ce mouvement extraordinaire qui vit les rues de Nouakchott submergées de drapeaux mauritaniens et d'appels à une Mauritanie démocratique et souveraine. Fin d'été éphémère, illusoire unité, personne ne saurait dire aujourd'hui quel sera l'avenir de ce pays. Mais à ceux qui n'y verraient qu'un opportunisme politique doublé d'un aveuglement partisan et indifférent à l'égard d'une partie de la nation mauritanienne, en l'occurrence, la communauté négroafricaine, il suffirait d'adresser le texte de " *la déclaration de Dakar* ", rédigé à plusieurs mains, signé par plusieurs personnes d'appartenance différente et paru en août 2005 dernier. Ce texte, pouvait-on deviner, s'adresse à tous les mauritaniens, hommes et femmes, jeunes et vieux, résidentiels et émigrés pour engager avec eux un dialogue et parvenir à lancer une nouvelle dynamique pour jeter les bases d'une autre Mauritanie. De cet engagement au dialogue, nous voudrions être partie prenante, modestement mais résolument. HASSENA OULD ELY Professeur d'économie Le Mans - France ===== INFORMATION : Les articles sélectionnés pour cette revue de ­presse ne reflètent pas nécessairement l'opinion du comite de gestion de Mauritanie-Net. Nous ne nous portons pas garant de la véracité ­et de l'objectivité des informations publiées dans ces articles ­qui engagent la responsabilité des seuls auteurs. Nous vous prio­ns de bien vouloir en tenir compte. Merci. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060602/71664b6d/attachment.htm From mmsdiallo at hotmail.com Thu Jun 1 19:30:38 2006 From: mmsdiallo at hotmail.com (mamadou sanou diallo) Date: Fri, 02 Jun 2006 02:30:38 +0000 Subject: [M-net] Africa is losing its most valuable people to HIV/AID, to war, to the see... Message-ID: An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060602/d102f974/attachment.htm From info at tunisiait.com Fri Jun 2 00:36:18 2006 From: info at tunisiait.com (TUNISIA IT) Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2006 08:36:18 +0100 Subject: NEWSLETTER N°99 DU 01 JUIN 2006 Message-ID: <200606020636.k526aS6b001651@tounes-27.ati.tn> Une pièce jointe HTML a été nettoyée... URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060602/48d7a553/attachment-0001.htm From lemoderateur at gmail.com Fri Jun 2 03:29:07 2006 From: lemoderateur at gmail.com (=?ISO-8859-1?Q?Le_Mod=E9rateur_De_Mauritanie-net?=) Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2006 13:29:07 +0300 Subject: [M-net] =?windows-1252?q?Banque_Mondiale=3ALa_Mauritanie_b=E9n=E9?= =?windows-1252?q?ficie_de_10_millions_de_dollars_pour_la_r=E9forme?= =?windows-1252?q?_du_secteur_de_la_sant=E9?= Message-ID: <9e1503ca0606020329x29e78216hf9057b0e8c685e80@mail.gmail.com> La Mauritanie bénéficie de 10 millions de dollars pour la réforme du secteur de la santé *Press Release No:*2006/436/AFR *Contacts* *À Washington* : Aby Toure, (202) 473 8302 akonate at worldbank.org *En Mauritanie*: Ba Abdoulaye, Oumar (222) 525 1017 babdoulaye at worldbank.org *WASHINGTONG, le 1er juin 2006* ? Le Conseil des Administrateurs de la Banque mondiale a approuvé aujourd'hui l'octroi d'un crédit de l'Association internationale de développement (IDA) d'un montant équivalent à 10 millions de dollars à l'effet d'aider le Gouvernement mauritanien dans la mise en ?uvre du volet développement des ressources humaines de sa stratégie de réduction de la pauvreté. L'objectif général du Projet d'appui à la santé et à la nutrition consiste à renforcer le système sanitaire et la capacité de ce dernier à améliorer l'état sanitaire et nutritionnel des populations, notamment les femmes, les enfants et les pauvres. Le projet contribuera à développer les ressources humaines dans le secteur de la santé par le soutien à la formation et le renforcement de la gestion des personnels de santé. Il s'intéressera également au financement adéquat du secteur sanitaire et au respect de l'équité dans l'affectation des ressources aux zones pauvres et mal desservies. Il permettra de renforcer les mesures visant à garantir l'accessibilité financière des services de santé et en accroître l'utilisation par les couches les plus pauvres et vulnérables. Enfin, il contribuera à élargir l'accès aux services de santé de qualité et à moindre coût dans les zones mal desservies, promouvoir et développer des systèmes de communication à assise communautaire afin d'améliorer l'état nutritionnel. *« Le Projet d'appui à la santé et à la nutrition soutiendra la mise en ?uvre de la Politique nationale d'action sanitaire et sociale 2005-2015 (NHSAP) et la Politique nationale de développement de la nutrition (NNDP). L'assistance de la Banque à la Mauritanie est donc essentielle pour promouvoir le progrès dans les domaines de la santé et de la nutrition et poursuivre les efforts visant à offrir des services équitables aux populations mal desservies* », a déclaré *Astrid Helgeland-Lawson, le chef d'équipe du projet de la Banque mondiale.* *« Nous maintiendrons l'accent sur la prévention, notamment les changements de comportement, qui permettent d'obtenir des améliorations dans les domaines de la santé et de la nutrition. Le projet va également permettre d'accroître la participation communautaire afin d'amener les prestataires de soins de santé à mieux satisfaire les besoins des populations »*, a ajouté * Helgeland-Lawson* * Le crédit sera accordé aux conditions habituelles de l'Association internationale de développement (IDA). Accordé pour 40 ans, dont un différé d'amortissement de 10 ans, ce crédit est assorti d'une commission d'engagement de 0,35 % et d'une commission de service de 0, 75 %. ### Pour plus d'information sur les activités de la Banque mondiale en Afrique subsaharienne, rendez-vous sur le site www.worldbank.org/afr Pour plus d'informations sur les activités de la Banque mondiale en Mauritanie, rendez-vous sur le site www.worldbank.org/mr Pour plus d'informations sur le projet, rendez-vous sur le site http://web.worldbank.org/external/projects/main?pagePK=64283627&piPK=73230&theSitePK=40941&menuPK=362374&Projectid=P094278 ===== Pour consulter votre groupe en ligne, accédez à : http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mauritanie-net/ Pour plus des information, envoyez un mail à : m-net-owner at mauritanie-net.com ou lemoderateur at gmail.com -------------- section suivante -------------- Une pièce jointe HTML a été nettoyée... URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060602/f7969b68/attachment.htm From ufpweb2 at yahoo.fr Fri Jun 2 04:23:28 2006 From: ufpweb2 at yahoo.fr (UFP) Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2006 13:23:28 +0200 (CEST) Subject: [M-net] Entretiens avec l'Afp de Moustapha Niass Message-ID: <20060602112328.3645.qmail@web26507.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> vendredi 02 juin 2006 : Madieyna Diouf, Secrétaire général adjoint de l’Alliance des Forces de Progrès, le parti de Moustafa Niasse, reçoit le 1er vice président de l'Ufp, Bâ Boubakar Moussa. http://ufpweb.org/vieduparti/relations/sen.htm _____________________________________________ Nouveaux : les forums du site : http://forums.ufpweb.org Bonne lecture Visitez http://ufpweb.org (Français) http://ar.ufpweb.org (Arabe) http://pulaar.ufpweb.org (Pulaar) http://congres.ufpweb.org (2e congrès ordinaire de l'Ufp) Pour toute question concernat le site de l'Ufp, écrire à : admin at ufpweb.org ou ufpweb2 at yahoo.fr Contacter la permance de l'Ufp : 00 222 529 32 66 / 00 222 660 26 23 _________________________________________________ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060602/aa51cc2e/attachment.htm From ufpweb2 at yahoo.fr Fri Jun 2 04:23:28 2006 From: ufpweb2 at yahoo.fr (UFP) Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2006 13:23:28 +0200 (CEST) Subject: [M-net] Entretiens avec l'Afp de Moustapha Niass Message-ID: <20060602112328.3645.qmail@web26507.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> vendredi 02 juin 2006 : Madieyna Diouf, Secrétaire général adjoint de l’Alliance des Forces de Progrès, le parti de Moustafa Niasse, reçoit le 1er vice président de l'Ufp, Bâ Boubakar Moussa. http://ufpweb.org/vieduparti/relations/sen.htm _____________________________________________ Nouveaux : les forums du site : http://forums.ufpweb.org Bonne lecture Visitez http://ufpweb.org (Français) http://ar.ufpweb.org (Arabe) http://pulaar.ufpweb.org (Pulaar) http://congres.ufpweb.org (2e congrès ordinaire de l'Ufp) Pour toute question concernat le site de l'Ufp, écrire à : admin at ufpweb.org ou ufpweb2 at yahoo.fr Contacter la permance de l'Ufp : 00 222 529 32 66 / 00 222 660 26 23 _________________________________________________ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060602/aa51cc2e/attachment-0001.htm From mohamedouldelkory at yahoo.fr Fri Jun 2 07:18:07 2006 From: mohamedouldelkory at yahoo.fr (ouldelkory mohamed) Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2006 16:18:07 +0200 (CEST) Subject: [M-net] =?iso-8859-1?q?_Nos_banques_et_le_cr=E9dit?= Message-ID: <20060602141807.85427.qmail@web25408.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> NOS BANQUES ET LE CREDIT Après l'échec de leurs négociations avec la Banque Mauritanienne pour le Commerce International (BMCI), les Marocains de la Banque Centrale Populaire (la première banque du Maroc) ont demandé aux autorités monétaires mauritaniennes un récipissé d'autorisation pour l'exploitation d'une banque commerciale dans notre pays.La BEI a déjà ouvert ses services et la Banque Nationale de Paris( BNP) est sur le point de le faire. Cette prolifération des banques pose problème après plus de deux décades d'ajustement structurel: il n'existe désormais plus de banques de développement pour financer l'économie. Avec la mise en place d'une nouvelle loi bancaire et la libéralisation du marché des devises, tout concordait à ce qu'une solution soit trouvée à ce problème de crédits. Mais c'était sans compter sur la gourmandise sans limite des commerçants qui sont devenus en même temps banquiers et investisseurs. Tout le monde a encore en mémoire comment la Banque Nationale de Mauritanie (BNM; née de la fusion entre la BIMA et la SMB) a été cédée à Abdellahi Ould Noueïged. Ce dernier estima à plus de huit milliards d'Ouguiya les créances irrécouvrables et sa banque s'est vue recapitalisée par l'Etat à hauteur de cette somme. En acquérant cette banque, Abdellahi Ould Noueïged s'est "engagé à financer l'économie". Tout au plus, cette concentration de capitaux a renforcé des monopoles qui ne disent pas leur nom. Avec plus de huit banques concentrées dans un petit périmètre à Nouakchott (BNM, BMCI, CHINGUITTY BANK, GBM, BADH, BAMIS, CREDIT AGRICOLE, BCI, MAURITANIE-LEASING, BACIM-BANK) pour une population de 2,6 millions d'habitants, notre pays a incontestablement l'un des taux les plus élevés de la sous-région ouest-africaine tandis que l'air du temps dicte les fusions et les regroupements pour se faire une petite place sur l'échiquier de la mondialisation. DES CHIFFRES ET DES BANQUES SANS CREDIT A la direction du contrôle des banques à la Banque Centrale de Mauritanie (BCM), on préfère parler de la "bonne santé de nos banques primaires(...) De 1985 à 1997, la masse monétaire gérée par notre système bancaire est passée de treize milliards six cents trente-quatre millions d'Ouguiya à vingt-quatre milliards quatre cents soixante-douze millions d'Ouguiya. Et la contribution des banques au financement de l'économie au cours de la même période a bondi de seize milliards cinquante-sept millions d'Ouguiya à quarante-sept milliards cent quatre-vingt millions d'Ouguiya''. A la même direction du contrôle des banques, on loue particulièrement "l'excellent travail fait par la Générale des Banques de Mauritanie (GBM) pour financer l'économie". Mais quels que soient les chiffres avancés par la BCM, on semble aujourd'hui évoluer vers une situation où les banques ne font pas de crédit. Même avec des taux d'intérêt prohibitifs allant de 22 à 30 %, les banques mauritaniennes refusent de financer l'économie. Ould Noueïged (BNM), Chrif Ould Abdallahi (BAMIS), Ould Abass (BMCI) ou Ould Tajeddine (BCI) ne financent que les propres ramifications de leur groupe respectif. Chacun a compris que grâce à la libéralisation, la banque est un élément clé de la stratégie d'implantation des groupes financiers. Il faut savoir financer ses propres activités sans trop dépendre des autres surtout que le marché financier n'est pas organisé. A titre d'exemple, le banquier Noueïged fait de l'import-export (Ets Abdellahi Ould Noueïged), du bâtiment (ERB), de la pêche (COFFRIMA et SIPECO), de l'aviation (Air Mauritanie), des télécommunications (MAURITEL), de l'industrie (CIMENT DE MAURITANIE, SOMAURAL, EAU MINERALE EL AVION, SAVONS, BISCUITERIE...), des hydrocarbures (ATLAS), de l'importation des voitures (SOMAREM- MERCEDES BENZ)... Ce monopole à lui seul en dit long sur les opportunités pour le crédit. Avec des taux d'intérêt élevés et des banques sous-capitalisées cherchant à tout prix à limiter les risques, le crédit a donc connu une évolution excessivement lente par rapport aux besoins réels de l'économie mauritanienne. MOHAMED OULD EL KORY DIRECTEUR DU JOURNAL "INIMISH AL-WATAN" __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? En finir avec le spam? Yahoo! Mail vous offre la meilleure protection possible contre les messages non sollicités http://mail.yahoo.fr Yahoo! Mail -------------- section suivante -------------- Une pièce jointe HTML a été nettoyée... URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060602/f4952874/attachment-0001.htm From mauritanienet at gmail.com Fri Jun 2 08:00:27 2006 From: mauritanienet at gmail.com (News-Bulletin de M-Net) Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2006 18:00:27 +0300 Subject: [M-net] Coup de filet dans les milieux islamistes en Mauritanie Message-ID: ----- Le News-Bulletin de Mauritanie-Net, vous informe sur les actualites de la Mauritanie email de la rédaction : mauritanienet at gmail.com ----- *Coup de filet dans les milieux islamistes en Mauritanie* [image: pix] vendredi 02 juin 2006 (Reuters - 16:08) [image: pix] NOUAKCHOTT - Les services de sécurité mauritaniens ont interpellé plusieurs dizaines de membres présumés et de partisans du GSPC, groupe rebelle islamiste lié à Al Qaïda, qui préparaient des attentats, a-t-on appris vendredi de source proche des services de sécurité mauritaniens. Les arrestations sont intervenues lors d'une chasse à l'homme lancée pour retrouver trois membres présumés du Groupe salafiste pour la prédication et le combat, basé en Algérie, qui s'étaient échappés d'une prison de Nouakchott, la capitale mauritanienne, le 27 avril. Au moins deux des personnes arrêtées sont soupçonnées d'avoir tué 15 soldats mauritaniens lors d'une attaque menée en juin 2005 contre un poste militaire isolé, tandis qu'un autre est accusé d'appartenance à une cellule d'Al Qaïda à Barcelone, ajoute-t-on de même source. Le journal mauritanien El Alam rapporte vendredi que trois personnes arrêtées cette semaine ont avoué avoir collaboré avec le GSPC, et l'un d'eux a dit avoir participé aux attentats du 11 mars 2004 dans les gares madrilènes, ainsi qu'aux attentats de l'été 1998 contre les ambassades des Etats-Unis au Kenya et en Tanzanie. "Les trois Mauritaniens ont avoué qu'ils étaient sous les ordres de Mokhtar Belmokhtar (un membre éminent du GSPC), et que l'un d'eux avait pris part aux attentats de Madrid et à l'attentat contre l'ambassade des Etats-Unis à Nairobi", écrit El Alam. ===== INFORMATION : Les articles sélectionnés pour cette revue de ­presse ne reflètent pas nécessairement l'opinion du comite de gestion de Mauritanie-Net. Nous ne nous portons pas garant de la véracité ­et de l'objectivité des informations publiées dans ces articles ­qui engagent la responsabilité des seuls auteurs. Nous vous prio­ns de bien vouloir en tenir compte. Merci. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060602/d9ca27d9/attachment.htm From IRIN at irinnews.org Fri Jun 2 08:42:05 2006 From: IRIN at irinnews.org (IRIN) Date: Fri, 02 Jun 2006 15:42:05 GMT Subject: WEST AFRICA: IRIN-WA Weekly Round-up 332 covering 27 May – 2 June 2006 Message-ID: <20060206.154205.4eac6d75@irinnews.org> U N I T E D N A T I O N S Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Integrated Regional Information Network WEST AFRICA: IRIN-WA Weekly Round-up 332 covering 27 May – 2 June 2006 CONTENTS: SENEGAL: For out-of-work fishermen, migration offers hope and ready cash SENEGAL: Migrant repatriations halted after mistreatment claims COTE D IVOIRE: Hundreds given Ivorian ID in scheme’s trial run CHAD: Deby win confirmed, but revised down to 64.67 pct GUINEA-BISSAU: Thirst for education stifled by poverty SENEGAL: For out-of-work fishermen, migration offers hope and ready cash In this busy fishing port south of the Senegalese capital, the talk is all about the lack of fish and cash and the fortunes waiting to be made in the murky waters of illegal migration. Mbour, a bustling smelly town 80 kilometres south of Dakar, lies a bare 1,500 kilometres – just a few days’ boat-ride away - from Spain’s Canary Islands, believed to be the Atlantic ocean gateway to a life of plenty in Europe, for those who make it across the seas. The long wooden boats painted in bright blues and yellows and reds that ferry growing numbers of would-be migrants from Senegal’s beaches to the high seas, are called “Mbeukk-mi”, or wave-crashers in Woloff, and are crafted here and elsewhere along the Senegalese shoreline. http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=53626&SelectRegion=West_Africa&SelectCountry=SENEGAL SENEGAL: Migrant repatriations halted after mistreatment claims Senegal on Thursday called a halt to the repatriation of illegal migrants back home from the Spanish Canary Islands after first returnees claim mistreatment. A total of 99 Senegalese migrants were flown home from the Spanish archipelago in the early hours of Thursday, shortly after Spain’s Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Bernardino Leon announced in Dakar that Madrid planned to repatriate 600-700 illegal Senegalese migrants in the following days. Those flown home in the first plane however said they had been mistreated, had not been told they were being taken home and that some had been handcuffed. http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=53652&SelectRegion=West_Africa&SelectCountry=SENEGAL COTE D IVOIRE: Hundreds given Ivorian ID in scheme’s trial run Mariam Diomande stood patiently clutching her application papers for a nationality document as she lined up with dozens of other young women in the sun-baked courtyard of the local town hall. Diomande, a 19-year-old water vendor, is illiterate and has never left Abidjan since her mother handed her over to an aunt at the age of three. To get around the city, she takes one of the overcrowded Sotra state-owned buses that ferry thousands of poor commuters between neighbourhoods. Like tens of thousands of Ivorians, Diomande has no birth certificate and thus no identity papers. Taking a shared taxi or travelling outside the city is not an option. "I’d end up paying a lot of money and that's difficult," she said, referring to the omnipresent roadblocks in this conflict-divided nation, where rebels and security forces alike demand money from drivers and passengers. "But when you take the bus, nobody ever asks for your papers." http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=53601&SelectRegion=West_Africa&SelectCountry=COTE_D_IVOIRE CHAD: Deby win confirmed, but revised down to 64.67 pct Hundreds of people spilled onto the streets in this Chad town on Monday and cars honked their horns in celebration after the constitutional council confirmed Idriss Deby’s victory in presidential elections early this month. Deby won a third successive five-year mandate with 64.67 percent of the vote, the council said, which although a substantial majority, was below the provisional victory figure of 77.6 percent initially released by the country’s national election commission. Likewise the council revised turnout down to 53.08 percent, in comparison with the commission’s earlier estimate of 60 percent. Opposition parties had called on the country’s 5.8 million voters to boycott the 3 May vote. http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=53580&SelectRegion=West_Africa&SelectCountry=CHAD GUINEA-BISSAU: Thirst for education stifled by poverty In this farming village in Guinea Bissau, many of the children haul their own seats to school in the morning, teachers turn up carrying the blackboards. State schooling at primary level is free in this tiny West African former Portuguese colony, but the aftershocks of a civil war and lack of funds mean there aren’t enough schools or teachers to provide every child with an education. So in Kampada Namoante village, some 30 km east of the northern town of Sao Domingos, cashew nut farmers, many of them illiterate, took matters into their own hands five years ago. Already struggling to fill their children’s bellies with food, they clubbed together their few resources and built their own community school and appointed their own teachers. http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=53670&SelectRegion=West_Africa&SelectCountry=GUINEA-BISSAU [ENDS] This is non-reply e-mail. Please do not hesitate to contact us at Mail at IRINnews.org. IRIN-WA Tel:+221 867.27.30 Fax: +221 867.25.85 Email: IRINWA at IRINnews.org Principal donors: IRIN is generously supported by Australia, Canada, Denmark, ECHO, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. For more information, go to: http://www.IRINnews.org/donors [This item comes to you via IRIN, a UN humanitarian news and information service, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. All IRIN material may be reposted or reprinted free-of-charge; refer to the copyright page (Http://www.irinnews.org/copyright ) for conditions of use. IRIN is a project of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.] To make changes to or cancel your subscription visit: http://www.irinnews.org/subscriptions/subslogin.asp Subscriber: m-net at mauritanie-net.com Keyword: West Africa From weddady at yahoo.com Fri Jun 2 11:31:04 2006 From: weddady at yahoo.com (Nasser Weddady) Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2006 11:31:04 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [M-net] Lecture recommandee:The Missionary Position Message-ID: <20060602183104.45630.qmail@web82413.mail.mud.yahoo.com> The Missionary Position by LAILA LALAMI [from the June 19, 2006 issue] http://www.thenation.com/docprint.mhtml?i=20060619&s=lalami These days, being a Muslim woman means being saddled with what can only be referred to as the "burden of pity." The feelings of compassion that we Muslim women seem to inspire emanate from very distinct and radically opposed currents: religious extremists of our own faith, and evangelical and secular supporters of empire in the West. Radical Islamist parties claim that the family is the cornerstone of society and that women, by virtue of their reproductive powers, are its builders. An overhaul of society must therefore begin with reforming the status of women, and in particular with distinguishing clearly their roles from those of men. Guided by their "true" interpretations of the faith, these radicals want women to resume their traditional roles of nurturers and men to be empowered to lead the family. If we protect women's rights in Islam, they assure us, the umma, the community of believers, will be lifted from its general state of poverty and backwardness. Sayyid Qutb (1906-66), the Egyptian writer and activist who has exerted such a powerful influence over the radical Islamist movement, fervently believed that Muslim women belonged in the home. In his 1964 book Ma'alim fi al-Tariq (Milestones), Qutb wrote that "if woman is freed from her basic responsibility of bringing up children" and, whether on her own or by pressure from society, seeks to work in jobs such as "a hostess or a stewardess in a hotel or ship or air company," she will be "using her ability for material productivity rather than the training of human beings." This, he claimed, would make the entire civilization "backward." The misogynistic philosophy has proved enticing, finding advocates among Muslims throughout the world. Between 1989 and 1991, for instance, Abbassi Madani, the red-bearded founder of the Algerian Islamic Salvation Front Party (FIS), often referred to women who refused to cover themselves with a hijab as "sparrow hawks of neocolonialism." His co-founder, Ali Belhadj, claimed that there was a simple solution to the country's high unemployment rate: turn over the jobs of working women to idle men. Madani summarized his program: "The system is sick; the doctor is FIS; and the medicine has existed for fourteen centuries. It is Islam." Reducing Algerian women to birds of prey, and their faith to a pill: These are good indicators of the depth of intellect within the leadership of the FIS. Meanwhile, the abundant pity that Muslim women inspire in the West largely takes the form of impassioned declarations about "our plight"--reserved, it would seem, for us, as Christian and Jewish women living in similarly constricting fundamentalist settings never seem to attract the same concern. The veil, illiteracy, domestic violence, gender apartheid and genital mutilation have become so many hot-button issues that symbolize our status as second-class citizens in our societies. These expressions of compassion are often met with cynical responses in the Muslim world, which further enrages the missionaries of women's liberation. Why, they wonder, do Muslim women not seek out the West's help in freeing themselves from their societies' retrograde thinking? The poor things, they are so oppressed they do not even know they are oppressed. The sympathy extended to us by Western supporters of empire is nothing new. In 1908 Lord Cromer, the British consul general in Egypt, declared that "the fatal obstacle" to the country's "attainment of that elevation of thought and character which should accompany the introduction of Western civilization" was Islam's degradation of women. The fact that Cromer raised school fees and discouraged the training of women doctors in Egypt, and in England founded an organization that opposed the right of British women to suffrage, should give us a hint of what his views on gender roles were really like. Little seems to have changed in the past century, for now we have George W. Bush, leader of the free world, telling us, before invading Afghanistan in 2001, that he was doing it as much to free the country's women as to hunt down Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar. Five years later, the Taliban is making a serious comeback, and the country's new Constitution prohibits any laws that are contrary to an austere interpretation of Sharia. Furthermore, among the twenty-odd reasons that were foisted on the American public to justify the invasion of Iraq in 2003 was, of course, the subjugation of women; this, despite the fact that the majority of Iraqi women were educated and active in nearly all sectors of a secular public life. Three years into the occupation, the only enlightened aspect of Saddam's despotic rule has been dismantled: Facing threats from a resurgent fundamentalism, both Sunni and Shiite, many women have been forced to quit their jobs and to cover because not to do so puts them in harm's way. Why Mr. Bush does not advocate for the women of Thailand, the women of Botswana or the women of Nepal is anyone's guess. This context--competing yet hypocritical sympathies for Muslim women--helps to explain the strong popularity, particularly in the post-September 11 era, of Muslim women activists like Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Irshad Manji and the equally strong skepticism with which they are met within the broad Muslim community. These activists are passionate and no doubt sincere in their criticism of Islam. But are their claims unique and innovative, or are they mostly unremarkable? Are their conclusions borne out by empirical evidence, or do they fail to meet basic levels of scholarship? The casual reader would find it hard to answer these questions, because there is very little critical examination of their work. For the most part, the loudest responses have been either hagiographic profiles of these "brave" and "heroic" women, on the one hand, or absurd and completely abhorrent threats to the safety of these "apostates" and "enemies of God," on the other. Ayaan Hirsi Ali was born in Mogadishu, Somalia. Her father, Hirsi Magan Isse, was a prominent critic of the Siyad Barre regime, and the family had to flee the country, first to Saudi Arabia and then to Ethiopia and Kenya. When Hirsi Ali was 22, her father arranged a marriage for her with a distant relation. On a layover in Germany en route to Canada, where the man lived, Hirsi Ali escaped to the Netherlands, where she applied for and received asylum. She worked as an interpreter for Somali refugees and studied political science at the University of Leiden. Hirsi Ali first came into the public eye in 2002, with the publication of De Zoontjesfabriek (The Son Factory), whose vehement criticisms of Islam made her the subject of death threats. She joined a think tank affiliated with the social-democratic Labor Party but a year later switched membership to the right-wing VVD Party, which had invited her to run for a seat in Parliament. She won, and became a member of Parliament in January 2003. Hirsi Ali explained her shifting allegiance by saying that the VVD granted her greater ability to advocate for the rights of Muslim women. Then in 2004, she wrote the script to the short film Submission, which was directed by Theo van Gogh, a man who was known for his virulently anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim statements. That fall, van Gogh was slaughtered in Amsterdam, in broad daylight, by a Dutch man named Mohammed Bouyeri, whose parents had emigrated from Morocco. A letter left on van Gogh's body made it clear that Hirsi Ali was the next target. She immediately went into hiding and has needed heavy protection ever since. A few years ago, Hirsi Ali admitted to lying on her asylum application, but a Dutch TV documentary challenged her on other details of her life, including whether or not she was forced into marriage. The revelations sparked a row that culminated when Rita Verdonk, the Minister of Integration and a member of Hirsi Ali's own party, informed her that she could no longer consider herself a Dutch citizen. Although there has been no specific move to strip her of citizenship, Hirsi Ali has already announced that she is resigning from Parliament and moving to the United States, where she will take up a position at the right-wing American Enterprise Institute. Irshad Manji was born near Kampala, Uganda, into a Pakistani family. When the country's dictator, Idi Amin Dada, announced that the national economy was to be placed in the hands of black people, he forced the large and thriving South Asian minority out of the country. In 1972, when Manji was 4 years old, her family fled to Canada and settled there. She grew up in Vancouver, where she went to public school. In her free time, she attended Rose of Sharon Baptist Church, and later a conservative Islamic madrassa, from which she was expelled for asking too many pointed questions. She graduated from the University of British Columbia with a degree in intellectual history, and later worked as a speechwriter and broadcaster. Manji rose to prominence in 2004, when her controversial book The Trouble With Islam was published. She received death threats and lived under police protection for some time before deciding to forgo the bodyguards. "[If] I'm going to have legitimacy conveying to Muslims that we can dissent with the establishment and live, I can't have a big, burly fellow looking over my shoulder. I must lead by example," she wrote. She is currently a visiting fellow with the International Security Studies Program at Yale University. There are some striking parallels between the experiences of Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Irshad Manji. They were both born, only a year apart, in East Africa--Hirsi Ali in 1969, and Manji in 1968. Both were forced by politically repressive regimes into exile from their homelands at an early age. Both can trace their "emancipation" to a single, significant, life-changing event. Both credit the West for giving them not just freedom of speech but the very ability to think for themselves. Hirsi Ali states that she is "the living proof" that Western culture enabled her to come fully into her own, while Manji declares, "I owe the West my willingness to help reform Islam." Both women express an unabashed disdain for multiculturalism, which they accuse of fostering a climate of political correctness that prevents dialogue and useful criticism. Both supported the American invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq in the "war on terror." Finally, both women have recently published books in the United States. For Manji, it is The Trouble With Islam Today, a slightly expanded edition of her 2004 bestseller. (Manji explains in an afterword why the temporal specification was added to the title.) For Hirsi Ali it is The Caged Virgin: An Emancipation Proclamation for Women and Islam. The Caged Virgin is a collection of seventeen short essays and articles on the question of Islam, translated by Jane Brown. Hirsi Ali discusses the rights of individuals in Muslim countries and in Muslim communities in the West, she disagrees vehemently with the ways sacred texts invade secular space and she criticizes what she sees as the lax policies of Western European states toward their Muslim minorities. "I have taken an enormous risk by answering the call for self-reflection," she declares. "And what do the cultural experts say? 'You should have said it in a different way.' But since Theo van Gogh's death, I have been convinced more than ever that I must say it in my way only and have my criticism." Let us then follow Hirsi Ali's example, and look critically at her words. The overarching argument in The Caged Virgin is that there is insufficient freedom for the individual in Islam. This, Hirsi Ali argues, is because one of the fundamental tenets of the religion is the submission of the individual to God, which creates a strict hierarchy of allegiances. At the top of this hierarchy is God, then His Prophet, then the umma, then the clan or tribe and finally the family. The individual, she insists, is simply not valued. Whatever one thinks of this hierarchy, however, it is hardly unique to Islam; one can make the same argument about other monotheistic religions. Furthermore, many Muslim countries are in fact secular or military dictatorships (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Syria, Egypt), while others are to one extent or another theocracies (Saudi Arabia, Iran, Sudan). Religious hierarchy does not play the same societal role in Turkmenistan as in Saudi Arabia. On top of this, there are political, national and linguistic considerations to take into account, particularly when one is making claims about fifty-seven nations spread out across Asia and Africa. But Hirsi Ali addresses none of these. In her view, they simply do not matter. Rather, she sees Islam itself as the problem and its fundamental tenet of obstructing individual freedom as the very reason the Muslim world is "falling behind" the West. Beginning at birth, she maintains, the child is taught that his life must be governed by Islam, hatred for the infidel and the preservation of his honor through the control of women's sexuality. It is as if she were suggesting the existence of some sort of "genetic" encoding of Islam in children, which prevents them from thinking for themselves. "[We] Muslims have religion inculcated into us from birth, and that is one of the very reasons for our falling behind the West in technology, finance, health, and culture." "Every Muslim, from the beginnings of Islam to the present day, is raised in the belief that all knowledge can be found in the Koran." "For Muslim children the study of biology and history can be very confusing." Reading these lines, one must ask: What sociological evidence is there for this claim that Islam makes people inherently incapable of independent thought and of studying science? The answer is: None. One is merely given Hirsi Ali's assurances that she knows what is going on behind closed doors, based on her own experiences of growing up in Somalia and of working as an interpreter for Muslim immigrants in the Netherlands. The notion that there is a breach of individualism that is specific to Islam is raised again in Hirsi Ali's discussion of "sexual morality." In the book's opening piece, "Stand Up for Your Rights!" she writes about the continuing obsession with female virginity, which is widespread throughout the Muslim world and which, it must be acknowledged, causes no shortage of heartache. Girls who lose their virginity before marriage can sometimes face serious consequences in Muslim countries, particularly in rural areas. "I am distressed," she writes, "that the vast majority of Muslim women are still enchained by the doctrine of virginity, which requires that women enter marriage as green as grass: experience of love and sexuality before marriage is an absolute taboo. This taboo does not apply to men." Hirsi Ali is correct to say that the burden of virginity weighs disproportionately on females in Muslim cultures, though she fails to point out that the Koran emphasizes virginity and forbids both genders from having premarital sex. In this respect, the Koran is no different from the Bible. It is therefore a matter of cultural practice that the "doctrine of virginity" is still strong in the Muslim world. This lumping together of various Islams--the geographical region, the Abrahamic religion, the historical civilization and the many individual cultures--is symptomatic of the entire book, and makes it particularly difficult to engage with Hirsi Ali in a useful way. Her discussion of female genital mutilation (FGM) is a case in point. In at least six of the seventeen essays, she cites the horrendous practice of FGM, which involves excising, in whole or in part, young girls' inner or outer labia, and in severe cases even their clitorises. Hirsi Ali is aware that the practice predates Islam, but, she maintains, "these existing local practices were spread by Islam." According to the United Nations Population Fund, FGM is practiced in sub-Saharan Africa by Animists, Christians and Muslims alike, as well as by Ethiopian Jews, sometimes in collusion with individual representatives of the faiths. For instance, the US State Department report on FGM reveals that some Coptic Christian priests "refuse to baptize girls who have not undergone one of the procedures." And yet Hirsi Ali does not blame Animism, Christianity or Judaism for FGM, or accuse these belief systems of spreading it. With Islam, however, such accusations are acceptable. A few years ago, Hirsi Ali proposed a bill in the Dutch Parliament that would require young girls from immigrant communities to undergo a vaginal exam once a year as a way to insure that the parents do not practice FGM. The suggestion is all the more interesting when one considers that the vast majority of Muslim immigrants to the Netherlands are from Turkey and Morocco, where FGM is unheard of. But there is a personal reason for this passionate stance: When Hirsi Ali was 5 years old, her grandmother had the procedure performed on her, without her father's knowledge or approval. The experience marked Hirsi Ali profoundly, and the fervor and determination she brings to the fight against this horrifying practice are utterly laudable. By making inaccurate statements like the one quoted above, however, she muddies the issues and alienates the very people who would have the religious standing in the community to make this practice disappear. On more than a few occasions, Hirsi Ali makes baffling, blanket statements about women in Muslim countries. "[If] defloration occurs outside wedlock, [the girl] has dishonored her family to the tenth degree of kinship." Why not eleven? Or twelve? Where did the number ten come from? We are never told, and no source is adduced to support this claim. Not content with making inaccurate and sweeping claims about various cultures, Hirsi Ali also ventures into the field of literary criticism: "Alongside [religious textbooks] there are novels by Muslims about love, politics, and crime, in which the role of Islam and the Prophet Muhammad are studiously avoided, although the moral undercurrent is that one should observe religious precepts, otherwise things end very badly." It might come as news to Arab, African and Asian novelists of the Muslim persuasion that their fiction is merely an excuse to proselytize. Is the reader seriously expected to believe that the work of Orhan Pamuk promotes the observance of religion? Or that the texts of Assia Djebbar, Tahar Djaout, Tahar Ben Jelloun, Abdellatif Laabi, Kamal Ghitani, Nawal Al-Saadawi, Ahdaf Soueif, Alifa Rifaat, Abdulrazak Gurnah, Ghassan Kanafani, Nuruddin Farah, Tayeb Salih, Kateb Yacine, Mahmoud Darwish, Pramoedya Ananta Toer and Tariq Ali advocate religious morality? Along the same lines, Hirsi Ali seems to believe that Muslims are deficient in critical thought: "Very few Muslims are actually capable of looking at their faith critically. Critical minds like those of Afshin Ellian in the Netherlands and Salman Rushdie in England are exceptions." The work of Khaled Abou El Fadl, Fatima Mernissi, Leila Ahmed, Reza Aslan, Adonis, Amina Wadud, Nawal Saadawi, Mohja Kahf, Asra Nomani and the thousands of other scholars working in both Muslim countries and the West easily contradicts the notion. In any case, why the comparison with Rushdie? Have fatwas become the yardstick by which we measure criticism? If so, this suggests that the people who offend Islamists are the only ones worth listening to, which is ridiculous. The most shocking statement, however, comes from the essay "The Need for Self-Reflection Within Islam," in which Hirsi Ali writes: "After the events of 9/11, people who deny this characterization of the stagnant state of Islam were challenged by critical outsiders to name a single Muslim who had made a discovery in science or technology, or changed the world through artistic achievement. There is none." That a person who has apparently never heard of the algebra of Al-Khawarizmi, the medical prowess of Ibn-Sina and Ibn-Rushd, or the music of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Umm Kulthum is considered an authority on Islam is proof, if ever one was needed, of the utter lack of intelligent discourse about the civilization and the cultures broadly defined by that word. And how does the American press reward such stunningly ignorant scholarship? Time magazine picked Hirsi Ali as one of 100 "most influential people" of 2005, people with "the clout and power to change our world." At the other end of the spectrum, the answer is even more spectacularly stupid: Islamic radicals have called for Hirsi Ali's death repeatedly since 2002. Whatever the merits of Hirsi Ali's arguments, one thing is clear: By making threats against her person, right-wing Muslims appear to agree with Western conservatives that Islam as a whole (religion, region, culture) is weak, unable to defend itself by intellectual reasoning. It is also quite ironic that these radical Muslims are guilty of violating the first right their faith grants them: The right to choose their beliefs. "Let there be no compulsion in religion," the Koran insists. And for good reason, too, because without the right to choose (new) beliefs, there would have been no Islam in the first place. The argument that pervades The Caged Virgin--that Muslim women need Western advocates--is premised on two assumptions. The first is that Muslim women somehow cannot speak up for themselves--what Edward Said once called "the silence of the native." Hirsi Ali demonstrates this: "The [reason] I am determined to make my voice heard is that Muslim women are scarcely listened to, and they need a woman to speak out on their behalf." If, as the title of this book suggests, the Muslim woman is a virgin in a cage, then by definition she must be freed from the outside. Someone must break the lock so that the poor woman can finally step out and speak for herself. But Muslim women are not, nor have they ever been, silent. For example, a significant portion of hadith, the Prophet's sayings that form the basis of the Sunna, are attributed to his wife Aisha. Here is a sample hadith: "Narrated Aisha: The Prophet said, 'All drinks that produce intoxication are haram.'" But how did Aisha narrate this saying? Was it by sitting at home, in a cage, or by actively engaging with her community and teaching the hadith to the congregation? This tradition of engagement has continued, and Muslim women have made their marks in all fields--whether religion or science or medicine or literature. Over the past century, they have organized in groups dedicated to fight for the advancement of their rights. Even under the inhumane Taliban regime, the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan remained active, providing literacy courses and medical services to women and girls. That these women are thought to be invisible is a testament to the patriarchal systems--on either side--that want to protect them. But it cannot be a testament to their silence. The second premise of the argument is the critic's supposed authority as a "native informant," which alone, and without scholarly training, qualifies her to speak of the entire religion. Indeed, Hirsi Ali tells us, By our Western standards Muhammad is a perverse man. A tyrant. He is against freedom of expression. If you don't do as he says, you will end up in hell. That reminds me of those megalomaniacal rulers in the Middle East: Bin Laden, Khomeini, and Saddam. Are you surprised to find a Saddam Hussein? Muhammad is his example; Muhammad is an example to all Muslim men. Why do you think so many Islamic men use violence? You are shocked to hear me say these things, but like the majority of the native Dutch population, you overlook something: you forget where I am from. I used to be a Muslim; I know what I am talking about. In numerous passages of the book, however, Hirsi Ali demonstrates precisely that she doesn't know what she is talking about. Take her statement on abortion: "According to Islam, an extramarital pregnancy brings great shame on the family, but you can still redeem yourself in the eyes of Allah. Abortion, though, the killing of an innocent baby, is a deadly sin, for which there is no forgiveness." But abortion is not universally disallowed in Islam, simply because there is not a uniform position about the issue. In the Hanbali, Shafii and Hanafi schools in Sunni Islam, for instance, abortion before the fetus has developed into a human being (what is called "ensoulment") is, in fact, permissible. Scholars differ on the lengths of time "ensoulment" takes, with definitions as narrow as forty days and as broad as 120 days (i.e., the first trimester). All schools of thought allow abortion if the pregnancy is liable to cause medical harm to the mother. The question that must be posed, then, is whether the cause of women's emancipation can be advanced when it is argued in such a sloppy and factually inaccurate manner as it is in The Caged Virgin. One might go a step further and ask about the intended audience for such a book. Given the heavy reliance on the twin premises of "the native is silent" and "the native informant knows best," it seems possible that the book is not so much addressed to Muslims--who, in any case, Hirsi Ali believes to be deficient in individual and critical thinking--as to Western advocates for Muslim women. To her credit, Irshad Manji appears to be acutely aware of the audience question, and tackles it on the first page of The Trouble With Islam Today. The book is written as an open letter, addressed directly to Muslims, both in and outside the West. And it also helps the critical reader that Manji backs her claims with source notes, which are listed on her website, Muslim-refusenik.com. The Trouble With Islam Today is a chronicle of Manji's personal journey of introspection and discovery about her faith, prompted in part by the constant stream of horrendous news about repression that seems to pour out from (the region of) Islam. "When I consider all the fatwas being hurled by the brain trust of our faith, I feel utter embarrassment," she writes. Unlike Hirsi Ali, Manji has not openly renounced her faith, although, she says, "Islam is on very thin ice with me." She attributes her skepticism to her childhood experiences at the madrassa she attended in Vancouver. In the orthodox, gender-segregated school, she could not visit the library freely; instead, she had to wait for all the men to clear the area where it was located in order to be able to browse the offerings. The imam was a stern man who discouraged questions and proffered dogma. So woeful was the training Manji received that she did not know that Islam was an Abrahamic religion until after she left the confines of the madrassa. Later, when she purchased an English-language Koran, she finally embarked on her own journey of learning. Much of what Manji describes will be familiar to those who have read reform-minded books on Islam. For instance, she questions the assumption that the Koran is the inviolate word of God and has remained so for fourteen centuries, without a single diacritic or vowel-length change. She tells the controversial story of the "Satanic verses" (also known as hadith al-gharaniq) to show that this point is debatable. According to some scholars, the Prophet had included verses that referred to Meccan goddesses while reciting lines from the Koran. Later, realizing they were not inspired by revelation, he abrogated them from the sacred text. This, of course, establishes a precedent that the Koran was changed at least once. Why is it so hard to imagine, she asks, that other human beings could have added their own changes? She rightly argues that both the terrorists and the peacekeepers among Muslims find scriptural support for their views in the Koran. (Incidentally, this is no different from the Bible, whose most peaceful and most violent verses have been used at various points in history to back up the institution of slavery as well as abolition and the civil rights movement.) A significant portion of the book consists of calling on Arabs and Muslims to be responsible for their own destinies, and to stop blaming the West or Israel for their problems. The style here may be very blunt, but the proposition is wholly unoriginal. One can read similar statements in commentary and op-ed pieces of many newspapers across the Arab world. Unfortunately, like Hirsi Ali, Manji consistently gives individual examples of malfeasance and then extrapolates to the entire body of Muslims. In discussing World War II, for instance, she writes, "Let's be straight about what else happened during the Nazi years: Muslim complicity in the Holocaust." Here she trots out the story of Haj Amin al-Husayni, the mufti of Jerusalem who visited Berlin as a guest of Hitler and approved of his genocidal agenda. But how do we move from one cleric with authority in one congregation to "Muslim complicity"? And if it turns out that there are individual Muslims who helped Jews escape the Holocaust, do we then get to talk about "Muslim resistance" to the Holocaust? After all, Abdol-Hossein Sardari, head of the consular section of the Iranian embassy under the Vichy government, succeeded in convincing the Nazis that Iranian Jews were not Semites, thus saving their lives. He went a step further and issued 500 Iranian passports to non-Iranian Jews in France. Similarly, the Sultan of Morocco flatly refused to hand Moroccan Jews over to the Vichy government that ruled his country. But people such as these do not fit the paradigm of Muslim backwardness and outright evil, and so they go unmentioned. As with Hirsi Ali, Manji's expertise on her subject is incomplete. Take the following statement: "The Koran appears to be organized by size of verse--from longer to shorter--and not by chronology of revelation. How can anyone isolate the "earlier" passages, let alone read into them the "authentic" message of the Koran? We have to own up to the fact that the Koran's message is all over the bloody map." This is simply not true. Each sura of the Koran is identified by whether it is "Meccan" or "Medinan," depending on whether it was revealed early in the Prophet's spiritual life or later on, during his hegira in Medina. Some verses are addressed to specific communities of believers. Others refer to specific historical events. All of these details help establish temporal contextualization. The study of the Koran's chronology is a whole field unto itself. In addition, and despite having written a book called The Trouble With Islam Today, Manji has not taken the trouble of learning to speak, read and write Arabic fluently, nor of visiting any Muslim country. She left Uganda at the age of 4 and has absolutely no experience of what it is like to live in a Muslim country. Would a scholar who has written a book about China without bothering to speak Chinese or visit the country be taken seriously? Despite its careful sourcing, Manji's book is a narrow polemic, selectively citing events and anecdotes that fit one paradigm only: Muslim savagery, which of course is contrasted with Western enlightenment. Several of Manji's claims about the Arab world are based on articles translated by the nonprofit organization Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), which was founded by Col. Yigal Carmon, a twenty-two-year veteran of military intelligence in Israel with the goal of exploring the Middle East "through the region's media." MEMRI focuses on the following areas: Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Palestine, Persian Gulf, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Lebanon and Turkey. There are three general observations that can be made about MEMRI's work. One is that it consistently picks the most violent, hateful rubbish it can find, translates it and distributes it in e-mail newsletters to media and members of Congress in Washington. The second is that MEMRI does not translate comparable articles published in Israel, although the country is not only a part of the Middle East but an active party to some of its most searing conflicts. For instance, when the right-wing Israeli politician Effi Eitam referred to Israel's Palestinian citizens as a "cancer," MEMRI did not pick up this story. The third is that this organization is now the main source of media articles on the region of Islam, a far greater and far more diverse whole than the individual countries it lists. The reliance on MEMRI highlights Manji's lack of direct, unmediated exposure to the news media of the area about which she expresses such fierce convictions. Equally troubling is Manji's unsubstantiated assertion that there is little dissent in Islam: "We Muslims have a lot of catching up to do in the dissent department." As it happens, earlier this year the Moroccan government took the commendable step of officially acknowledging that approximately 10,000 people had been put in prison, tortured or killed for political reasons between 1956 and 1999. (Human rights organizations caution that the number of victims may in fact have been much larger.) Their "crimes" ranged from wanting to overthrow the monarchy, to questioning official edicts, to simply handing out left-wing leaflets. The problem isn't the lack of dissent. It is the lack of a context in which dissent is welcomed rather than repressed. This repression, furthermore, is tacitly supported by Western powers. The American government, in particular, is so pleased with Morocco's methods of repression that it allegedly "renders" some of its recalcitrant detainees there. The experience of Morocco with repression is not unique and can be seen in other countries in the region broadly defined as "Islam"--countries such as Syria, Algeria, Indonesia, Egypt and so on. To say that there is no dissent in Islam is simply absurd. The claim must be recognized for what it is: a different manifestation of the "silence of the native," which brings us back to the need for outside advocates and to the nifty excuse for outside interference into the affairs of sovereign states. Unlike Hirsi Ali, however, Manji takes a much broader view about women in Islam. She places the question in the general context of civil rights in Islam. Here she focuses in particular on the status of minorities. Manji maintains that as a civilization Islam has never treated minorities with respect, only with contempt. She does mention that during the golden age of Islam, Jews and Christians held significant positions within the empire. But, she says, this cannot cover for the systematic treatment of them as "different." In comparison, she argues, Israel has a far better record of treating its minorities. As evidence of this, she recounts a number of anecdotes from her visit to Israel. An Arab actress headlined a local production of My Fair Lady. Jews and Arabs alike take to the op-ed pages of newspapers like Ha'aretz to debate political issues. Religious literacy is part of military training for the armed forces. Street signs are labeled in Arabic, and Arabic is an official language of Israel. And she calls Israel's systematic discrimination against its Arab citizens a form of "affirmative action" for Jews. To show how disingenuous this line of argument is, let's turn the situation around. Consider the case of the Jewish minority in Morocco. Jews have lived in the country for more than 2,000 years. Newspapers regularly carry news of the community's cultural and religious events. Jews and Muslims venerate the same saints. Serge Berdugo, a Jew, served as minister of tourism in the 1990s and is now an ambassador at large. André Azoulay, the current adviser to the king, is Jewish. So is the country's most popular comedian, Gad El Maleh, and one of its most celebrated novelists, Edmond Amran El Maleh. One could put together a virtually endless list of these facts, but none of them would detract from this other truth: Last year, a Pew Research Center poll showed that 88 percent of Moroccans have a negative view of Jews; as shameful as this figure is, any serious discussion of Morocco's Jewish minority would have to include it. Meanwhile, in Israel, the Haifa-based Center Against Racism found that 68 percent of Jews polled revealed they were unwilling to live next to an Arab neighbor. Acknowledging anti-Semitism in some parts of the Arab world, therefore, should not require us to gloss over anti-Arab and anti-Muslim feelings in Israel. This reductionist way of thinking permeates The Trouble With Islam Today and gets tiresome very quickly. When Manji argues that Arabs and Muslims must learn to think differently about their present, she writes, "liberal Muslims have to get vocal about this fact: Washington is the unrealized hope, not the lead criminal." For all her advocacy of new modes of thinking, she seems not to have entertained another possibility: Washington can be both. The Caged Virgin and The Trouble With Islam Today are billed as profound meditations on faith and searing critiques of Islam's treatment of women and minorities, but they are riddled with inaccuracies and generalizations. In their persistent conflating of religion, civilization, geographical region and very distinct cultures, these books are more likely to obfuscate than educate. None of this is to suggest that there are not serious issues facing Muslim women today. Still less does it mean that we should excuse violence and oppression, in some relativist fashion, because they happen to take place in the region broadly defined as "Islam." Those who believe in gender equality have every reason to be concerned about radical Islamist parties that view women as mere vessels, defined by their reproductive powers. These right-wing Islamist parties resist changes in civil codes that grant women more rights or, worse, want to impose antiquated and dangerous forms of Sharia. It is therefore particularly troubling that they have made electoral gains in Palestine, Iraq, Egypt, Morocco and elsewhere. So now what? Where does this leave feminists of all stripes who genuinely care about the civil rights of their Muslim sisters? A good first step would be to stop treating Muslim women as a silent, helpless mass of undifferentiated beings who think alike and face identical problems, and instead to recognize that each country and each society has its own unique issues. A second would be to question and critically assess the well-intentioned but factually inaccurate books that often serve as the very basis for discussion. We need more dialogue and less polemic. A third would be to acknowledge that women--and men--in Muslim societies face problems of underdevelopment (chief among them illiteracy and poverty) and that tackling them would go a long way toward reducing inequities. As the colonial experience of the past century has proved, aligning with an agenda of war and domination will not result in the advancement of women's rights. On the contrary, such a top-down approach is bound to create a nationalist counterreaction that, as we have witnessed with Islamist parties, can be downright catastrophic. Rather, a bottom-up approach, where the many local, homegrown women's organizations are fully empowered stands a better chance in the long run. After all, isn't this how Western feminists made their own gains toward equality? Muslim women are used as pawns by Islamist movements that make the control of women's lives a foundation of their retrograde agenda, and by Western governments that use them as an excuse for building empire. These women have become a politicized class, prevented by edicts and bombs from taking charge of their own destinies. The time has come for the pawns to be queened. From weddady at yahoo.com Fri Jun 2 11:31:58 2006 From: weddady at yahoo.com (Nasser Weddady) Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2006 11:31:58 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [M-net] Saudi Women Rise in Defense of the Veil Message-ID: <20060602183158.47615.qmail@web82407.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Saudi Women Rise in Defense of the Veil Some Conservatives Fear U.S.-Led Erosion of Traditional Islamic Values By Faiza Saleh Ambah Special to The Washington Post Thursday, June 1, 2006; A12 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/31/AR2006053101994_pf.html RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- More than 500 women packed the Saudi capital's Maimouna Center on a recent evening to attend a lecture. The women, some still in their full black wraps, filled the rows of plum-colored plastic chairs, while late arrivals sat in small clusters on the carpet and against the wall. "Whom do we love?" asked the lecturer, a woman, seated behind a desk on a raised platform. "God," the women answered in unison. "Then we must obey Him." She went on to urge the audience members to dress modestly and raise their daughters to do the same. She explained that, despite what some Saudis are now saying, it is a sin for men and women to mix. "Even if people don't see you sin, God is watching," she warned. "On Judgment Day, your own skin will testify against you." As she took copious notes, Mashael al-Eissa dabbed at tears, overcome by the extent of her religious responsibilities. Eissa, a fiery young Internet writer, and the lecturer, Afrah al-Humaydi, are among a group of conservative Saudi women trying to redress what they view as an erosion of traditional values in the kingdom and a dangerous shift in the status of women. "Saudi women are the luckiest in the world and Saudi Arabia is the closest thing to an ideal and pure Islamic nation," Eissa said. "We don't want imported Western values to destroy that." The changes that have so riled Eissa and other conservative women followed the intense scrutiny that Saudi Arabia received after the discovery that 15 of the 19 hijackers who carried out the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States were Saudis. The lack of personal liberties in the kingdom -- an absolute monarchy that imposes a strict form of Islam -- was widely held to be an underlying part of the extremist ideology the attackers shared. Shortly afterward, strict censorship of the media was loosened and subjects that the religious establishment had placed off-limits for decades, such as the ban on women driving or working alongside men, were openly debated. Women, previously hidden, started appearing as television newscasters, and their photos became daily staples in the press. King Abdullah, crowned in August, called for increased work opportunities for women and started including female journalists, professors and business leaders on his trips overseas. And during regional tours last year, both Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Undersecretary of State Karen Hughes said Saudi women needed broader political rights to make changes in their lives. But the new atmosphere has alarmed conservative women who are suspicious of U.S. interference and warn that changes in their status could destroy the country's Islamic framework. Though no figures are available, conservative, religious women seem to constitute a sizable portion of the country's female population, belying notions that most Saudi women are unhappy with their lot and waiting to be liberated. On the contrary, the black veil and the prohibition against women driving are embraced by many women here as a form of protection and an integral part of their religion. Faiza al-Obaidi, a biology professor, says she thinks the attempts at Western-style female emancipation are part of a religious war being waged by the United States, "an intellectual rather than physical colonization." Sitting at the food court at the Basateen Mall in the coastal city of Jiddah one weekend, lifting her veil to take bites from a tuna sandwich, she said the West was targeting women, the core of society, as a means of eventually controlling the whole country. "They fear Islam, and we are the world's foremost Islamic nation," she said. Obaidi shows pride in her religion and resists foreign interference, she said, by maintaining her veil, or niqab . "Just because this is closed," she said, tugging at the black material that covered her face, "doesn't mean this is," pointing to her head. Samia Adham, a statistics professor seated beside her, also in a veil, added: "This is a choice. We choose to be ruled by Islam. We will make changes, but within our religion and in our own way." Two young men with long hair and wearing bright T-shirts and frayed jeans entered the food court and sat at a table with a young woman. Obaidi shook her head. "You wouldn't have seen that several years ago," she said. Many Salafi women here, who follow the school of thought that calls for a return to Islam as practiced by the prophet Muhammad and the following two generations, shatter the stereotype of women in black niqab as meek and submissive. Often well educated, articulate and sometimes downright aggressive, they include award-winning scientists, writers and college professors. Khadija Badahdah, a university administrator who holds a doctorate in chemistry from the University of London and wears a veil, said she recently started to grant television interviews because women calling for change were dominating coverage on the airwaves and in newspapers and giving the wrong impression of Saudi women. "They are a minority but they appear to speak for all of us," she said, sitting in her comfortable home in Jiddah on a recent weekend. "This is the beginning of a cultural erosion, and if we don't fight it now, it will continue." The Salafi women have also used lectures and Internet and newspaper campaigns to combat what they view as negative developments. Though they appear to be fighting against women's rights, they say they are actually fighting for the rights granted to women in Islam. Humaydi, the lecturer, says she counsels women to educate themselves for at least half an hour a day about their rights under Islamic law. The problems faced by Saudi women, she said, are not because of Islam, which she calls a perfect religion that honors and values women. The fault lies in its improper implementation. "We were given rights by Islam 1,400 years ago that women in the West only got at the beginning of the 20th century," said Humaydi, a middle-aged college professor. "Muslim women can work, and inherit, and be financially independent." But working alongside men, taking leadership positions or removing the veil are choices that the religious women say are not open to them. This year a Gallup poll in eight predominantly Muslim countries found that only in Saudi Arabia did the majority of women not agree that women should be allowed to hold political office. Last summer, 500 women addressed a letter to Abdullah asking him to save the country from the onslaught of Westernized ideas regarding women and to maintain the ban on women driving and working with men. Men and women should not share work spaces, Humaydi contends, because Islam says not to place oneself in an environment where adultery can occur. "People are wonderful, but the devil doesn't sit still," she said, adding that even Bill Clinton, while president, "couldn't resist him." At Jiddah's King Fahd Medical Research Center, a small Casio recorder played Koranic verses in the background as Faten Khorshid peered through a microscope, her niqab falling past her shoulders over her long white lab coat. Khorshid, who received a government grant for cancer research, says that her conservative views have not held her back and that the niqab makes it easier for doctors to concentrate on work instead of one another. "I don't want to be the equal of a man," she added. "In many ways, I am better than him." From mauritanienet at gmail.com Fri Jun 2 13:33:21 2006 From: mauritanienet at gmail.com (News-Bulletin de M-Net) Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2006 23:33:21 +0300 Subject: [M-net] =?iso-8859-1?q?Radio_France_Internationale_=3A_Le_ph=E9no?= =?iso-8859-1?q?m=E8ne_X_Ould_Y_=E0_la_=22Une=22_-_Par_M=2EP=2E_OLP?= =?iso-8859-1?q?HAND?= Message-ID: ----- Le News-Bulletin de Mauritanie-Net, vous informe sur les actualites de la Mauritanie email de la rédaction : mauritanienet at gmail.com ----- *Radio France Internationale : Le phénomène X Ould Y à la "Une" - Par M.P. OLPHAND* RFI via C.R.I.D.E.M RFI Paris, Laurent : " Marie Pierre, bonjour. Alors, chez vous il y a, nous dites vous, un mystérieux corbeau qui sévit depuis plusieurs mois, un corbeau des temps modernes, puisqu'il s'exprime sur internet sous une identité cachée qui répond au nom de X Ould Y. Dans ses chroniques, il s'attaque aux autorités, aux hommes d'affaires, aux politiciens, rares sont les personnes publiques qui échappent à sa plume. Il y a quelques jours des rumeurs ont couru sur arrestation et sur son identité et dans les salons de la capitale et la presse locale, le sujet fait l'objet de grands débats; alors Marie Pierre, expliquez-nous d'abord, de quoi parle ce corbeau, dévoile t-il des secrets, a-t-on raison d'avoir peur ? " . RFI Nouakchott - Marie Pierre Olphand : " Ecoutez Laurent, il écrit beaucoup, ça c'est sûr beaucoup, depuis fin 2004 au moins, avant il s'exprimait sur des forums.... " Pour écouter l'intégralité de l'interview, cliquez ici : http://www.cridem.org/modules.php?name=Nuke-radioTV&file=cadena&cadena=201&hl=yes ===== INFORMATION : Les articles sélectionnés pour cette revue de ­presse ne reflètent pas nécessairement l'opinion du comite de gestion de Mauritanie-Net. Nous ne nous portons pas garant de la véracité ­et de l'objectivité des informations publiées dans ces articles ­qui engagent la responsabilité des seuls auteurs. Nous vous prio­ns de bien vouloir en tenir compte. Merci. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060602/36ae7156/attachment.htm From communique at ifex.org Fri Jun 2 11:56:19 2006 From: communique at ifex.org (communique at ifex.org) Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2006 14:56:19 -0400 Subject: COMMUNIQUÉ DE L'IFEX VOL. 15 No 21 | 30 MAI 2006 Message-ID: <200606021856.k52IuJR32341@admin.ifex.org> ------- | COMMUNIQUÉ DE L'IFEX VOL. 15 No 21 | 30 MAI 2006 | ------ Le Communiqué de l'IFEX est le bulletin hebdomadaire de l'Échange international de la liberté d'expression (IFEX), un réseau mondial de 72 organisations qui œuvrent à défendre et à promouvoir la libre expression. Le Communiqué est également offert en anglais (www.ifex.org/en), en arabe (http://hrinfo.net/ifex/), en espagnol (www.ifex.org/es) et en russe (www.ifex.cjes.ru/). L'IFEX est administré par le groupe Journalistes canadiens pour la liberté d'expression (www.cjfe.org). ----- | Consultez le site web de l'IFEX : http://www.ifex.org/fr | ----- ----| Informations sur la campagne de l'IFEX pour la Tunisie : http://campaigns.ifex.org/tmg/fr |----- -- | SOMMAIRE | -- POINT DE MIRE SUR LA LIBRE EXPRESSION 1. Syrie : Des défenseurs des droits de la personne sont détenus NOUVELLES RÉGIONALES 2. Irak : Des membres de l'équipe de nouvelles de CBS sont tués, une journaliste est grièvement blessée, mais son état reste stable 3. Pakistan : Un opérateur de caméra perd la vie 4. Allemagne : Un service de renseignements a payé des journalistes pour espionner leurs collègues AGISSEZ ! 5. Tunisie : Un militant des droits de la personne est incarcéré CONFÉRENCES, ATELIERS ET ÉVÉNEMENTS 6. Le MISA assistera à une conférence de parlementaires de la SADC 7. Certains groupes africains de défense de la libre expression vont tenir un forum au Sommet de l'Union africaine 8. Des procureurs turcs se penchent sur le Code pénal et la libre expression RAPPORTS ET PUBLICATIONS 9. La libre expression toujours en état de siège en Tunisie OFFRES D'EMPLOIS 10. Le Rapporteur spécial de l'OEA pour la liberté d'expression recherche un adjoint « DANS LES AUTRES NOUVELLES » 11. L'OSCE passe en revue les lois sur la confidentialité des sources et le secret SITES WEB UTILES 12. Festival des Voix du Monde, du PEN ALERTES DU SECRÉTARIAT DU RÉSEAU DE L'IFEX ÉMISES AU COURS DE LA DERNIÈRE SEMAINE -------------------------------------------------------- POINT DE MIRE SUR LA LIBRE EXPRESSION 1. SYRIE : DES DÉFENSEURS DES DROITS DE LA PERSONNE SONT DÉTENUS Lors d'une rafle de militants que les groupes syriens de défense des droits de la personne qualifient de la plus importante opération depuis plusieurs années, les autorités ont arrêté et détenu 12 personnes signataires d'une pétition qui appelle le gouvernement à reconnaître l'indépendance du Liban, rapportent le Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, ARTICLE 19, Human Rights Watch, Reporters sans frontières (RSF) et le Comité pour la protection des journalistes (CPJ). Les militants figuraient parmi quelque 300 intellectuels, écrivains et défenseurs des droits de la personne, libanais et syriens, qui ont signé le 12 mai 2006 une pétition condamnant l'assassinat des dissidents libanais et pressant la Syrie de cesser de s'ingérer dans les affaires du Liban. Les autorités syriennes qualifient la pétition de « provocation » et affirment « que les intellectuels syriens ont tort de faire de la Syrie la responsable de la détérioration de la situation au Liban ». La pétition a été rendue publique peu avant que le Conseil de sécurité des Nations Unies n'eut voté le 17 mai une résolution qui appelle la Syrie à faire cesser l'entrée d'armes au Liban et à instaurer avec son voisin des relations diplomatiques normales. Parmi les personnes arrêtées se trouvent le journaliste Michel Kilo, l'avocat des droits de la personne Anouar al-Bunni et Mahmoud Meri'i, de l'Organisation arabe de défense des droits de la personne en Syrie. Un juge a inculpé Kilo d'« affaiblir le sentiment national » et de publier des « informations mensongères et exagérées qui ont pour but de porter atteinte au prestige de l'État ». Deux des douze militants ont depuis été remis en liberté. Les autres sont détenus à la prison centrale d'Adra, près de Damas, signale Human Rights Watch. Dans une autre affaire, le CPJ rapporte que Muhammad Ghanem, rédacteur en chef du site web de nouvelles Surion (www.surion.org), est détenu depuis sept semaines sur des accusations de « publication de fausses nouvelles sur les divisions au sein de la société syrienne ». Ghanem a écrit de nombreux articles pour appuyer les droits politiques et culturels de la minorité kurde de Syrie. S'il est reconnu coupable, Ghanem risque de trois à quinze ans de prison. Consulter les sites suivants : - CIHRS : http://www.cihrs.org/Press_details_en.aspx?per_id=91&pr_year=2006 - ARTICLE 19 : http://www.article19.org/pdfs/press/syria-pr-arrest-human-rights-activists.pdf - Human Rights Watch : http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/01/18/syria12231.htm - CPJ : http://www.cpj.org/news/2006/mideast/syria16may06na.html - RSF : http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=17705 - Freedom House : http://www.freedomhouse.org/uploads/PFS/PressReleaseMENA.pdf - ONU : http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=18514&Cr=middle&Cr1=leban - Council on Foreign Relations : http://www.cfr.org/publication/10546/syria.html - L'Union européenne s'inquiète des détentions : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4998906.stm -------------------------------------------------------- NOUVELLES RÉGIONALES MOYEN-ORIENT ET AFRIQUE DU NORD 2. IRAK : DES MEMBRES DE L'ÉQUIPE DE NOUVELLES DE CBS SONT TUÉS, UNE JOURNALISTE EST GRIÈVEMENT BLESSÉE, MAIS SON ÉTAT RESTE STABLE Les journalistes pleurent le décès le 29 mai 2006 de deux membres de l'équipe de nouvelles de CBS à Bagdad, en Irak,. L'opérateur de caméra Paul Douglas et l'ingénieur du son James Brolan ont perdu la vie lorsqu'un convoi militaire américain qu'ils accompagnaient a été frappé dans un attentat à la voiture piégée, selon ce que rapportent le Comité pour la protection des journalistes (CPJ), la Fédération internationale des journalistes (FIJ) et Reporters sans frontières (RSF). La reporter de CBS Kimberly Dozier, qui faisait partie de l'équipe, a été grièvement blessée dans l'attentat et transférée d'urgence dans un hôpital militaire américain de Bagdad. Elle a ensuite été déplacée vers un hôpital en Allemagne où son état est jugé stable. Dozier, Douglas et Brolan étaient incorporés dans la 4e Division d'Infanterie de l'armée américaine au moment de l'attentat. Âgé de 48 ans, Douglas travaillait depuis le début des années 1990 pour CBS News et s'était rendu en Irak, en Afghanistan, au Pakistan, au Rwanda et en Bosnie. Brolan, 42 ans, était pigiste et avait travaillé pour CBS News à Bagdad et en Afghanistan au cours de la dernière année. Dozier, 39 ans, était correspondante de CBS en Irak depuis trois ans. Selon la FIJ, 127 journalistes et techniciens des médias ont perdu la vie en Irak depuis le début de l'occupation du pays par les États-Unis, en mars 2003. Vingt-deux d'entre eux sont morts jusqu'à maintenant cette année. Par ailleurs, le sort de trois journalistes irakiens qui ont été enlevés demeure inconnu. Les reporters Reem Zeid et Marouan Khazaal, ainsi que leur collègue Salah Jali al-Gharraoui, ont été enlevés le 1er février 2006 à Bagdad, fait remarquer RSF. Quarante-deux journalistes et techniciens des médias ont été enlevés depuis mars 2003, dit le groupe. Cinq d'entre eux ont été tués. Consulter les sites suivants : - RSF : http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=17833 - FIJ : http://www.ifj.org/default.asp?Index=3936&Language=EN - CPJ : http://www.cpj.org/news/2006/mideast/iraq29may06na.html - Association pour la défense des droits des journalistes irakiens : http://www.ijrda.com/prees/ - CBC : http://www.cbc.ca/cp/world/060530/w053046.html ASIE-PACIFIQUE 3. PAKISTAN : UN OPÉRATEUR DE CAMÉRA PERD LA VIE Un opérateur de caméra situé dans district de Sindh, au sud-est du Pakistan, a été tué pendant qu'il couvrait un échange de tirs entre des membres de deux tribus près de la ville de Larkana, selon ce que rapportent la Fondation de la presse du Pakistan (PPF) et le Comité pour la protection des journalistes (CPJ). Le 29 mai 2006, Munir Ahmed Sangi, du réseau Kawish Television Network (KTN) a été abattu au milieu d'un violent échange de coups de feu entre des membres des tribus Unar et Abro. Au moins une autre personne a été tuée dans cet affrontement, que Sangi avait enregistré avant de mourir. KTN a diffusé son vidéo. La police locale a déclaré que Sangi avait perdu la vie dans des tirs croisés. Quelques-uns des collègues de Sangi croient cependant qu'il pourrait avoir été délibérément visé à cause des reportages de la station sur un rassemblement des dirigeants de la tribu Unar, indique le CPJ. Un oncle et collègue de Sangi a été agressé récemment en rapport avec les reportages de KTN selon lesquels deux enfants avaient été punis par un tribunal tribal. La PPF rapporte que la police a arrêté près de 30 suspects. Consulter les sites suivants : - PPF : http://www.pakistanpressfoundation.org/userMediaFilesDetails.asp?uid=7045 - CPJ : http://www.cpj.org/news/2006/asia/pak30may06na.html - RSF: http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=17853 EUROPE ET ASIE CENTRALE 4. ALLEMAGNE : UN SERVICE DE RENSEIGNEMENTS A PAYÉ DES JOURNALISTES POUR ESPIONNER LEURS COLLÈGUES Le gouvernement allemand a promis d'ouvrir une enquête spéciale sur un scandale impliquant des journalistes payés par les services fédéraux de renseignements pour espionner leurs collègues, indiquent Reporters sans frontières (RSF) et la Fédération internationale des journalistes (FIJ). Le journal allemand « Süddeutsche Zeitung » a publié le 12 mai 2006 un dossier confidentiel qui a fait l'objet d'une fuite, émanant de l'ancien juge fédéral Gerhard Schäfer, qui révélait que six journalistes avaient été payés par l'agence BND pour amasser des renseignements sur les reportages de leurs collègues et sur leurs sources. Le rapport a aussi révélé que le BND avait espionné des journalistes de 1990 jusqu'à l'automne de 2005. D'après le rapport, le BND tentait d'identifier les sources des fuites au sein du service de renseignements. Tandis que le dossier qui a coulé indique que la liste complète des journalistes qui se sont fait espionner n'est pas connue, il révèle qu'un journaliste travaillant pour l'hebdomadaire « Focus », sous les noms de code « Dali » et « le silencieux », aurait reçu 600 000 marks (395 000 $ US) pour ses services au BND de 1982 à 1998. Le journaliste pigiste Erwin Decker, ancien correspondant de guerre en Irak pour les journaux « Tagesspiegel », « Handelsblatt » et « Bild », a admis avoir transmis au BND des renseignements sur son collègue Josef Hufelschulte, qui travaillait pour « Focus », fait remarquer RSF. Le réseau National Public Radio (NPR) rapporte que le BND fait depuis peu l'objet d'une enquête d'un comité parlementaire sur le rôle d'agents allemands à Bagdad qui ont partagé leurs renseignements avec des agents américains au début de la guerre d'Irak en 2003. Le réseau « Deutsche Welle » constate que le 27 mai, le comité a publié un rapport disant que le BND avait enfreint la loi en espionnant les journalistes. Le gouvernement allemand a annoncé depuis que les employés passés et présents du BND feraient l'objet d'enquêtes en fonction des conclusions du rapport. Consulter les sites suivants : - RSF : http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=17714 - FIJ : http://www.ifj.org/default.asp?Index=3917&Language=EN - Texte du rapport qui a été coulé : http://www.bundestag.de/aktuell/pkg/index.html - NPR : http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5409122 - Deutsche Welle : http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,2032833,00.html -------------------------------------------------------- AGISSEZ ! 5. TUNISIE : UN MILITANT DES DROITS DE LA PERSONNE EST INCARCÉRÉ Reporters sans frontières (RSF) invite le public à signer une pétition qui presse les autorités tunisiennes de libérer de prison le juriste et militant des droits de la personne Mohammed Abbou. Le 29 avril 2005, Abbou a été condamné à trois ans et demi de prison sur des accusations d'avoir agressé une femme et d'avoir publié des déclarations « susceptibles de troubler l'ordre public » et de « diffamer le processus judiciaire ». On croit que ces dernières accusations sont reliées à un article que Abbou a affiché en ligne dans lequel il comparait la torture dans les prisons de Tunisie au traitement des détenus irakiens par l'armée américaine à la prison d'Abou Ghraïb. Signer la pétition ici : http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=15056 Pour des renseignements supplémentaires sur l'affaire d'Abbou, aller à : - Groupe d'observation de la Tunisie organisé par l'IFEX : http://campaigns.ifex.org/tmg/fr_index.html - Human Rights First : http://action.humanrightsfirst.org/campaign/Abbou3/explanation -------------------------------------------------------- CONFÉRENCES, ATELIERS ET ÉVÉNEMENTS 6. LE MISA ASSISTERA À UNE CONFÉRENCE DE PARLEMENTAIRES DE LA SADC L'Institut des médias d'Afrique australe (Media Institute of Southern Africa, MISA) assistera le mois prochain au Forum Parlementaire de la Communauté pour le développement de l'Afrique australe (Southern Africa Development Community, SADC) à Maputo, au Mozambique, où il aura la chance de faire des représentations auprès de plus de 100 parlementaires sur les questions de liberté de presse et de libre expression. Le MISA participera à une discussion en table ronde le 7 juin 2006 où on se penchera sur le rôle des parlements nationaux dans le renforcement de la gouvernance et du développement. Créé en 1996, le Forum Parlementaire de la SADC constitue un organisme intergouvernemental qui a pour objectif de promouvoir la démocratie, les droits de la personne et la bonne gouvernance dans les 12 pays qui composent la SADC. Celle-ci a joué un rôle dans la surveillance d'élections et dans la promotion de la coopération régionale pour régler des crises transfrontalières comme l'épidémie de VIH-SIDA. Consulter les sites suivants : - MISA : http://www.misa.org - Forum Parlementaire de la SADC : http://www.sadcpf.org/ - SADC : http://www.sadc.int/ 7. CERTAINS GROUPES AFRICAINS DE DÉFENSE DE LA LIBRE EXPRESSION VONT TENIR UN FORUM AU SOMMET DE L'UNION AFRICAINE Dix organisations africaines, dont quatre membres de l'IFEX, tiendront un forum au Sommet de l'Union Africaine (UA) qui aura lieu à Banjul, en Gambie, les 29 et 30 juin 2006, pour débattre de la façon dont les mécanismes régionaux de défense des droits de la personne peuvent renforcer la liberté d'expression. Le forum examinera les principaux défis auxquels est confrontée la libre expression en Afrique, et cherchera des moyens pour ses défenseurs d'utiliser plus efficacement la Commission africaine des droits de l'homme et des peuples (ACHPR) et le Mécanisme africain de révision par les pairs pour protéger les droits à la liberté de parole dans leurs pays. Les participants devraient inclure le Rapporteur spécial de la Commission africaine des droits de l'homme et des peuples pour la liberté d'expression, et d'éminents journalistes, défenseurs des droits de la personne et intellectuels. Les participants dresseront une liste des recommandations que les organisateurs ont l'intention de présenter à un certain nombre de chefs d'État africains et importants dignitaires de l'UA qui seront présents au Sommet, dont le président de la Commission de l'UA, Alpha Oumar Konare. Les organisations qui accueilleront le forum comprennent ARTICLE 19, la Fondation pour les médias en Afrique de l'Ouest, l'Institut des médias d'Afrique australe et l'Union des journalistes d'Afrique de l'Ouest (UJAO). Les autres groupes comprennent la Gambia Press Union, le All Africa Editors Forum, l'Institut Panos pour l'Afrique de l'Ouest, Famedev et Highway Africa. Pour plus de renseignements, communiquer avec : Fatou Jagne-Senghore, Agente du Programme africain d'ARTICLE 19; tél. : +221 820 9513 ou + 221 569 2315; courriel : fatou at article19.org ou jagnfatou at sentoo.sn 8. DES PROCUREURS TURCS SE PENCHENT SUR LE CODE PÉNAL ET LA LIBRE EXPRESSION La Fondation IPS Communication a réuni la semaine dernière des dizaines de juristes de toute la Turquie à l'occasion d'un atelier où on a discuté de l'impact potentiel du nouveau Code pénal du pays sur la liberté d'expression et les médias. Tenu à Istanbul les 27 et 28 mai 2006, l'atelier a étudié comment le Code – promulgué en juin 2005 – répond aux délits de presse, notamment au crime d'insulte. Il s'est également penché sur le régime réglementaire du Conseil suprême de la radio et de la télévision. Des juristes venus de 15 provinces ont participé à l'atelier, le deuxième organisé depuis 2004 par l'IPS à l'intention des juristes. L'atelier s'inscrivait dans le cadre de l'initiative BIANET de l'IPS, un projet de trois ans qui vise à établir à l'échelle du pays un réseau pour suivre de près la liberté des médias et le journalisme indépendant en Turquie. Le projet bénéficie de l'appui de l'Union Européenne. Pour plus de renseignements, aller à : http://www.bianet.org ------------------------------------------------------- RAPPORTS ET PUBLICATIONS 9. LA LIBRE EXPRESSION TOUJOURS EN ÉTAT DE SIÈGE EN TUNISIE Six mois après que la Tunisie a accueilli le Sommet mondial sur la société de l'information (SMSI) et qu'elle a pris l'engagement d'améliorer son dossier en matière de droits de la personne, les violations de la libre expression sont toujours aussi répandues, indique un nouveau rapport du Groupe d'observation de la Tunisie organisé par l'IFEX (IFEX-TMG). Ce rapport, le troisième du TMG sur la Tunisie, se base sur les conclusions d'une mission d'enquête menée en avril 2006 par trois de ses membres : le Réseau arabe d'information sur les droits de la personne, le Comité mondial pour la liberté de la presse et l'Association mondiale des radiodiffuseurs communautaires. Le rapport est offert en anglais à : http://campaigns.ifex.org/tmg/IFEX-TMG-report-May-2006.pdf Les versions française et arabe seront disponibles sous peu. -------------------------------------------------------- OFFRE D'EMPLOI 10. LE RAPPORTEUR SPÉCIAL DE L'OEA POUR LA LIBERTÉ D'EXPRESSION RECHERCHE UN ADJOINT Le Bureau du Rapporteur spécial de l'Organisation des États américains pour la liberté d'expression recherche un professionnel titulaire d'un diplôme universitaire ayant une formation en droit, en journalisme ou en sciences sociales pour l'aider à promouvoir et à protéger la liberté d'expression dans les Amériques. Les responsabilités du poste comprennent l'organisation de séminaires et de missions dans des pays pour le compte du Rapporteur spécial, la rédaction de rapports sur la libre expression et la surveillance de l'évolution de la situation dans les États membres de l'OEA. Les candidats doivent parler et écrire couramment l'espagnol et être compétents en anglais, en français ou en portugais. Toutes les précisions accessibles en espagnol à : http://www.cidh.org/Relatoria/showarticle.asp?artID=664&lID=1 -------------------------------------------------------- « DANS LES AUTRES NOUVELLES » 11. L'OSCE PASSE EN REVUE LES LOIS SUR LA CONFIDENTIALITÉ DES SOURCES ET LE SECRET Le chien de garde de l'Organisation pour la sécurité et la coopération en Europe (OSCE) pour la liberté de la presse vient de lancer une étude de 55 pays d'Europe, d'Asie centrale et d'Amérique du Nord pour accumuler des renseignements sur les lois et règlements qui pénalisent les journalistes qui publient des renseignements classifiés et qui refusent de dévoiler leurs sources. Le Bureau du Représentant de l'OSCE pour la liberté des médias rassemble une base de données afin d'évaluer les répercussions de ces lois sur l'aptitude des médias à couvrir les questions d'intérêt public. Le Représentant de l'OSCE, Miklos Haraszti, souligne que les médias subissent des pressions croissantes tandis que les gouvernements cherchent à réprimer le terrorisme. « Punir les médias parce qu'ils obtiennent des renseignements confidentiels ou parce qu'ils ne dévoilent pas leurs sources ne fera qu'éroder leur capacité à démasquer la corruption et à couvrir les écarts de conduite », fait-il valoir. À partir des conclusions de l'étude, le Représentant de l'OSCE établira des lignes directrices et des recommandations afin de renforcer la protection des journalistes qui couvrent des questions d'intérêt public. L'OSCE est l'organisation la plus importante du monde en sécurité régionale, avec 55 États participants d'Europe, d'Asie centrale et d'Amérique du Nord. Elle est active en alerte rapide, prévention de conflit, gestion de crise et réhabilitation d'après-conflit. Pour plus de renseignements, aller à : http://www.osce.org/fom/item_1_19277.html -------------------------------------------------------- SITES WEB UTILES 12. FESTIVAL DES VOIX DU MONDE, DU PEN Le Centre américain du PEN International a affiché des dossiers audio tirés du récent « World Voices Festival » [Festival des Voix du Monde] qui s'est tenu à New York en avril 2006. Ce festival a rassemblé des écrivains renommés de partout dans le monde qui sont venus lire des extraits de leur œuvre et discuter des questions importantes auxquelles font face les écrivains à l'heure actuelle. Les thèmes du festival portaient entre autres sur l'écriture et la foi, le multiculturalisme et les limites de la tolérance, ainsi que les perspectives mondiales du journalisme. Aller à : http://www.pen.org/page.php/prmID/1304 -------------------------------------------------------- ALERTES DU SECRÉTARIAT DU RÉSEAU DE L'IFEX ÉMISES AU COURS DE LA DERNIÈRE SEMAINE 23 MAI 2006 Venezuela - La législature de l'État de Bolívar entreprend des procédures pour évincer un journal et démolir ses installations (SIP) - Alerte http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/74550/ Brésil - Un journal est attaqué et son personnel agressé, dans le sillage d'une vague de crimes (CPJ) - Alerte http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/74552/ Macédoine - La SEEMO proteste contre la condamnation à la prison d'un journaliste pour diffamation pénale (IIP) - Alerte http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/74553/ Namibie - Arrestation d'un photographe qui essayait de prendre des photos de célébrités de Hollywood (MISA) - Alerte http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/74554/ Philippines - Un journaliste de la radio est tué à Puerto Princesa, dans la province de Palawan, après avoir reçu des menaces de mort (CMFR) - Mise à jour de l'alerte http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/74555/ Syrie - D'autres militants sont incarcérés avoir signé une déclaration sur les relations avec le Liban; dix militants sont toujours détenus dans une prison près de Damas (Human Rights Watch) - Alerte http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/74556/ Azerbaïdjan - Un autre journaliste d'opposition échappe à la mort dans une violente attaque (RSF) - Alerte http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/74557/ Uruguay - La SIP s'inquiète d'une peine d'emprisonnement infligée à un journaliste pour une accusation de diffamation (SIP) - Alerte http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/74559/ Botswana - Un fonctionnaire menace d'interdire au journal « The Ngami Times » de couvrir les délibérations du Conseil (MISA) - Alerte http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/74561/ États-Unis - Le Procureur général menace des médias de poursuites pour avoir « révélé des renseignements classifiés » (RSF) - Alerte http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/74562/ Égypte - Un journaliste est arrêté et détenu; quatre journalistes étrangers passés à tabac, détenus puis relâchés (RSF) - Alerte http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/74564/ Tunisie - Les autorités détiennent et expulsent un observateur international (ARTICLE 19) - Alerte http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/74567/ République démocratique du Congo - RTMV revient en ondes à partir de Kinshasa (JED) - Mise à jour de l'alerte http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/74569/ Philippines - Le correspondant du magazine « Time » figure sur la liste des individus à surveiller du gouvernement, sous enquête pour avoir couvert un présumé complot de coup d'État (CMFR) - Alerte http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/74570/ Tchad - Le journaliste Tchanguiz Vatankhah est remis en liberté après 20 jours de détention (JED) - Mise à jour de l'alerte http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/74571/ Russie - Un rédacteur d'opposition est libéré de prison 48 heures après que la Cour suprême eut ordonné sa remise en liberté (CPJ) - Mise à jour de l'alerte http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/74573/ Colombie - Quatre journalistes détenus lors de manifestations de protestation d'Autochtones sont relâchés; deux d'entre eux auraient été agressés par la police (CPJ) - Mise à jour de l'alerte http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/74574/ Érythrée - Le président est prié de marquer l'anniversaire de l'indépendance en faisant libérer des prisonniers (RSF) - Mise à jour de l'alerte http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/74576/ Yémen - Un rédacteur subit un procès en rapport avec la controverse entourant la caricature du prophète, il risque la peine de mort; les histoires de ce genre abondent à travers le monde, dit le CPJ (CPJ) - Mise à jour de l'alerte http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/74578/ 24 MAI 2006 Pérou - Des journalistes sont agressés par un politicien (IPYS) - Alerte http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/74583/ Chine - Un blogueur se voit toujours nier les services d'un avocat alors qu'il entre dans son quatrième mois de détention (RSF) - Mise à jour de l'alerte http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/74585/ Iran - Fermeture d'un journal d'État; le rédacteur en chef et le caricaturiste sont arrêtés et accusés d'avoir insulté une minorité ethnique (CPJ) - Alerte http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/74586/ Russie - Un reportage satirique sur les objectifs de Poutine à sa naissance entraîne des représailles de la part du gouvernement (CPJ) - Alerte http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/74588/ République démocratique du Congo - Le bureau du Procureur général requiert trois ans de prison contre le journaliste Patrice Booto; le jugement est pendant (JED) - Mise à jour de l'alerte http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/74590/ Argentine - Davantage de journalistes se plaignent que leurs courriels sont piratés (IPYS) - Alerte http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/74591/ Irak - L'IIP accueille le sommaire d'un rapport sur les paiements américains aux médias irakiens, et dit que les opérations de propagande pourraient mettre en danger la vie des journalistes (IIP) - Mise à jour de l'alerte http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/74594/ République démocratique du Congo - La station de télévision RTMV est attaquée et de nouveau contrainte de quitter les ondes; une organisation de défense de la liberté de la presse est menacée; un journaliste est enlevé, passé à tabac et abandonné à la campagne (CPJ) - Mise à jour de l'alerte http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/74595/ Éthiopie - Des sites web et des blogues d'opposition disparaissent : Censure ou pépin technique?, demande RSF (RSF) - Alerte http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/74596/ Thaïlande - Une bombe est activée devant le siège de l'Association de la presse thaïe (SEAPA) - Alerte http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/74598/ Népal - La Cour suprême casse les articles qui permettent au gouvernement de réprimer les médias (RSF) - Alerte http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/74600/ Botswana - Un photographe est frappé par un défendeur pendant qu'il le photographiait en cour (MISA) - Alerte http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/74601/ Sri Lanka - Des tamouls en formation font l'objet de harcèlement et sont forcés de se cacher pendant des heures dans des postes de police (FMM) - Alerte http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/74602/ 25 MAI 2006 Sri Lanka - Le président ordonne à la commission de révision du cinéma d'interdire le film « Le Code Da Vinci » (FMM) - Alerte http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/74604/ Égypte - Une commission de l'Union africaine enquêtera sur le harcèlement des journalistes le jour du référendum de 2005 (CIHRS) - Mise à jour de l'alerte http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/74605/ République démocratique du Congo - Un caméraman est passé à tabac, son équipement est cassé et confisqué par des policiers (JED) - Alerte http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/74607/ Népal - Des protestataires brûlent des exemplaires d'un journal; un photojournaliste est maltraité par la police (CEHURDES) - Alerte http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/74609/ Tunisie - La liberté d'expression toujours en état de siège six mois après le SMSI (IFEX-TMG) - Communiqué http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/74626/ 26 MAI 2006 Mexique - La reporter Gloria Rubí est frappée par la chanteuse Alejandra Guzmán (CENCOS) - Alerte http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/74667/ Égypte - Trois journalistes inculpés de diffamation; trois autres sont agressés, un autre est enlevé par la foule; plusieurs journalistes sont agressés par les autorités; la détention de cinq journalistes est prolongée (CPJ) - Mise à jour de l'alerte http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/74684/ Venezuela - Un rédacteur affirme que la demande exprimée par l'assemblée législative d'État d'évincer un journal constitue une tentative pour faire taire la critique (CPJ) - Mise à jour de l'alerte http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/74671/ Pologne - Des menaces contre quinze journalistes font leur apparition sur un site web néofasciste (RSF) - Alerte http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/74672/ Israël - Un reporter du site web d'al-Jazira est libéré après six mois pour manque de preuve (RSF) - Mise à jour de l'alerte http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/74676/ Égypte - Deux blogueurs sont arrêtés, passés à tabac et mis en accusation (RSF) - Mise à jour de l'alerte http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/74677/ États-Unis - La SIP exprime sa préoccupation à propos d'efforts déployés aux États-Unis pour déposer une législation qui punirait la divulgation de renseignements classifiés (SIP) - Mise à jour de l'alerte http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/74679/ Zambie - ARTICLE 19 examine la situation de la liberté d'expression et de l'accès à l'information en regard des élections imminentes (ARTICLE 19) - Communiqué http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/74681/ Afrique du Sud - Le FXI s'inquiète de la « tendance croissante à l'autocensure » au sein de la South African Broadcasting Corporation (FXI) - Alerte http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/74682/ Gambie - Les collaborateurs d'un site web et leurs sources sont convoqués par la police, au moins un journaliste est détenu brièvement; le reporter Lamin Fatty toujours détenu et inculpé de « répandre de fausses nouvelles » (CPJ) - Mise à jour de l'alerte http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/74683/ ------------------------------------------------------- Le « Communiqué » de l'IFEX est publié chaque semaine en français, en anglais et en espagnol par le Secrétariat de l'Échange international de la libre expression (IFEX). L'IFEX est un réseau mondial constitué de 72 organisations qui militent pour la défense de la libre expression. Le Secrétariat est animé par les Journalistes canadiens pour la liberté d'expression (CJFE) en collaboration avec les organisations membres de l'IFEX. Rédacteur du « Communiqué » : Geoffrey CHAN. Traducteur : Jacques ISABELLE. Faire parvenir le courrier à communique at ifex.org Le « Communiqué » de l'IFEX autorise la reproduction ou la republication de son matériel à condition d'en reconnaître la source. Les opinions exprimées dans le « Communiqué » sont la responsabilité des sources auxquelles elles sont attribuées. Vous pouvez contacter le Secrétariat de l'IFEX au 555, rue Richmond Ouest, bureau 1101, C.P. 407, Toronto (Ontario) M5V 3B1, Canada. Téléphone : +1 416 515 9622; télécopieur : +1 416 515 7879. Courriel : ifex at ifex.org. -- To unsubscribe from this list visit http://listmgr.ifex.org/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=5533f2eda9c8a13d10093c883338fe58 To update your preferences visit http://listmgr.ifex.org/lists/?p=preferences&uid=5533f2eda9c8a13d10093c883338fe58 -- Powered by PHPlist, www.phplist.com -- From weddady at sbcglobal.net Fri Jun 2 11:26:39 2006 From: weddady at sbcglobal.net (Nasser Weddady) Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2006 11:26:39 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [M-net] Lecture recommandee: The Missionary Position Message-ID: <20060602182639.51259.qmail@web82411.mail.mud.yahoo.com> The Missionary Position by LAILA LALAMI [from the June 19, 2006 issue] This article can be found on the web at http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060619/lalami These days, being a Muslim woman means being saddled with what can only be referred to as the "burden of pity." The feelings of compassion that we Muslim women seem to inspire emanate from very distinct and radically opposed currents: religious extremists of our own faith, and evangelical and secular supporters of empire in the West. Radical Islamist parties claim that the family is the cornerstone of society and that women, by virtue of their reproductive powers, are its builders. An overhaul of society must therefore begin with reforming the status of women, and in particular with distinguishing clearly their roles from those of men. Guided by their "true" interpretations of the faith, these radicals want women to resume their traditional roles of nurturers and men to be empowered to lead the family. If we protect women's rights in Islam, they assure us, the umma, the community of believers, will be lifted from its general state of poverty and backwardness. Sayyid Qutb (1906-66), the Egyptian writer and activist who has exerted such a powerful influence over the radical Islamist movement, fervently believed that Muslim women belonged in the home. In his 1964 book Ma'alim fi al-Tariq (Milestones), Qutb wrote that "if woman is freed from her basic responsibility of bringing up children" and, whether on her own or by pressure from society, seeks to work in jobs such as "a hostess or a stewardess in a hotel or ship or air company," she will be "using her ability for material productivity rather than the training of human beings." This, he claimed, would make the entire civilization "backward." The misogynistic philosophy has proved enticing, finding advocates among Muslims throughout the world. Between 1989 and 1991, for instance, Abbassi Madani, the red-bearded founder of the Algerian Islamic Salvation Front Party (FIS), often referred to women who refused to cover themselves with a hijab as "sparrow hawks of neocolonialism." His co-founder, Ali Belhadj, claimed that there was a simple solution to the country's high unemployment rate: turn over the jobs of working women to idle men. Madani summarized his program: "The system is sick; the doctor is FIS; and the medicine has existed for fourteen centuries. It is Islam." Reducing Algerian women to birds of prey, and their faith to a pill: These are good indicators of the depth of intellect within the leadership of the FIS. Meanwhile, the abundant pity that Muslim women inspire in the West largely takes the form of impassioned declarations about "our plight"--reserved, it would seem, for us, as Christian and Jewish women living in similarly constricting fundamentalist settings never seem to attract the same concern. The veil, illiteracy, domestic violence, gender apartheid and genital mutilation have become so many hot-button issues that symbolize our status as second-class citizens in our societies. These expressions of compassion are often met with cynical responses in the Muslim world, which further enrages the missionaries of women's liberation. Why, they wonder, do Muslim women not seek out the West's help in freeing themselves from their societies' retrograde thinking? The poor things, they are so oppressed they do not even know they are oppressed. The sympathy extended to us by Western supporters of empire is nothing new. In 1908 Lord Cromer, the British consul general in Egypt, declared that "the fatal obstacle" to the country's "attainment of that elevation of thought and character which should accompany the introduction of Western civilization" was Islam's degradation of women. The fact that Cromer raised school fees and discouraged the training of women doctors in Egypt, and in England founded an organization that opposed the right of British women to suffrage, should give us a hint of what his views on gender roles were really like. Little seems to have changed in the past century, for now we have George W. Bush, leader of the free world, telling us, before invading Afghanistan in 2001, that he was doing it as much to free the country's women as to hunt down Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar. Five years later, the Taliban is making a serious comeback, and the country's new Constitution prohibits any laws that are contrary to an austere interpretation of Sharia. Furthermore, among the twenty-odd reasons that were foisted on the American public to justify the invasion of Iraq in 2003 was, of course, the subjugation of women; this, despite the fact that the majority of Iraqi women were educated and active in nearly all sectors of a secular public life. Three years into the occupation, the only enlightened aspect of Saddam's despotic rule has been dismantled: Facing threats from a resurgent fundamentalism, both Sunni and Shiite, many women have been forced to quit their jobs and to cover because not to do so puts them in harm's way. Why Mr. Bush does not advocate for the women of Thailand, the women of Botswana or the women of Nepal is anyone's guess. This context--competing yet hypocritical sympathies for Muslim women--helps to explain the strong popularity, particularly in the post-September 11 era, of Muslim women activists like Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Irshad Manji and the equally strong skepticism with which they are met within the broad Muslim community. These activists are passionate and no doubt sincere in their criticism of Islam. But are their claims unique and innovative, or are they mostly unremarkable? Are their conclusions borne out by empirical evidence, or do they fail to meet basic levels of scholarship? The casual reader would find it hard to answer these questions, because there is very little critical examination of their work. For the most part, the loudest responses have been either hagiographic profiles of these "brave" and "heroic" women, on the one hand, or absurd and completely abhorrent threats to the safety of these "apostates" and "enemies of God," on the other. Ayaan Hirsi Ali was born in Mogadishu, Somalia. Her father, Hirsi Magan Isse, was a prominent critic of the Siyad Barre regime, and the family had to flee the country, first to Saudi Arabia and then to Ethiopia and Kenya. When Hirsi Ali was 22, her father arranged a marriage for her with a distant relation. On a layover in Germany en route to Canada, where the man lived, Hirsi Ali escaped to the Netherlands, where she applied for and received asylum. She worked as an interpreter for Somali refugees and studied political science at the University of Leiden. Hirsi Ali first came into the public eye in 2002, with the publication of De Zoontjesfabriek (The Son Factory), whose vehement criticisms of Islam made her the subject of death threats. She joined a think tank affiliated with the social-democratic Labor Party but a year later switched membership to the right-wing VVD Party, which had invited her to run for a seat in Parliament. She won, and became a member of Parliament in January 2003. Hirsi Ali explained her shifting allegiance by saying that the VVD granted her greater ability to advocate for the rights of Muslim women. Then in 2004, she wrote the script to the short film Submission, which was directed by Theo van Gogh, a man who was known for his virulently anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim statements. That fall, van Gogh was slaughtered in Amsterdam, in broad daylight, by a Dutch man named Mohammed Bouyeri, whose parents had emigrated from Morocco. A letter left on van Gogh's body made it clear that Hirsi Ali was the next target. She immediately went into hiding and has needed heavy protection ever since. A few years ago, Hirsi Ali admitted to lying on her asylum application, but a Dutch TV documentary challenged her on other details of her life, including whether or not she was forced into marriage. The revelations sparked a row that culminated when Rita Verdonk, the Minister of Integration and a member of Hirsi Ali's own party, informed her that she could no longer consider herself a Dutch citizen. Although there has been no specific move to strip her of citizenship, Hirsi Ali has already announced that she is resigning from Parliament and moving to the United States, where she will take up a position at the right-wing American Enterprise Institute. Irshad Manji was born near Kampala, Uganda, into a Pakistani family. When the country's dictator, Idi Amin Dada, announced that the national economy was to be placed in the hands of black people, he forced the large and thriving South Asian minority out of the country. In 1972, when Manji was 4 years old, her family fled to Canada and settled there. She grew up in Vancouver, where she went to public school. In her free time, she attended Rose of Sharon Baptist Church, and later a conservative Islamic madrassa, from which she was expelled for asking too many pointed questions. She graduated from the University of British Columbia with a degree in intellectual history, and later worked as a speechwriter and broadcaster. Manji rose to prominence in 2004, when her controversial book The Trouble With Islam was published. She received death threats and lived under police protection for some time before deciding to forgo the bodyguards. "[If] I'm going to have legitimacy conveying to Muslims that we can dissent with the establishment and live, I can't have a big, burly fellow looking over my shoulder. I must lead by example," she wrote. She is currently a visiting fellow with the International Security Studies Program at Yale University. There are some striking parallels between the experiences of Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Irshad Manji. They were both born, only a year apart, in East Africa--Hirsi Ali in 1969, and Manji in 1968. Both were forced by politically repressive regimes into exile from their homelands at an early age. Both can trace their "emancipation" to a single, significant, life-changing event. Both credit the West for giving them not just freedom of speech but the very ability to think for themselves. Hirsi Ali states that she is "the living proof" that Western culture enabled her to come fully into her own, while Manji declares, "I owe the West my willingness to help reform Islam." Both women express an unabashed disdain for multiculturalism, which they accuse of fostering a climate of political correctness that prevents dialogue and useful criticism. Both supported the American invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq in the "war on terror." Finally, both women have recently published books in the United States. For Manji, it is The Trouble With Islam Today, a slightly expanded edition of her 2004 bestseller. (Manji explains in an afterword why the temporal specification was added to the title.) For Hirsi Ali it is The Caged Virgin: An Emancipation Proclamation for Women and Islam. The Caged Virgin is a collection of seventeen short essays and articles on the question of Islam, translated by Jane Brown. Hirsi Ali discusses the rights of individuals in Muslim countries and in Muslim communities in the West, she disagrees vehemently with the ways sacred texts invade secular space and she criticizes what she sees as the lax policies of Western European states toward their Muslim minorities. "I have taken an enormous risk by answering the call for self-reflection," she declares. "And what do the cultural experts say? 'You should have said it in a different way.' But since Theo van Gogh's death, I have been convinced more than ever that I must say it in my way only and have my criticism." Let us then follow Hirsi Ali's example, and look critically at her words. The overarching argument in The Caged Virgin is that there is insufficient freedom for the individual in Islam. This, Hirsi Ali argues, is because one of the fundamental tenets of the religion is the submission of the individual to God, which creates a strict hierarchy of allegiances. At the top of this hierarchy is God, then His Prophet, then the umma, then the clan or tribe and finally the family. The individual, she insists, is simply not valued. Whatever one thinks of this hierarchy, however, it is hardly unique to Islam; one can make the same argument about other monotheistic religions. Furthermore, many Muslim countries are in fact secular or military dictatorships (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Syria, Egypt), while others are to one extent or another theocracies (Saudi Arabia, Iran, Sudan). Religious hierarchy does not play the same societal role in Turkmenistan as in Saudi Arabia. On top of this, there are political, national and linguistic considerations to take into account, particularly when one is making claims about fifty-seven nations spread out across Asia and Africa. But Hirsi Ali addresses none of these. In her view, they simply do not matter. Rather, she sees Islam itself as the problem and its fundamental tenet of obstructing individual freedom as the very reason the Muslim world is "falling behind" the West. Beginning at birth, she maintains, the child is taught that his life must be governed by Islam, hatred for the infidel and the preservation of his honor through the control of women's sexuality. It is as if she were suggesting the existence of some sort of "genetic" encoding of Islam in children, which prevents them from thinking for themselves. "[We] Muslims have religion inculcated into us from birth, and that is one of the very reasons for our falling behind the West in technology, finance, health, and culture." "Every Muslim, from the beginnings of Islam to the present day, is raised in the belief that all knowledge can be found in the Koran." "For Muslim children the study of biology and history can be very confusing." Reading these lines, one must ask: What sociological evidence is there for this claim that Islam makes people inherently incapable of independent thought and of studying science? The answer is: None. One is merely given Hirsi Ali's assurances that she knows what is going on behind closed doors, based on her own experiences of growing up in Somalia and of working as an interpreter for Muslim immigrants in the Netherlands. The notion that there is a breach of individualism that is specific to Islam is raised again in Hirsi Ali's discussion of "sexual morality." In the book's opening piece, "Stand Up for Your Rights!" she writes about the continuing obsession with female virginity, which is widespread throughout the Muslim world and which, it must be acknowledged, causes no shortage of heartache. Girls who lose their virginity before marriage can sometimes face serious consequences in Muslim countries, particularly in rural areas. "I am distressed," she writes, "that the vast majority of Muslim women are still enchained by the doctrine of virginity, which requires that women enter marriage as green as grass: experience of love and sexuality before marriage is an absolute taboo. This taboo does not apply to men." Hirsi Ali is correct to say that the burden of virginity weighs disproportionately on females in Muslim cultures, though she fails to point out that the Koran emphasizes virginity and forbids both genders from having premarital sex. In this respect, the Koran is no different from the Bible. It is therefore a matter of cultural practice that the "doctrine of virginity" is still strong in the Muslim world. This lumping together of various Islams--the geographical region, the Abrahamic religion, the historical civilization and the many individual cultures--is symptomatic of the entire book, and makes it particularly difficult to engage with Hirsi Ali in a useful way. Her discussion of female genital mutilation (FGM) is a case in point. In at least six of the seventeen essays, she cites the horrendous practice of FGM, which involves excising, in whole or in part, young girls' inner or outer labia, and in severe cases even their clitorises. Hirsi Ali is aware that the practice predates Islam, but, she maintains, "these existing local practices were spread by Islam." According to the United Nations Population Fund, FGM is practiced in sub-Saharan Africa by Animists, Christians and Muslims alike, as well as by Ethiopian Jews, sometimes in collusion with individual representatives of the faiths. For instance, the US State Department report on FGM reveals that some Coptic Christian priests "refuse to baptize girls who have not undergone one of the procedures." And yet Hirsi Ali does not blame Animism, Christianity or Judaism for FGM, or accuse these belief systems of spreading it. With Islam, however, such accusations are acceptable. A few years ago, Hirsi Ali proposed a bill in the Dutch Parliament that would require young girls from immigrant communities to undergo a vaginal exam once a year as a way to insure that the parents do not practice FGM. The suggestion is all the more interesting when one considers that the vast majority of Muslim immigrants to the Netherlands are from Turkey and Morocco, where FGM is unheard of. But there is a personal reason for this passionate stance: When Hirsi Ali was 5 years old, her grandmother had the procedure performed on her, without her father's knowledge or approval. The experience marked Hirsi Ali profoundly, and the fervor and determination she brings to the fight against this horrifying practice are utterly laudable. By making inaccurate statements like the one quoted above, however, she muddies the issues and alienates the very people who would have the religious standing in the community to make this practice disappear. On more than a few occasions, Hirsi Ali makes baffling, blanket statements about women in Muslim countries. "[If] defloration occurs outside wedlock, [the girl] has dishonored her family to the tenth degree of kinship." Why not eleven? Or twelve? Where did the number ten come from? We are never told, and no source is adduced to support this claim. Not content with making inaccurate and sweeping claims about various cultures, Hirsi Ali also ventures into the field of literary criticism: "Alongside [religious textbooks] there are novels by Muslims about love, politics, and crime, in which the role of Islam and the Prophet Muhammad are studiously avoided, although the moral undercurrent is that one should observe religious precepts, otherwise things end very badly." It might come as news to Arab, African and Asian novelists of the Muslim persuasion that their fiction is merely an excuse to proselytize. Is the reader seriously expected to believe that the work of Orhan Pamuk promotes the observance of religion? Or that the texts of Assia Djebbar, Tahar Djaout, Tahar Ben Jelloun, Abdellatif Laabi, Kamal Ghitani, Nawal Al-Saadawi, Ahdaf Soueif, Alifa Rifaat, Abdulrazak Gurnah, Ghassan Kanafani, Nuruddin Farah, Tayeb Salih, Kateb Yacine, Mahmoud Darwish, Pramoedya Ananta Toer and Tariq Ali advocate religious morality? Along the same lines, Hirsi Ali seems to believe that Muslims are deficient in critical thought: "Very few Muslims are actually capable of looking at their faith critically. Critical minds like those of Afshin Ellian in the Netherlands and Salman Rushdie in England are exceptions." The work of Khaled Abou El Fadl, Fatima Mernissi, Leila Ahmed, Reza Aslan, Adonis, Amina Wadud, Nawal Saadawi, Mohja Kahf, Asra Nomani and the thousands of other scholars working in both Muslim countries and the West easily contradicts the notion. In any case, why the comparison with Rushdie? Have fatwas become the yardstick by which we measure criticism? If so, this suggests that the people who offend Islamists are the only ones worth listening to, which is ridiculous. The most shocking statement, however, comes from the essay "The Need for Self-Reflection Within Islam," in which Hirsi Ali writes: "After the events of 9/11, people who deny this characterization of the stagnant state of Islam were challenged by critical outsiders to name a single Muslim who had made a discovery in science or technology, or changed the world through artistic achievement. There is none." That a person who has apparently never heard of the algebra of Al-Khawarizmi, the medical prowess of Ibn-Sina and Ibn-Rushd, or the music of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Umm Kulthum is considered an authority on Islam is proof, if ever one was needed, of the utter lack of intelligent discourse about the civilization and the cultures broadly defined by that word. And how does the American press reward such stunningly ignorant scholarship? Time magazine picked Hirsi Ali as one of 100 "most influential people" of 2005, people with "the clout and power to change our world." At the other end of the spectrum, the answer is even more spectacularly stupid: Islamic radicals have called for Hirsi Ali's death repeatedly since 2002. Whatever the merits of Hirsi Ali's arguments, one thing is clear: By making threats against her person, right-wing Muslims appear to agree with Western conservatives that Islam as a whole (religion, region, culture) is weak, unable to defend itself by intellectual reasoning. It is also quite ironic that these radical Muslims are guilty of violating the first right their faith grants them: The right to choose their beliefs. "Let there be no compulsion in religion," the Koran insists. And for good reason, too, because without the right to choose (new) beliefs, there would have been no Islam in the first place. The argument that pervades The Caged Virgin--that Muslim women need Western advocates--is premised on two assumptions. The first is that Muslim women somehow cannot speak up for themselves--what Edward Said once called "the silence of the native." Hirsi Ali demonstrates this: "The [reason] I am determined to make my voice heard is that Muslim women are scarcely listened to, and they need a woman to speak out on their behalf." If, as the title of this book suggests, the Muslim woman is a virgin in a cage, then by definition she must be freed from the outside. Someone must break the lock so that the poor woman can finally step out and speak for herself. But Muslim women are not, nor have they ever been, silent. For example, a significant portion of hadith, the Prophet's sayings that form the basis of the Sunna, are attributed to his wife Aisha. Here is a sample hadith: "Narrated Aisha: The Prophet said, 'All drinks that produce intoxication are haram.'" But how did Aisha narrate this saying? Was it by sitting at home, in a cage, or by actively engaging with her community and teaching the hadith to the congregation? This tradition of engagement has continued, and Muslim women have made their marks in all fields--whether religion or science or medicine or literature. Over the past century, they have organized in groups dedicated to fight for the advancement of their rights. Even under the inhumane Taliban regime, the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan remained active, providing literacy courses and medical services to women and girls. That these women are thought to be invisible is a testament to the patriarchal systems--on either side--that want to protect them. But it cannot be a testament to their silence. The second premise of the argument is the critic's supposed authority as a "native informant," which alone, and without scholarly training, qualifies her to speak of the entire religion. Indeed, Hirsi Ali tells us, By our Western standards Muhammad is a perverse man. A tyrant. He is against freedom of expression. If you don't do as he says, you will end up in hell. That reminds me of those megalomaniacal rulers in the Middle East: Bin Laden, Khomeini, and Saddam. Are you surprised to find a Saddam Hussein? Muhammad is his example; Muhammad is an example to all Muslim men. Why do you think so many Islamic men use violence? You are shocked to hear me say these things, but like the majority of the native Dutch population, you overlook something: you forget where I am from. I used to be a Muslim; I know what I am talking about. In numerous passages of the book, however, Hirsi Ali demonstrates precisely that she doesn't know what she is talking about. Take her statement on abortion: "According to Islam, an extramarital pregnancy brings great shame on the family, but you can still redeem yourself in the eyes of Allah. Abortion, though, the killing of an innocent baby, is a deadly sin, for which there is no forgiveness." But abortion is not universally disallowed in Islam, simply because there is not a uniform position about the issue. In the Hanbali, Shafii and Hanafi schools in Sunni Islam, for instance, abortion before the fetus has developed into a human being (what is called "ensoulment") is, in fact, permissible. Scholars differ on the lengths of time "ensoulment" takes, with definitions as narrow as forty days and as broad as 120 days (i.e., the first trimester). All schools of thought allow abortion if the pregnancy is liable to cause medical harm to the mother. The question that must be posed, then, is whether the cause of women's emancipation can be advanced when it is argued in such a sloppy and factually inaccurate manner as it is in The Caged Virgin. One might go a step further and ask about the intended audience for such a book. Given the heavy reliance on the twin premises of "the native is silent" and "the native informant knows best," it seems possible that the book is not so much addressed to Muslims--who, in any case, Hirsi Ali believes to be deficient in individual and critical thinking--as to Western advocates for Muslim women. To her credit, Irshad Manji appears to be acutely aware of the audience question, and tackles it on the first page of The Trouble With Islam Today. The book is written as an open letter, addressed directly to Muslims, both in and outside the West. And it also helps the critical reader that Manji backs her claims with source notes, which are listed on her website, Muslim-refusenik.com. The Trouble With Islam Today is a chronicle of Manji's personal journey of introspection and discovery about her faith, prompted in part by the constant stream of horrendous news about repression that seems to pour out from (the region of) Islam. "When I consider all the fatwas being hurled by the brain trust of our faith, I feel utter embarrassment," she writes. Unlike Hirsi Ali, Manji has not openly renounced her faith, although, she says, "Islam is on very thin ice with me." She attributes her skepticism to her childhood experiences at the madrassa she attended in Vancouver. In the orthodox, gender-segregated school, she could not visit the library freely; instead, she had to wait for all the men to clear the area where it was located in order to be able to browse the offerings. The imam was a stern man who discouraged questions and proffered dogma. So woeful was the training Manji received that she did not know that Islam was an Abrahamic religion until after she left the confines of the madrassa. Later, when she purchased an English-language Koran, she finally embarked on her own journey of learning. Much of what Manji describes will be familiar to those who have read reform-minded books on Islam. For instance, she questions the assumption that the Koran is the inviolate word of God and has remained so for fourteen centuries, without a single diacritic or vowel-length change. She tells the controversial story of the "Satanic verses" (also known as hadith al-gharaniq) to show that this point is debatable. According to some scholars, the Prophet had included verses that referred to Meccan goddesses while reciting lines from the Koran. Later, realizing they were not inspired by revelation, he abrogated them from the sacred text. This, of course, establishes a precedent that the Koran was changed at least once. Why is it so hard to imagine, she asks, that other human beings could have added their own changes? She rightly argues that both the terrorists and the peacekeepers among Muslims find scriptural support for their views in the Koran. (Incidentally, this is no different from the Bible, whose most peaceful and most violent verses have been used at various points in history to back up the institution of slavery as well as abolition and the civil rights movement.) A significant portion of the book consists of calling on Arabs and Muslims to be responsible for their own destinies, and to stop blaming the West or Israel for their problems. The style here may be very blunt, but the proposition is wholly unoriginal. One can read similar statements in commentary and op-ed pieces of many newspapers across the Arab world. Unfortunately, like Hirsi Ali, Manji consistently gives individual examples of malfeasance and then extrapolates to the entire body of Muslims. In discussing World War II, for instance, she writes, "Let's be straight about what else happened during the Nazi years: Muslim complicity in the Holocaust." Here she trots out the story of Haj Amin al-Husayni, the mufti of Jerusalem who visited Berlin as a guest of Hitler and approved of his genocidal agenda. But how do we move from one cleric with authority in one congregation to "Muslim complicity"? And if it turns out that there are individual Muslims who helped Jews escape the Holocaust, do we then get to talk about "Muslim resistance" to the Holocaust? After all, Abdol-Hossein Sardari, head of the consular section of the Iranian embassy under the Vichy government, succeeded in convincing the Nazis that Iranian Jews were not Semites, thus saving their lives. He went a step further and issued 500 Iranian passports to non-Iranian Jews in France. Similarly, the Sultan of Morocco flatly refused to hand Moroccan Jews over to the Vichy government that ruled his country. But people such as these do not fit the paradigm of Muslim backwardness and outright evil, and so they go unmentioned. As with Hirsi Ali, Manji's expertise on her subject is incomplete. Take the following statement: "The Koran appears to be organized by size of verse--from longer to shorter--and not by chronology of revelation. How can anyone isolate the "earlier" passages, let alone read into them the "authentic" message of the Koran? We have to own up to the fact that the Koran's message is all over the bloody map." This is simply not true. Each sura of the Koran is identified by whether it is "Meccan" or "Medinan," depending on whether it was revealed early in the Prophet's spiritual life or later on, during his hegira in Medina. Some verses are addressed to specific communities of believers. Others refer to specific historical events. All of these details help establish temporal contextualization. The study of the Koran's chronology is a whole field unto itself. In addition, and despite having written a book called The Trouble With Islam Today, Manji has not taken the trouble of learning to speak, read and write Arabic fluently, nor of visiting any Muslim country. She left Uganda at the age of 4 and has absolutely no experience of what it is like to live in a Muslim country. Would a scholar who has written a book about China without bothering to speak Chinese or visit the country be taken seriously? Despite its careful sourcing, Manji's book is a narrow polemic, selectively citing events and anecdotes that fit one paradigm only: Muslim savagery, which of course is contrasted with Western enlightenment. Several of Manji's claims about the Arab world are based on articles translated by the nonprofit organization Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), which was founded by Col. Yigal Carmon, a twenty-two-year veteran of military intelligence in Israel with the goal of exploring the Middle East "through the region's media." MEMRI focuses on the following areas: Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Palestine, Persian Gulf, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Lebanon and Turkey. There are three general observations that can be made about MEMRI's work. One is that it consistently picks the most violent, hateful rubbish it can find, translates it and distributes it in e-mail newsletters to media and members of Congress in Washington. The second is that MEMRI does not translate comparable articles published in Israel, although the country is not only a part of the Middle East but an active party to some of its most searing conflicts. For instance, when the right-wing Israeli politician Effi Eitam referred to Israel's Palestinian citizens as a "cancer," MEMRI did not pick up this story. The third is that this organization is now the main source of media articles on the region of Islam, a far greater and far more diverse whole than the individual countries it lists. The reliance on MEMRI highlights Manji's lack of direct, unmediated exposure to the news media of the area about which she expresses such fierce convictions. Equally troubling is Manji's unsubstantiated assertion that there is little dissent in Islam: "We Muslims have a lot of catching up to do in the dissent department." As it happens, earlier this year the Moroccan government took the commendable step of officially acknowledging that approximately 10,000 people had been put in prison, tortured or killed for political reasons between 1956 and 1999. (Human rights organizations caution that the number of victims may in fact have been much larger.) Their "crimes" ranged from wanting to overthrow the monarchy, to questioning official edicts, to simply handing out left-wing leaflets. The problem isn't the lack of dissent. It is the lack of a context in which dissent is welcomed rather than repressed. This repression, furthermore, is tacitly supported by Western powers. The American government, in particular, is so pleased with Morocco's methods of repression that it allegedly "renders" some of its recalcitrant detainees there. The experience of Morocco with repression is not unique and can be seen in other countries in the region broadly defined as "Islam"--countries such as Syria, Algeria, Indonesia, Egypt and so on. To say that there is no dissent in Islam is simply absurd. The claim must be recognized for what it is: a different manifestation of the "silence of the native," which brings us back to the need for outside advocates and to the nifty excuse for outside interference into the affairs of sovereign states. Unlike Hirsi Ali, however, Manji takes a much broader view about women in Islam. She places the question in the general context of civil rights in Islam. Here she focuses in particular on the status of minorities. Manji maintains that as a civilization Islam has never treated minorities with respect, only with contempt. She does mention that during the golden age of Islam, Jews and Christians held significant positions within the empire. But, she says, this cannot cover for the systematic treatment of them as "different." In comparison, she argues, Israel has a far better record of treating its minorities. As evidence of this, she recounts a number of anecdotes from her visit to Israel. An Arab actress headlined a local production of My Fair Lady. Jews and Arabs alike take to the op-ed pages of newspapers like Ha'aretz to debate political issues. Religious literacy is part of military training for the armed forces. Street signs are labeled in Arabic, and Arabic is an official language of Israel. And she calls Israel's systematic discrimination against its Arab citizens a form of "affirmative action" for Jews. To show how disingenuous this line of argument is, let's turn the situation around. Consider the case of the Jewish minority in Morocco. Jews have lived in the country for more than 2,000 years. Newspapers regularly carry news of the community's cultural and religious events. Jews and Muslims venerate the same saints. Serge Berdugo, a Jew, served as minister of tourism in the 1990s and is now an ambassador at large. André Azoulay, the current adviser to the king, is Jewish. So is the country's most popular comedian, Gad El Maleh, and one of its most celebrated novelists, Edmond Amran El Maleh. One could put together a virtually endless list of these facts, but none of them would detract from this other truth: Last year, a Pew Research Center poll showed that 88 percent of Moroccans have a negative view of Jews; as shameful as this figure is, any serious discussion of Morocco's Jewish minority would have to include it. Meanwhile, in Israel, the Haifa-based Center Against Racism found that 68 percent of Jews polled revealed they were unwilling to live next to an Arab neighbor. Acknowledging anti-Semitism in some parts of the Arab world, therefore, should not require us to gloss over anti-Arab and anti-Muslim feelings in Israel. This reductionist way of thinking permeates The Trouble With Islam Today and gets tiresome very quickly. When Manji argues that Arabs and Muslims must learn to think differently about their present, she writes, "liberal Muslims have to get vocal about this fact: Washington is the unrealized hope, not the lead criminal." For all her advocacy of new modes of thinking, she seems not to have entertained another possibility: Washington can be both. The Caged Virgin and The Trouble With Islam Today are billed as profound meditations on faith and searing critiques of Islam's treatment of women and minorities, but they are riddled with inaccuracies and generalizations. In their persistent conflating of religion, civilization, geographical region and very distinct cultures, these books are more likely to obfuscate than educate. None of this is to suggest that there are not serious issues facing Muslim women today. Still less does it mean that we should excuse violence and oppression, in some relativist fashion, because they happen to take place in the region broadly defined as "Islam." Those who believe in gender equality have every reason to be concerned about radical Islamist parties that view women as mere vessels, defined by their reproductive powers. These right-wing Islamist parties resist changes in civil codes that grant women more rights or, worse, want to impose antiquated and dangerous forms of Sharia. It is therefore particularly troubling that they have made electoral gains in Palestine, Iraq, Egypt, Morocco and elsewhere. So now what? Where does this leave feminists of all stripes who genuinely care about the civil rights of their Muslim sisters? A good first step would be to stop treating Muslim women as a silent, helpless mass of undifferentiated beings who think alike and face identical problems, and instead to recognize that each country and each society has its own unique issues. A second would be to question and critically assess the well-intentioned but factually inaccurate books that often serve as the very basis for discussion. We need more dialogue and less polemic. A third would be to acknowledge that women--and men--in Muslim societies face problems of underdevelopment (chief among them illiteracy and poverty) and that tackling them would go a long way toward reducing inequities. As the colonial experience of the past century has proved, aligning with an agenda of war and domination will not result in the advancement of women's rights. On the contrary, such a top-down approach is bound to create a nationalist counterreaction that, as we have witnessed with Islamist parties, can be downright catastrophic. Rather, a bottom-up approach, where the many local, homegrown women's organizations are fully empowered stands a better chance in the long run. After all, isn't this how Western feminists made their own gains toward equality? Muslim women are used as pawns by Islamist movements that make the control of women's lives a foundation of their retrograde agenda, and by Western governments that use them as an excuse for building empire. These women have become a politicized class, prevented by edicts and bombs from taking charge of their own destinies. The time has come for the pawns to be queened. From lemoderateur at gmail.com Fri Jun 2 22:21:28 2006 From: lemoderateur at gmail.com (=?ISO-8859-1?Q?Le_Mod=E9rateur_De_Mauritanie-net?=) Date: Sat, 3 Jun 2006 08:21:28 +0300 Subject: [M-net] Slick Operator ( L'affaire Mauritanie-WoodSide : 8 Pages ) Message-ID: <9e1503ca0606022221s5f66fb7cj80fd57c053dc049c@mail.gmail.com> Slick operator THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD June 3, 2006 http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/06/02/1148956541283.html *Woodside's $1 billion investment in Mauritania's oil catapulted the company into the big league. Then came a coup, claims of corruption and a $US100 million settlement. * *Kate Askew and Violeta Ayala report.* ON FEBRUARY 21, a white four-wheel drive with darkened windows swept up to the front of the clay-coloured courthouse in the ramshackle Mauritanian capital of Nouakchott. Slipping out of the vehicle, past the armed security guards in navy blue uniforms and through the wire doors into the courtroom were representatives from Australia's largest oil company, Woodside Petroleum. Not in court that day, but a couple of minutes drive away behind the lush green hedging and white-trimmed, thick tan walls of Woodside's secure compound, was its chief executive, Donald Rudolph Voelte. The Mauritanian capital, a sandy, decaying and poverty-stricken city, isn't often host to someone of 53-year-old Voelte's standing. In Mauritania, bottled water counts as hard currency and business is done over a centuries-old tea-pouring ritual. What the Islamic nation in north-west Africa does have is oil - and plenty of it. Voelte was in town that day for Mauritania's oil. Or rather to try and salvage a situation on the brink of going horribly wrong. Woodside and its partners have a $1 billion investment sitting just 80 kilometres off Mauritania's coast. It has taken five years to develop the Chinguetti oilfield, and oil has just started flowing. But a change of government last August after a military coup left everything hanging in the balance. And for the country's former oil minister, a young, handsome and wealthy Arab, Zeidane Ould H'Meida, things suddenly turned ugly. Zeidane and Woodside knew each other well. The minister had visited Perthand the oil group's Perth headquarters two years earlier. With his short dark hair and European suits, Zeidane could pass for an oil company executive himself. He doesn't wear the traditional ankle-length cotton bubu with its tan applique and can often be found in Nouakchott at the upmarket La Palmerycafe and meeting point, with its waiting staff clad in Western clothes. He's also very rich. He owns a village in the Atar region, three hours drive from Nouakchott on the way to the ancient city of Chinguetti, as well as numerous mansions in Noukachott with large amounts of greenery, a sign of wealth. But in January 2006, six months after a military junta led by the head of police had seized control of the country in a bloodless coup, Zeidane was arrested, jailed and charged with corruption. "The ex-minister Zeidane is accused of three things," says the French-speaking Braheem Ul Ebbety, the Government's prosecutor. Sitting on one of the few chairs in his large sparsely furnished Nouakchotthouse, the prosecutor e"The first involves using false documentation in public documents, [the] second accusation against him is corruption and [the third accusations is] intelligence working with a foreign power, which could have a negative impact on the strategic interests of Mauritania." The core accusations relate to four amendments made to the original 2001 agreement between Woodside and the deposed government, amendments the new Government claims have cost Mauritania dearly. It was these amendments that landed Zeidane in jail, jeopardised Woodside's future and now have attracted the attention of the Australian Federal Police. Before Woodside's partner Hardman Resources started Mauritania's oil industry a decade ago, the country relied largely on its rich fishing industry. In Mauritania the Sahara desert runs into the Atlantic Ocean. It's a country where the rich are mostly Moors (Arabs-Berbers) - they make up 30 per cent of the population - and the black population, which accounts for 30 per cent, mostly do menial jobs. The remaining population is a mixture of the two. Its people descend from four "super" tribes who at one time or another warred with each other. In the past fighting was at the point of a sword and over camels. These days the stakes have risen: the ruling regime puts its enemies in jail and frighteningly large oil profits are the warring point. Oil, and the wealth it promised, had been used for years by the dictator Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya to keep power over an increasingly dissatisfied population. Because of recurrent drought, Mauritania received debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries scheme in 2000. Oil had attracted Mauritanians back from other African countries such as Libya to its east, and the US and Spain. Still, there were not jobs for everyone. For one, Woodside requested its employees speak English, which was not so common in the Arabic and French-speaking Mauritania. Zeidane, a minister in the pro-US, pro-Israel Taya regime, which had been in power since 1978, was deposed when Colonel Vall took power on an August morning last year. Vall took advantage of Taya's absence in Saudi Arabia and swooped. Promising a transition to a democratically elected government in 2007, Vall appointed Sidi Mohamed Ould Boubacar prime minister. Immediately the Government ordered a group of four auditors to sift through the Ministry of Oil's archives. "The new authorities tried during the month of September 2005 to see what the oil industry could bring to Mauritania," says Ebbety. Clearly all deals over oil made with the previous regime were off. On September 1, Woodside appointed a retired secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Ashton Calvert, to its board. When the Government's auditors approached Woodside, it was told the company had negotiated four amendments to the original 2001 contract. "The oil issue [Woodside's negotiations] were conducted by two or three persons, the minister [Zeidane], the president [Taya] and the president's wife," says Mohamed Ould Oumeir, editor of *La Tribune*, a French language weekly newspaper based in the capital. Oumeir is no stranger to controversy. He was taken into custody in 2005 and questioned after publishing concerns about the manner in which the amendments to the contracts were negotiated. "I was the first person to publicly denunciate the illegality of this amendments," he says. "An expert wrote a public letter to the former minister of oil to question the amendments." According to the new Government, the four amendments benefited Woodside at the expense of Mauritania. First, they modified the amount of profit the Government made from the production of oil from the Chinguetti field. Second, they modified the tax environment Woodside operated under. Third, they extended the length of the contract. And finally, Ebbety says: "It has a negative impact on the environment." The new president quickly focused on the renegotiated agreement. In an address to the nation on February 5, President Vall declared: "Those amendments cause harm to the national interest and can cause great harm to the environment and the shoreline. "We are going to use only the law to resolve the problem but in the meantime I declare all the amendments made to the original contract illegal." Woodside responded quickly and with its full force. Voelte made an emergency dash to Mauritania to negotiate with the Government. "Woodside came with a colonial attitude," says anti-corruption squad member Irabiha Abdel Wedoud. "They thought we are poor and ignorant nomads and they could do whatever they like." Meanwhile, Zeidane, languishing in jail, was denied bail. "There exists a shift of an extreme width between this supposed objective of the 'amendments' of February 1, 2005 and the real objective," said Mohamed Aly Ould Sidi Mohamed, Mauritania's new Oil Minister, in an interview in his office in February. "There is a substantial modification of the contents of the contract relating to the division of production, in the exclusive interests of Woodside," he says carefully. Ebbety, the Government's prosecutor and a former human rights lawyer, believes the amendments cost the Mauritanian Government up to $US200 million ($267.2 million) a year in lost revenue. The total revenue in the Mauritanian Government's coffers was last estimated at $US421 million in the CIA World Factbook. Voelte was to later say at Woodside's annual meeting: "I think we can say this with their agreement now, once we sat down and talked around the table: that number of $US200 million was probably - how might I say this best - probably miscalculated." On February 2, Zeidane left Nouakchott jail for his first court appearance. He was facing a life sentence. "If Zeidane got bribed it wasn't from Santa Claus," says Zeidane's lawyer, Adama Diop, who denies any corruption. "The law says that both parties should be in jail. The corruption doesn't come from heaven, corruption can't be a supposition, they have to show the tangible product of the corruption." Oil industry observers note that Mauritania has been Woodside's first outing in Africa as an operator and it shows. "They were dealing in a difficult country without the relevant experience," says one oil industry executive. Certainly some of its dealings have been clumsy, say a collective of non-government organisations in Mauritania. None was more so than a social impact statement prepared by an outside consultant, Environmental Resources Management's Australian arm. In ERM's draft, seen by the *Herald*, the report refers to Mauritania as having some practising Christians and claims its main languages are Hasaniya Arabic and Wolof, with some French being spoken. Wolof is the national language of Senegal, not Mauritania, and its population is Muslim, the NGO collective says. A small minority of people speak Wolof. Senegal borders Mauritania to the south. Confusing Mauritanians with the Senegalese is like Australians being referred to as Papua New Guineans, says the president of the NGO collective, Khatu Mint Baham. On February 6, a day after the Mauritanian president came out publicly criticising Woodside, the Oil Minister followed suit. "The Government cannot accept these documents, which constitute a clear violation of the law," said Sidi Mohamed. "Mauritania recognises the interests of third parties and respects its obligations, but in return won't accept having its legitimate rights trampled on." One of the key elements of the amended contract is a relaxing of environmental regulations. As it is, environmental concerns count for little in Mauritania. Under the terms of the agreement, Woodside prepared its own environmental impact assessment statement. According to the amendments, it is up to Woodside to monitor itself according to its own environmental plan. One of the major environmental concerns, taken up by Greens Senator Christine Milne, revolves around Chinguetti's floating production and storage operation. Oil is pumped from the Chinguetti well up from the sea floor and on to a retired sea tanker, the Berge Helene. Milne says the Berge Helene is a single-hulled vessel and Woodside ought to use a double-hulled ship as it does at its North-West Shelf operations off the coast of Western Australia, to protect from collisions and consequent oil spillage. Massive fishing boats trawl the waters around the Berge Helen, she says. "This is the nursery for Africa's fisheries." The tax amendments appear to have stemmed from a misprint in the original contract. The 2001 document had two contradictory figures relating to taxes. In the amended contract, Woodside and the Government agreed that the lower figure would apply. Another section of the amendments relates to the provision of goods. Under the amended contract, seen by the *Herald*, Woodside is required to "give their preference to Mauritanian enterprises and goods, under equivalent conditions in terms of price, quantity, quality, conditions of payment and delivery time". It also says the company must call for bids for contracts worth more than $US250,000. But a final paragraph deftly sidesteps this condition. In short, it says that with the approval of the Minister for Hydrocarbons, the contracts can be awarded "without issuing tenders, on a sole source basis". The company is now accused of exploiting that loophole. "Woodside didn't even make a small impact for the people, they import everything and they make excuses that the market doesn't match their necessities," says Wedoud of the anti-corruption squad. "They import everything from Europe, even the onions." Back in February, Woodside was still maintaining the amendments were legally binding. "We are not going to debate this in the public arena," said Brendan Augustine, a former Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade employee who is now Woodside's man on the ground in Nouakchott. "We believe they are binding." Woodside wasn't even going to release the details of the Mauritanian issues to its shareholders. That was left up to its smaller partners in Chinguetti. "The supplementary agreements [amendments] in dispute were the result of a co-operative process undertaken with the Mauritanian Government," said Hardman on February 7. "They contain clarifications and amendments to the PSCs [production sharing contracts] agreed over a period of years." Another partner, Roc Oil, was in the middle of a European roadshow to raise funds from institutional investors and notified the stockmarket of the issues with the Mauritanian Government after Zeidane was arrested and thrown in jail. It said in a market release on January 18 that Woodside was in discussions with the Mauritanian Government and those discussions related to "elements of documents which are ancillary to the PSCs." "When we announced it and we finalised the raising the attitude in London [from investors] was we're not fussed by this [Mauritanian political upheaval]," said Roc Oil boss John Doran during the week. There is little doubt there is a cultural chasm between Woodside's management and the diverse and complex Mauritanian population. Nouakchott has only two buildings of any size. Shops are roadside lean-to affairs. Hygiene doesn't rate highly. In one telephone shop a shopper relieved himself in the corner before picking up a cigarette packet to clean himself up. Minutes later another shopper repeats the exercise, using the same cigarette packet to clean himself. The Woodside issue, meanwhile, is hotly debated on the streets. "Woodside are going to court for unfair dismissal," said a former Woodside worker, now a private driver, when interviewed in Nouakchott in February, saying 117 workers were sacked. "One day I went to work and they said to me there is no work any more, with no further explanation." Even the small student community in Nouakchott became involved. On March 2 a student rally was held at the only university in Mauritania. While the essence of the amendments has been hotly debated, more serious were allegations the changes had not been properly implemented. Ebbety, the prosecutor, says an examination of the contracts shows the amendments were put in place before they were officially signed by the Government. "I want to say something else that is irregular," says Ebbety. "The law that concerns the mining and investment code in Mauritania says that all of the contract amendments can only enter into effect once they have been ratified by law." A copy of the four amendments that the *Herald* has seen, however, appears to have been backdated to December 26, 2004. The amendments were submitted to the National Assembly in January and the law was enacted the following month. Zeidane's lawyer doesn't agree. "The amendments that I have seen have all the signatures. They went through the Prime Minister and then through the Parliament that voted for the changes. I believe everything is legal," says Diop. Woodside has always argued the controversial amendments were all above board. But in March this year, it was willing to pay more to secure the tenure of the Chinguetti oil project. On March 31, Don Voelte agreed to hand over $US100 million to the seven-month-old Mauritanian Government. He has labelled suggestions that the payment was not legal as "patently ridiculous". Voelte argues the payment was made because it was a "$US30 [a barrel] world" when Chinguetti was developed and now it's a "$US60 world". But it did more than agree to the payment. It went one step further. The controversial amendments were dropped. And just as the payment was finalised, Zeidane, the former oil minister, was released from jail. The party at Zeidane's house went on for three days. His vast home had more than 30 camels outside, after his release, and as many vehicles again. "There is no proven link between Zeidane and Woodside, the judges are incompetent and this is a non-democratic government," says Diop. "My client has money because he was a minister. In which country did you see a poor minister?" Woodside announced it had come to an agreement with the Mauritanian Government. But it did not name a figure in its release to its shareholders. That was left up to the Mauritanian Government and the Mauritanian press. Of the $US100 million on which the Government has yet to officially sign off, $US1.4 million will be set aside for an environmental fund. Later, Voelte gave his employees an insight into the negotiations in an email. "This is a commercial settlement," he wrote. "Once the agreement is fully concluded, the bonus will be paid through proper channels to the Mauritanian Government without any secrecy, just like we will pay our taxes in that country." As for Zeidane, he was "never" discussed during Woodside's negotiations with the Mauritanian Government, according to Voelte. His email to staff said: "The agreement to resolve the dispute contains no reference to the release of the former energy minister or his immunity from prosecution. Nor did the agreement come with any such written or unwritten understanding." Zeidane's prosecutor, Ebbety, believes that in being released from jail, Zeidane "gained an enormous advantage from Woodside". Australia's Senator Milne says with Mauritania's weak democratic processes, the Mauritanian Government has little capacity to negotiate appropriately. Zeidane's lawyer, Diop, is even more philosophical. "In every country in general things like this happen. Woodside is a corporation, they could have come and find nothing ? oil always brings problems in Africa, America or Europe. We live in a commercial world where the smartest one takes advantage of the less smart one." Certainly Mauritania is still not politically stable. Voelte, who would not speak to the *Herald*, may have secured Woodside's future in Mauritania for the meantime, but the problem of its political dealings in Mauritania hasn't quite gone away. Senator Milne has asked the police to look into bribery allegations. In Senate Estimates in Parliament House on Monday, she also asked whether the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's Paris office had worked with Woodside on facilitating access to Mauritania. "It really depends on what you have in mind. There will be instances where the Paris embassy may make representations on behalf of Australian companies in Mauritania," responded DFAT's deputy secretary, Doug Chester. "When the head of the mission visits she picks up issues in relation to a number of Australian companies that are working in Mauritania. It is an ongoing part of our work, as necessary, to promote Australian business access and deal with their issues." Voelte, meanwhile, was adamant in his email to Woodside employees that the allegations "have no standing and can easily be dismissed". "The slur made against our company and all of us who work at Woodside is more difficult to deal with. As you know, we have a corporate code of conduct that I am passionate about. "Compliance with the law - in every jurisdiction we operate in - is at the heart of this code." But in Mauritania at least, the brouhaha appears to be forgotten. The government prosecutor and human rights lawyer Ebbety says it all. "The state doesn't speak of it any more." *Violeta Ayala and Dan Fallshaw's documentary Between the Oil and the Deep Blue Sea airs on the BBC later this year.* xplains the charges. "The new authorities tried during the month of September 2005 to see what the oil industry could bring to Mauritania," says Ebbety. Clearly all deals over oil made with the previous regime were off. On September 1, Woodside appointed a retired secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Ashton Calvert, to its board. When the Government's auditors approached Woodside, it was told the company had negotiated four amendments to the original 2001 contract. "The oil issue [Woodside's negotiations] were conducted by two or three persons, the minister [Zeidane], the president [Taya] and the president's wife," says Mohamed Ould Oumeir, editor of *La Tribune*, a French language weekly newspaper based in the capital. Oumeir is no stranger to controversy. He was taken into custody in 2005 and questioned after publishing concerns about the manner in which the amendments to the contracts were negotiated. "I was the first person to publicly denunciate the illegality of this amendments," he says. "An expert wrote a public letter to the former minister of oil to question the amendments." According to the new Government, the four amendments benefited Woodside at the expense of Mauritania. First, they modified the amount of profit the Government made from the production of oil from the Chinguetti field. Second, they modified the tax environment Woodside operated under. Third, they extended the length of the contract. And finally, Ebbety says: "It has a negative impact on the environment." The new president quickly focused on the renegotiated agreement. In an address to the nation on February 5, President Vall declared: "Those amendments cause harm to the national interest and can cause great harm to the environment and the shoreline. "We are going to use only the law to resolve the problem but in the meantime I declare all the amendments made to the original contract illegal." Woodside responded quickly and with its full force. Voelte made an emergency dash to Mauritania to negotiate with the Government. "Woodside came with a colonial attitude," says anti-corruption squad member Irabiha Abdel Wedoud. "They thought we are poor and ignorant nomads and they could do whatever they like." Meanwhile, Zeidane, languishing in jail, was denied bail. "There exists a shift of an extreme width between this supposed objective of the 'amendments' of February 1, 2005 and the real objective," said Mohamed Aly Ould Sidi Mohamed, Mauritania's new Oil Minister, in an interview in his office in February. "There is a substantial modification of the contents of the contract relating to the division of production, in the exclusive interests of Woodside," he says carefully. Ebbety, the Government's prosecutor and a former human rights lawyer, believes the amendments cost the Mauritanian Government up to $US200 million ($267.2 million) a year in lost revenue. The total revenue in the Mauritanian Government's coffers was last estimated at $US421 million in the CIA World Factbook. Voelte was to later say at Woodside's annual meeting: "I think we can say this with their agreement now, once we sat down and talked around the table: that number of $US200 million was probably - how might I say this best - probably miscalculated." On February 2, Zeidane left Nouakchott jail for his first court appearance. He was facing a life sentence. "If Zeidane got bribed it wasn't from Santa Claus," says Zeidane's lawyer, Adama Diop, who denies any corruption. "The law says that both parties should be in jail. The corruption doesn't come from heaven, corruption can't be a supposition, they have to show the tangible product of the corruption." Oil industry observers note that Mauritania has been Woodside's first outing in Africa as an operator and it shows. "They were dealing in a difficult country without the relevant experience," says one oil industry executive. Certainly some of its dealings have been clumsy, say a collective of non-government organisations in Mauritania. None was more so than a social impact statement prepared by an outside consultant, Environmental Resources Management's Australian arm. In ERM's draft, seen by the *Herald*, the report refers to Mauritania as having some practising Christians and claims its main languages are Hasaniya Arabic and Wolof, with some French being spoken. Wolof is the national language of Senegal, not Mauritania, and its population is Muslim, the NGO collective says. A small minority of people speak Wolof. Senegal borders Mauritania to the south. Confusing Mauritanians with the Senegalese is like Australians being referred to as Papua New Guineans, says the president of the NGO collective, Khatu Mint Baham. On February 6, a day after the Mauritanian president came out publicly criticising Woodside, the Oil Minister followed suit. "The Government cannot accept these documents, which constitute a clear violation of the law," said Sidi Mohamed. "Mauritania recognises the interests of third parties and respects its obligations, but in return won't accept having its legitimate rights trampled on." One of the key elements of the amended contract is a relaxing of environmental regulations. As it is, environmental concerns count for little in Mauritania. Under the terms of the agreement, Woodside prepared its own environmental impact assessment statement. According to the amendments, it is up to Woodside to monitor itself according to its own environmental plan. One of the major environmental concerns, taken up by Greens Senator Christine Milne, revolves around Chinguetti's floating production and storage operation. Oil is pumped from the Chinguetti well up from the sea floor and on to a retired sea tanker, the Berge Helene. Milne says the Berge Helene is a single-hulled vessel and Woodside ought to use a double-hulled ship as it does at its North-West Shelf operations off the coast of Western Australia, to protect from collisions and consequent oil spillage. Massive fishing boats trawl the waters around the Berge Helen, she says. "This is the nursery for Africa's fisheries." The tax amendments appear to have stemmed from a misprint in the original contract. The 2001 document had two contradictory figures relating to taxes. In the amended contract, Woodside and the Government agreed that the lower figure would apply. Another section of the amendments relates to the provision of goods. Under the amended contract, seen by the *Herald*, Woodside is required to "give their preference to Mauritanian enterprises and goods, under equivalent conditions in terms of price, quantity, quality, conditions of payment and delivery time". It also says the company must call for bids for contracts worth more than $US250,000. But a final paragraph deftly sidesteps this condition. In short, it says that with the approval of the Minister for Hydrocarbons, the contracts can be awarded "without issuing tenders, on a sole source basis". The company is now accused of exploiting that loophole. "Woodside didn't even make a small impact for the people, they import everything and they make excuses that the market doesn't match their necessities," says Wedoud of the anti-corruption squad. "They import everything from Europe, even the onions." Back in February, Woodside was still maintaining the amendments were legally binding. "We are not going to debate this in the public arena," said Brendan Augustine, a former Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade employee who is now Woodside's man on the ground in Nouakchott. "We believe they are binding." Woodside wasn't even going to release the details of the Mauritanian issues to its shareholders. That was left up to its smaller partners in Chinguetti. "The supplementary agreements [amendments] in dispute were the result of a co-operative process undertaken with the Mauritanian Government," said Hardman on February 7. "They contain clarifications and amendments to the PSCs [production sharing contracts] agreed over a period of years." Another partner, Roc Oil, was in the middle of a European roadshow to raise funds from institutional investors and notified the stockmarket of the issues with the Mauritanian Government after Zeidane was arrested and thrown in jail. It said in a market release on January 18 that Woodside was in discussions with the Mauritanian Government and those discussions related to "elements of documents which are ancillary to the PSCs." "When we announced it and we finalised the raising the attitude in London[from investors] was we're not fussed by this [Mauritanian political upheaval]," said Roc Oil boss John Doran during the week. There is little doubt there is a cultural chasm between Woodside's management and the diverse and complex Mauritanian population. Nouakchott has only two buildings of any size. Shops are roadside lean-to affairs. Hygiene doesn't rate highly. In one telephone shop a shopper relieved himself in the corner before picking up a cigarette packet to clean himself up. Minutes later another shopper repeats the exercise, using the same cigarette packet to clean himself. The Woodside issue, meanwhile, is hotly debated on the streets. "Woodside are going to court for unfair dismissal," said a former Woodside worker, now a private driver, when interviewed in Nouakchott in February, saying 117 workers were sacked. "One day I went to work and they said to me there is no work any more, with no further explanation." Even the small student community in Nouakchott became involved. On March 2 astudent rally was held at the only university in Mauritania. While the essence of the amendments has been hotly debated, more serious were allegations the changes had not been properly implemented. Ebbety, the prosecutor, says an examination of the contracts shows the amendments were put in place before they were officially signed by the Government. "I want to say something else that is irregular," says Ebbety. "The law that concerns the mining and investment code in Mauritania says that all of the contract amendments can only enter into effect once they have been ratified by law." A copy of the four amendments that the *Herald* has seen, however, appears to have been backdated to December 26, 2004. The amendments were submitted to the National Assembly in January and the law was enacted the following month. Zeidane's lawyer doesn't agree. "The amendments that I have seen have all the signatures. They went through the Prime Minister and then through the Parliament that voted for the changes. I believe everything is legal," says Diop. Woodside has always argued the controversial amendments were all above board. But in March this year, it was willing to pay more to secure the tenure of the Chinguetti oil project. On March 31, Don Voelte agreed to hand over $US100 million to the seven-month-old Mauritanian Government. He has labelled suggestions that the payment was not legal as "patently ridiculous". Voelte argues the payment was made because it was a "$US30 [a barrel] world" when Chinguetti was developed and now it's a "$US60 world". But it did more than agree to the payment. It went one step further. The controversial amendments were dropped. And just as the payment was finalised, Zeidane, the former oil minister, was released from jail. The party at Zeidane's house went on for three days. His vast home had more than 30 camels outside, after his release, and as many vehicles again. "There is no proven link between Zeidane and Woodside, the judges are incompetent and this is a non-democratic government," says Diop. "My client has money because he was a minister. In which country did you see a poor minister?" Woodside announced it had come to an agreement with the Mauritanian Government. But it did not name a figure in its release to its shareholders. That was left up to the Mauritanian Government and the Mauritanian press. Of the $US100 million on which the Government has yet to officially sign off, $US1.4 million will be set aside for an environmental fund. Later, Voelte gave his employees an insight into the negotiations in an email. "This is a commercial settlement," he wrote. "Once the agreement is fully concluded, the bonus will be paid through proper channels to the Mauritanian Government without any secrecy, just like we will pay our taxes in that country." As for Zeidane, he was "never" discussed during Woodside's negotiations with the Mauritanian Government, according to Voelte. His email to staff said: "The agreement to resolve the dispute contains no reference to the release of the former energy minister or his immunity from prosecution. Nor did the agreement come with any such written or unwritten understanding." Zeidane's prosecutor, Ebbety, believes that in being released from jail, Zeidane "gained an enormous advantage from Woodside". Australia's Senator Milne says with Mauritania's weak democratic processes, the Mauritanian Government has little capacity to negotiate appropriately. Zeidane's lawyer, Diop, is even more philosophical. "In every country in general things like this happen. Woodside is a corporation, they could have come and find nothing ? oil always brings problems in Africa, America or Europe. We live in a commercial world where the smartest one takes advantage of the less smart one." Certainly Mauritania is still not politically stable. Voelte, who would not speak to the *Herald*, may have secured Woodside's future in Mauritania for the meantime, but the problem of its political dealings in Mauritania hasn't quite gone away. Senator Milne has asked the police to look into bribery allegations. In Senate Estimates in Parliament House on Monday, she also asked whether the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's Paris office had worked with Woodside on facilitating access to Mauritania. "It really depends on what you have in mind. There will be instances where the Paris embassy may make representations on behalf of Australian companies in Mauritania," responded DFAT's deputy secretary, Doug Chester. "When the head of the mission visits she picks up issues in relation to a number of Australian companies that are working in Mauritania. It is an ongoing part of our work, as necessary, to promote Australian business access and deal with their issues." Voelte, meanwhile, was adamant in his email to Woodside employees that the allegations "have no standing and can easily be dismissed". "The slur made against our company and all of us who work at Woodside is more difficult to deal with. As you know, we have a corporate code of conduct that I am passionate about. "Compliance with the law - in every jurisdiction we operate in - is at the heart of this code." But in Mauritania at least, the brouhaha appears to be forgotten. The government prosecutor and human rights lawyer Ebbety says it all. "The state doesn't speak of it any more." *Violeta Ayala and Dan Fallshaw's documentary Between the Oil and the Deep Blue Sea airs on the BBC later this year.* Zeidane's prosecutor, Ebbety, believes that in being released from jail, Zeidane "gained an enormous advantage from Woodside". Australia's Senator Milne says with Mauritania's weak democratic processes, the Mauritanian Government has little capacity to negotiate appropriately. Zeidane's lawyer, Diop, is even more philosophical. "In every country in general things like this happen. Woodside is a corporation, they could have come and find nothing ? oil always brings problems in Africa, America or Europe. We live in a commercial world where the smartest one takes advantage of the less smart one." Certainly Mauritania is still not politically stable. Voelte, who would not speak to the *Herald*, may have secured Woodside's future in Mauritania for the meantime, but the problem of its political dealings in Mauritania hasn't quite gone away. Senator Milne has asked the police to look into bribery allegations. In Senate Estimates in Parliament House on Monday, she also asked whether the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's Paris office had worked with Woodside on facilitating access to Mauritania. "It really depends on what you have in mind. There will be instances where the Paris embassy may make representations on behalf of Australian companies in Mauritania," responded DFAT's deputy secretary, Doug Chester. "When the head of the mission visits she picks up issues in relation to a number of Australian companies that are working in Mauritania. It is an ongoing part of our work, as necessary, to promote Australian business access and deal with their issues." Voelte, meanwhile, was adamant in his email to Woodside employees that the allegations "have no standing and can easily be dismissed". "The slur made against our company and all of us who work at Woodside is more difficult to deal with. As you know, we have a corporate code of conduct that I am passionate about. "Compliance with the law - in every jurisdiction we operate in - is at the heart of this code." But in Mauritania at least, the brouhaha appears to be forgotten. The government prosecutor and human rights lawyer Ebbety says it all. "The state doesn't speak of it any more." *Violeta Ayala and Dan Fallshaw's documentary Between the Oil and the Deep Blue Sea airs on the BBC later this year.* A copy of the four amendments that the *Herald* has seen, however, appears to have been backdated to December 26, 2004. The amendments were submitted to the National Assembly in January and the law was enacted the following month. Zeidane's lawyer doesn't agree. "The amendments that I have seen have all the signatures. They went through the Prime Minister and then through the Parliament that voted for the changes. I believe everything is legal," says Diop. Woodside has always argued the controversial amendments were all above board. But in March this year, it was willing to pay more to secure the tenure of the Chinguetti oil project. On March 31, Don Voelte agreed to hand over $US100 million to the seven-month-old Mauritanian Government. He has labelled suggestions that the payment was not legal as "patently ridiculous". Voelte argues the payment was made because it was a "$US30 [a barrel] world" when Chinguetti was developed and now it's a "$US60 world". But it did more than agree to the payment. It went one step further. The controversial amendments were dropped. And just as the payment was finalised, Zeidane, the former oil minister, was released from jail. The party at Zeidane's house went on for three days. His vast home had more than 30 camels outside, after his release, and as many vehicles again. "There is no proven link between Zeidane and Woodside, the judges are incompetent and this is a non-democratic government," says Diop. "My client has money because he was a minister. In which country did you see a poor minister?" Woodside announced it had come to an agreement with the Mauritanian Government. But it did not name a figure in its release to its shareholders. That was left up to the Mauritanian Government and the Mauritanian press. Of the $US100 million on which the Government has yet to officially sign off, $US1.4 million will be set aside for an environmental fund. Later, Voelte gave his employees an insight into the negotiations in an email. "This is a commercial settlement," he wrote. "Once the agreement is fully concluded, the bonus will be paid through proper channels to the Mauritanian Government without any secrecy, just like we will pay our taxes in that country." As for Zeidane, he was "never" discussed during Woodside's negotiations with the Mauritanian Government, according to Voelte. His email to staff said: "The agreement to resolve the dispute contains no reference to the release of the former energy minister or his immunity from prosecution. Nor did the agreement come with any such written or unwritten understanding." Zeidane's prosecutor, Ebbety, believes that in being released from jail, Zeidane "gained an enormous advantage from Woodside". Australia's Senator Milne says with Mauritania's weak democratic processes, the Mauritanian Government has little capacity to negotiate appropriately. Zeidane's lawyer, Diop, is even more philosophical. "In every country in general things like this happen. Woodside is a corporation, they could have come and find nothing ? oil always brings problems in Africa, America or Europe. We live in a commercial world where the smartest one takes advantage of the less smart one." Certainly Mauritania is still not politically stable. Voelte, who would not speak to the *Herald*, may have secured Woodside's future in Mauritania for the meantime, but the problem of its political dealings in Mauritania hasn't quite gone away. Senator Milne has asked the police to look into bribery allegations. In Senate Estimates in Parliament House on Monday, she also asked whether the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's Paris office had worked with Woodside on facilitating access to Mauritania. "It really depends on what you have in mind. There will be instances where the Paris embassy may make representations on behalf of Australian companies in Mauritania," responded DFAT's deputy secretary, Doug Chester. "When the head of the mission visits she picks up issues in relation to a number of Australian companies that are working in Mauritania. It is an ongoing part of our work, as necessary, to promote Australian business access and deal with their issues." Voelte, meanwhile, was adamant in his email to Woodside employees that the allegations "have no standing and can easily be dismissed". "The slur made against our company and all of us who work at Woodside is more difficult to deal with. As you know, we have a corporate code of conduct that I am passionate about. "Compliance with the law - in every jurisdiction we operate in - is at the heart of this code." But in Mauritania at least, the brouhaha appears to be forgotten. The government prosecutor and human rights lawyer Ebbety says it all. "The state doesn't speak of it any more." *Violeta Ayala and Dan Fallshaw's documentary Between the Oil and the Deep Blue Sea airs on the BBC later this year.* Woodside wasn't even going to release the details of the Mauritanian issues to its shareholders. That was left up to its smaller partners in Chinguetti. "The supplementary agreements [amendments] in dispute were the result of a co-operative process undertaken with the Mauritanian Government," said Hardman on February 7. "They contain clarifications and amendments to the PSCs [production sharing contracts] agreed over a period of years." Another partner, Roc Oil, was in the middle of a European roadshow to raise funds from institutional investors and notified the stockmarket of the issues with the Mauritanian Government after Zeidane was arrested and thrown in jail. It said in a market release on January 18 that Woodside was in discussions with the Mauritanian Government and those discussions related to "elements of documents which are ancillary to the PSCs." "When we announced it and we finalised the raising the attitude in London [from investors] was we're not fussed by this [Mauritanian political upheaval]," said Roc Oil boss John Doran during the week. There is little doubt there is a cultural chasm between Woodside's management and the diverse and complex Mauritanian population. Nouakchott has only two buildings of any size. Shops are roadside lean-to affairs. Hygiene doesn't rate highly. In one telephone shop a shopper relieved himself in the corner before picking up a cigarette packet to clean himself up. Minutes later another shopper repeats the exercise, using the same cigarette packet to clean himself. The Woodside issue, meanwhile, is hotly debated on the streets. "Woodside are going to court for unfair dismissal," said a former Woodside worker, now a private driver, when interviewed in Nouakchott in February, saying 117 workers were sacked. "One day I went to work and they said to me there is no work any more, with no further explanation." Even the small student community in Nouakchott became involved. On March 2 a student rally was held at the only university in Mauritania. While the essence of the amendments has been hotly debated, more serious were allegations the changes had not been properly implemented. Ebbety, the prosecutor, says an examination of the contracts shows the amendments were put in place before they were officially signed by the Government. "I want to say something else that is irregular," says Ebbety. "The law that concerns the mining and investment code in Mauritania says that all of the contract amendments can only enter into effect once they have been ratified by law." A copy of the four amendments that the *Herald* has seen, however, appears to have been backdated to December 26, 2004. The amendments were submitted to the National Assembly in January and the law was enacted the following month. Zeidane's lawyer doesn't agree. "The amendments that I have seen have all the signatures. They went through the Prime Minister and then through the Parliament that voted for the changes. I believe everything is legal," says Diop. Woodside has always argued the controversial amendments were all above board. But in March this year, it was willing to pay more to secure the tenure of the Chinguetti oil project. On March 31, Don Voelte agreed to hand over $US100 million to the seven-month-old Mauritanian Government. He has labelled suggestions that the payment was not legal as "patently ridiculous". Voelte argues the payment was made because it was a "$US30 [a barrel] world" when Chinguetti was developed and now it's a "$US60 world". But it did more than agree to the payment. It went one step further. The controversial amendments were dropped. And just as the payment was finalised, Zeidane, the former oil minister, was released from jail. The party at Zeidane's house went on for three days. His vast home had more than 30 camels outside, after his release, and as many vehicles again. "There is no proven link between Zeidane and Woodside, the judges are incompetent and this is a non-democratic government," says Diop. "My client has money because he was a minister. In which country did you see a poor minister?" Woodside announced it had come to an agreement with the Mauritanian Government. But it did not name a figure in its release to its shareholders. That was left up to the Mauritanian Government and the Mauritanian press. Of the $US100 million on which the Government has yet to officially sign off, $US1.4 million will be set aside for an environmental fund. Later, Voelte gave his employees an insight into the negotiations in an email. "This is a commercial settlement," he wrote. "Once the agreement is fully concluded, the bonus will be paid through proper channels to the Mauritanian Government without any secrecy, just like we will pay our taxes in that country." As for Zeidane, he was "never" discussed during Woodside's negotiations with the Mauritanian Government, according to Voelte. His email to staff said: "The agreement to resolve the dispute contains no reference to the release of the former energy minister or his immunity from prosecution. Nor did the agreement come with any such written or unwritten understanding." Zeidane's prosecutor, Ebbety, believes that in being released from jail, Zeidane "gained an enormous advantage from Woodside". Australia's Senator Milne says with Mauritania's weak democratic processes, the Mauritanian Government has little capacity to negotiate appropriately. Zeidane's lawyer, Diop, is even more philosophical. "In every country in general things like this happen. Woodside is a corporation, they could have come and find nothing ? oil always brings problems in Africa, America or Europe. We live in a commercial world where the smartest one takes advantage of the less smart one." Certainly Mauritania is still not politically stable. Voelte, who would not speak to the *Herald*, may have secured Woodside's future in Mauritania for the meantime, but the problem of its political dealings in Mauritania hasn't quite gone away. Senator Milne has asked the police to look into bribery allegations. In Senate Estimates in Parliament House on Monday, she also asked whether the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's Paris office had worked with Woodside on facilitating access to Mauritania. "It really depends on what you have in mind. There will be instances where the Paris embassy may make representations on behalf of Australian companies in Mauritania," responded DFAT's deputy secretary, Doug Chester. "When the head of the mission visits she picks up issues in relation to a number of Australian companies that are working in Mauritania. It is an ongoing part of our work, as necessary, to promote Australian business access and deal with their issues." Voelte, meanwhile, was adamant in his email to Woodside employees that the allegations "have no standing and can easily be dismissed". "The slur made against our company and all of us who work at Woodside is more difficult to deal with. As you know, we have a corporate code of conduct that I am passionate about. "Compliance with the law - in every jurisdiction we operate in - is at the heart of this code." But in Mauritania at least, the brouhaha appears to be forgotten. The government prosecutor and human rights lawyer Ebbety says it all. "The state doesn't speak of it any more." *Violeta Ayala and Dan Fallshaw's documentary Between the Oil and the Deep Blue Sea airs on the BBC later this year.* One of the key elements of the amended contract is a relaxing of environmental regulations. As it is, environmental concerns count for little in Mauritania. Under the terms of the agreement, Woodside prepared its own environmental impact assessment statement. According to the amendments, it is up to Woodside to monitor itself according to its own environmental plan. One of the major environmental concerns, taken up by Greens Senator Christine Milne, revolves around Chinguetti's floating production and storage operation. Oil is pumped from the Chinguetti well up from the sea floor and on to a retired sea tanker, the Berge Helene. Milne says the Berge Helene is a single-hulled vessel and Woodside ought to use a double-hulled ship as it does at its North-West Shelf operations off the coast of Western Australia, to protect from collisions and consequent oil spillage. Massive fishing boats trawl the waters around the Berge Helen, she says. "This is the nursery for Africa's fisheries." The tax amendments appear to have stemmed from a misprint in the original contract. The 2001 document had two contradictory figures relating to taxes. In the amended contract, Woodside and the Government agreed that the lower figure would apply. Another section of the amendments relates to the provision of goods. Under the amended contract, seen by the *Herald*, Woodside is required to "give their preference to Mauritanian enterprises and goods, under equivalent conditions in terms of price, quantity, quality, conditions of payment and delivery time". It also says the company must call for bids for contracts worth more than $US250,000. But a final paragraph deftly sidesteps this condition. In short, it says that with the approval of the Minister for Hydrocarbons, the contracts can be awarded "without issuing tenders, on a sole source basis". The company is now accused of exploiting that loophole. "Woodside didn't even make a small impact for the people, they import everything and they make excuses that the market doesn't match their necessities," says Wedoud of the anti-corruption squad. "They import everything from Europe, even the onions." Back in February, Woodside was still maintaining the amendments were legally binding. "We are not going to debate this in the public arena," said Brendan Augustine, a former Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade employee who is now Woodside's man on the ground in Nouakchott. "We believe they are binding." Woodside wasn't even going to release the details of the Mauritanian issues to its shareholders. That was left up to its smaller partners in Chinguetti. "The supplementary agreements [amendments] in dispute were the result of a co-operative process undertaken with the Mauritanian Government," said Hardman on February 7. "They contain clarifications and amendments to the PSCs [production sharing contracts] agreed over a period of years." Another partner, Roc Oil, was in the middle of a European roadshow to raise funds from institutional investors and notified the stockmarket of the issues with the Mauritanian Government after Zeidane was arrested and thrown in jail. It said in a market release on January 18 that Woodside was in discussions with the Mauritanian Government and those discussions related to "elements of documents which are ancillary to the PSCs." "When we announced it and we finalised the raising the attitude in London [from investors] was we're not fussed by this [Mauritanian political upheaval]," said Roc Oil boss John Doran during the week. There is little doubt there is a cultural chasm between Woodside's management and the diverse and complex Mauritanian population. Nouakchott has only two buildings of any size. Shops are roadside lean-to affairs. Hygiene doesn't rate highly. In one telephone shop a shopper relieved himself in the corner before picking up a cigarette packet to clean himself up. Minutes later another shopper repeats the exercise, using the same cigarette packet to clean himself. The Woodside issue, meanwhile, is hotly debated on the streets. "Woodside are going to court for unfair dismissal," said a former Woodside worker, now a private driver, when interviewed in Nouakchott in February, saying 117 workers were sacked. "One day I went to work and they said to me there is no work any more, with no further explanation." Even the small student community in Nouakchott became involved. On March 2 a student rally was held at the only university in Mauritania. While the essence of the amendments has been hotly debated, more serious were allegations the changes had not been properly implemented. Ebbety, the prosecutor, says an examination of the contracts shows the amendments were put in place before they were officially signed by the Government. "I want to say something else that is irregular," says Ebbety. "The law that concerns the mining and investment code in Mauritania says that all of the contract amendments can only enter into effect once they have been ratified by law." A copy of the four amendments that the *Herald* has seen, however, appears to have been backdated to December 26, 2004. The amendments were submitted to the National Assembly in January and the law was enacted the following month. Zeidane's lawyer doesn't agree. "The amendments that I have seen have all the signatures. They went through the Prime Minister and then through the Parliament that voted for the changes. I believe everything is legal," says Diop. Woodside has always argued the controversial amendments were all above board. But in March this year, it was willing to pay more to secure the tenure of the Chinguetti oil project. On March 31, Don Voelte agreed to hand over $US100 million to the seven-month-old Mauritanian Government. He has labelled suggestions that the payment was not legal as "patently ridiculous". Voelte argues the payment was made because it was a "$US30 [a barrel] world" when Chinguetti was developed and now it's a "$US60 world". But it did more than agree to the payment. It went one step further. The controversial amendments were dropped. And just as the payment was finalised, Zeidane, the former oil minister, was released from jail. The party at Zeidane's house went on for three days. His vast home had more than 30 camels outside, after his release, and as many vehicles again. "There is no proven link between Zeidane and Woodside, the judges are incompetent and this is a non-democratic government," says Diop. "My client has money because he was a minister. In which country did you see a poor minister?" Woodside announced it had come to an agreement with the Mauritanian Government. But it did not name a figure in its release to its shareholders. That was left up to the Mauritanian Government and the Mauritanian press. Of the $US100 million on which the Government has yet to officially sign off, $US1.4 million will be set aside for an environmental fund. Later, Voelte gave his employees an insight into the negotiations in an email. "This is a commercial settlement," he wrote. "Once the agreement is fully concluded, the bonus will be paid through proper channels to the Mauritanian Government without any secrecy, just like we will pay our taxes in that country." As for Zeidane, he was "never" discussed during Woodside's negotiations with the Mauritanian Government, according to Voelte. His email to staff said: "The agreement to resolve the dispute contains no reference to the release of the former energy minister or his immunity from prosecution. Nor did the agreement come with any such written or unwritten understanding." Zeidane's prosecutor, Ebbety, believes that in being released from jail, Zeidane "gained an enormous advantage from Woodside". Australia's Senator Milne says with Mauritania's weak democratic processes, the Mauritanian Government has little capacity to negotiate appropriately. Zeidane's lawyer, Diop, is even more philosophical. "In every country in general things like this happen. Woodside is a corporation, they could have come and find nothing ? oil always brings problems in Africa, America or Europe. We live in a commercial world where the smartest one takes advantage of the less smart one." Certainly Mauritania is still not politically stable. Voelte, who would not speak to the *Herald*, may have secured Woodside's future in Mauritania for the meantime, but the problem of its political dealings in Mauritania hasn't quite gone away. Senator Milne has asked the police to look into bribery allegations. In Senate Estimates in Parliament House on Monday, she also asked whether the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's Paris office had worked with Woodside on facilitating access to Mauritania. "It really depends on what you have in mind. There will be instances where the Paris embassy may make representations on behalf of Australian companies in Mauritania," responded DFAT's deputy secretary, Doug Chester. "When the head of the mission visits she picks up issues in relation to a number of Australian companies that are working in Mauritania. It is an ongoing part of our work, as necessary, to promote Australian business access and deal with their issues." Voelte, meanwhile, was adamant in his email to Woodside employees that the allegations "have no standing and can easily be dismissed". "The slur made against our company and all of us who work at Woodside is more difficult to deal with. As you know, we have a corporate code of conduct that I am passionate about. "Compliance with the law - in every jurisdiction we operate in - is at the heart of this code." But in Mauritania at least, the brouhaha appears to be forgotten. The government prosecutor and human rights lawyer Ebbety says it all. "The state doesn't speak of it any more." *Violeta Ayala and Dan Fallshaw's documentary Between the Oil and the Deep Blue Sea airs on the BBC later this year.* "There is a substantial modification of the contents of the contract relating to the division of production, in the exclusive interests of Woodside," he says carefully. Ebbety, the Government's prosecutor and a former human rights lawyer, believes the amendments cost the Mauritanian Government up to $US200 million ($267.2 million) a year in lost revenue. The total revenue in the Mauritanian Government's coffers was last estimated at $US421 million in the CIA World Factbook. Voelte was to later say at Woodside's annual meeting: "I think we can say this with their agreement now, once we sat down and talked around the table: that number of $US200 million was probably - how might I say this best - probably miscalculated." On February 2, Zeidane left Nouakchott jail for his first court appearance. He was facing a life sentence. "If Zeidane got bribed it wasn't from Santa Claus," says Zeidane's lawyer, Adama Diop, who denies any corruption. "The law says that both parties should be in jail. The corruption doesn't come from heaven, corruption can't be a supposition, they have to show the tangible product of the corruption." Oil industry observers note that Mauritania has been Woodside's first outing in Africa as an operator and it shows. "They were dealing in a difficult country without the relevant experience," says one oil industry executive. Certainly some of its dealings have been clumsy, say a collective of non-government organisations in Mauritania. None was more so than a social impact statement prepared by an outside consultant, Environmental Resources Management's Australian arm. In ERM's draft, seen by the *Herald*, the report refers to Mauritania as having some practising Christians and claims its main languages are Hasaniya Arabic and Wolof, with some French being spoken. Wolof is the national language of Senegal, not Mauritania, and its population is Muslim, the NGO collective says. A small minority of people speak Wolof. Senegal borders Mauritania to the south. Confusing Mauritanians with the Senegalese is like Australians being referred to as Papua New Guineans, says the president of the NGO collective, Khatu Mint Baham. On February 6, a day after the Mauritanian president came out publicly criticising Woodside, the Oil Minister followed suit. "The Government cannot accept these documents, which constitute a clear violation of the law," said Sidi Mohamed. "Mauritania recognises the interests of third parties and respects its obligations, but in return won't accept having its legitimate rights trampled on." One of the key elements of the amended contract is a relaxing of environmental regulations. As it is, environmental concerns count for little in Mauritania. Under the terms of the agreement, Woodside prepared its own environmental impact assessment statement. According to the amendments, it is up to Woodside to monitor itself according to its own environmental plan. One of the major environmental concerns, taken up by Greens Senator Christine Milne, revolves around Chinguetti's floating production and storage operation. Oil is pumped from the Chinguetti well up from the sea floor and on to a retired sea tanker, the Berge Helene. Milne says the Berge Helene is a single-hulled vessel and Woodside ought to use a double-hulled ship as it does at its North-West Shelf operations off the coast of Western Australia, to protect from collisions and consequent oil spillage. Massive fishing boats trawl the waters around the Berge Helen, she says. "This is the nursery for Africa's fisheries." The tax amendments appear to have stemmed from a misprint in the original contract. The 2001 document had two contradictory figures relating to taxes. In the amended contract, Woodside and the Government agreed that the lower figure would apply. Another section of the amendments relates to the provision of goods. Under the amended contract, seen by the *Herald*, Woodside is required to "give their preference to Mauritanian enterprises and goods, under equivalent conditions in terms of price, quantity, quality, conditions of payment and delivery time". It also says the company must call for bids for contracts worth more than $US250,000. But a final paragraph deftly sidesteps this condition. In short, it says that with the approval of the Minister for Hydrocarbons, the contracts can be awarded "without issuing tenders, on a sole source basis". The company is now accused of exploiting that loophole. "Woodside didn't even make a small impact for the people, they import everything and they make excuses that the market doesn't match their necessities," says Wedoud of the anti-corruption squad. "They import everything from Europe, even the onions." Back in February, Woodside was still maintaining the amendments were legally binding. "We are not going to debate this in the public arena," said Brendan Augustine, a former Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade employee who is now Woodside's man on the ground in Nouakchott. "We believe they are binding." Woodside wasn't even going to release the details of the Mauritanian issues to its shareholders. That was left up to its smaller partners in Chinguetti. "The supplementary agreements [amendments] in dispute were the result of a co-operative process undertaken with the Mauritanian Government," said Hardman on February 7. "They contain clarifications and amendments to the PSCs [production sharing contracts] agreed over a period of years." Another partner, Roc Oil, was in the middle of a European roadshow to raise funds from institutional investors and notified the stockmarket of the issues with the Mauritanian Government after Zeidane was arrested and thrown in jail. It said in a market release on January 18 that Woodside was in discussions with the Mauritanian Government and those discussions related to "elements of documents which are ancillary to the PSCs." "When we announced it and we finalised the raising the attitude in London [from investors] was we're not fussed by this [Mauritanian political upheaval]," said Roc Oil boss John Doran during the week. There is little doubt there is a cultural chasm between Woodside's management and the diverse and complex Mauritanian population. Nouakchott has only two buildings of any size. Shops are roadside lean-to affairs. Hygiene doesn't rate highly. In one telephone shop a shopper relieved himself in the corner before picking up a cigarette packet to clean himself up. Minutes later another shopper repeats the exercise, using the same cigarette packet to clean himself. The Woodside issue, meanwhile, is hotly debated on the streets. "Woodside are going to court for unfair dismissal," said a former Woodside worker, now a private driver, when interviewed in Nouakchott in February, saying 117 workers were sacked. "One day I went to work and they said to me there is no work any more, with no further explanation." Even the small student community in Nouakchott became involved. On March 2 a student rally was held at the only university in Mauritania. While the essence of the amendments has been hotly debated, more serious were allegations the changes had not been properly implemented. Ebbety, the prosecutor, says an examination of the contracts shows the amendments were put in place before they were officially signed by the Government. "I want to say something else that is irregular," says Ebbety. "The law that concerns the mining and investment code in Mauritania says that all of the contract amendments can only enter into effect once they have been ratified by law." A copy of the four amendments that the *Herald* has seen, however, appears to have been backdated to December 26, 2004. The amendments were submitted to the National Assembly in January and the law was enacted the following month. Zeidane's lawyer doesn't agree. "The amendments that I have seen have all the signatures. They went through the Prime Minister and then through the Parliament that voted for the changes. I believe everything is legal," says Diop. Woodside has always argued the controversial amendments were all above board. But in March this year, it was willing to pay more to secure the tenure of the Chinguetti oil project. On March 31, Don Voelte agreed to hand over $US100 million to the seven-month-old Mauritanian Government. He has labelled suggestions that the payment was not legal as "patently ridiculous". Voelte argues the payment was made because it was a "$US30 [a barrel] world" when Chinguetti was developed and now it's a "$US60 world". But it did more than agree to the payment. It went one step further. The controversial amendments were dropped. And just as the payment was finalised, Zeidane, the former oil minister, was released from jail. The party at Zeidane's house went on for three days. His vast home had more than 30 camels outside, after his release, and as many vehicles again. "There is no proven link between Zeidane and Woodside, the judges are incompetent and this is a non-democratic government," says Diop. "My client has money because he was a minister. In which country did you see a poor minister?" Woodside announced it had come to an agreement with the Mauritanian Government. But it did not name a figure in its release to its shareholders. That was left up to the Mauritanian Government and the Mauritanian press. Of the $US100 million on which the Government has yet to officially sign off, $US1.4 million will be set aside for an environmental fund. Later, Voelte gave his employees an insight into the negotiations in an email. "This is a commercial settlement," he wrote. "Once the agreement is fully concluded, the bonus will be paid through proper channels to the Mauritanian Government without any secrecy, just like we will pay our taxes in that country." As for Zeidane, he was "never" discussed during Woodside's negotiations with the Mauritanian Government, according to Voelte. His email to staff said: "The agreement to resolve the dispute contains no reference to the release of the former energy minister or his immunity from prosecution. Nor did the agreement come with any such written or unwritten understanding." Zeidane's prosecutor, Ebbety, believes that in being released from jail, Zeidane "gained an enormous advantage from Woodside". Australia's Senator Milne says with Mauritania's weak democratic processes, the Mauritanian Government has little capacity to negotiate appropriately. Zeidane's lawyer, Diop, is even more philosophical. "In every country in general things like this happen. Woodside is a corporation, they could have come and find nothing ? oil always brings problems in Africa, America or Europe. We live in a commercial world where the smartest one takes advantage of the less smart one." Certainly Mauritania is still not politically stable. Voelte, who would not speak to the *Herald*, may have secured Woodside's future in Mauritania for the meantime, but the problem of its political dealings in Mauritania hasn't quite gone away. Senator Milne has asked the police to look into bribery allegations. In Senate Estimates in Parliament House on Monday, she also asked whether the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's Paris office had worked with Woodside on facilitating access to Mauritania. "It really depends on what you have in mind. There will be instances where the Paris embassy may make representations on behalf of Australian companies in Mauritania," responded DFAT's deputy secretary, Doug Chester. "When the head of the mission visits she picks up issues in relation to a number of Australian companies that are working in Mauritania. It is an ongoing part of our work, as necessary, to promote Australian business access and deal with their issues." Voelte, meanwhile, was adamant in his email to Woodside employees that the allegations "have no standing and can easily be dismissed". "The slur made against our company and all of us who work at Woodside is more difficult to deal with. As you know, we have a corporate code of conduct that I am passionate about. "Compliance with the law - in every jurisdiction we operate in - is at the heart of this code." But in Mauritania at least, the brouhaha appears to be forgotten. The government prosecutor and human rights lawyer Ebbety says it all. "The state doesn't speak of it any more." *Violeta Ayala and Dan Fallshaw's documentary Between the Oil and the Deep Blue Sea airs on the BBC later this year.* Sitting on one of the few chairs in his large sparsely furnished Nouakchott house, the prosecutor explains the charges. "The first involves using false documentation in public documents, [the] second accusation against him is corruption and [the third accusations is] intelligence working with a foreign power, which could have a negative impact on the strategic interests of Mauritania." The core accusations relate to four amendments made to the original 2001 agreement between Woodside and the deposed government, amendments the new Government claims have cost Mauritania dearly. It was these amendments that landed Zeidane in jail, jeopardised Woodside's future and now have attracted the attention of the Australian Federal Police. Before Woodside's partner Hardman Resources started Mauritania's oil industry a decade ago, the country relied largely on its rich fishing industry. In Mauritania the Sahara desert runs into the Atlantic Ocean. It's a country where the rich are mostly Moors (Arabs-Berbers) - they make up 30 per cent of the population - and the black population, which accounts for 30 per cent, mostly do menial jobs. The remaining population is a mixture of the two. Its people descend from four "super" tribes who at one time or another warred with each other. In the past fighting was at the point of a sword and over camels. These days the stakes have risen: the ruling regime puts its enemies in jail and frighteningly large oil profits are the warring point. Oil, and the wealth it promised, had been used for years by the dictator Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya to keep power over an increasingly dissatisfied population. Because of recurrent drought, Mauritania received debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries scheme in 2000. Oil had attracted Mauritanians back from other African countries such as Libya to its east, and the US and Spain. Still, there were not jobs for everyone. For one, Woodside requested its employees speak English, which was not so common in the Arabic and French-speaking Mauritania. Zeidane, a minister in the pro-US, pro-Israel Taya regime, which had been in power since 1978, was deposed when Colonel Vall took power on an August morning last year. Vall took advantage of Taya's absence in Saudi Arabia and swooped. Promising a transition to a democratically elected government in 2007, Vall appointed Sidi Mohamed Ould Boubacar prime minister. Immediately the Government ordered a group of four auditors to sift through the Ministry of Oil's archives. "The new authorities tried during the month of September 2005 to see what the oil industry could bring to Mauritania," says Ebbety. Clearly all deals over oil made with the previous regime were off. On September 1, Woodside appointed a retired secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Ashton Calvert, to its board. When the Government's auditors approached Woodside, it was told the company had negotiated four amendments to the original 2001 contract. "The oil issue [Woodside's negotiations] were conducted by two or three persons, the minister [Zeidane], the president [Taya] and the president's wife," says Mohamed Ould Oumeir, editor of *La Tribune*, a French language weekly newspaper based in the capital. Oumeir is no stranger to controversy. He was taken into custody in 2005 and questioned after publishing concerns about the manner in which the amendments to the contracts were negotiated. "I was the first person to publicly denunciate the illegality of this amendments," he says. "An expert wrote a public letter to the former minister of oil to question the amendments." According to the new Government, the four amendments benefited Woodside at the expense of Mauritania. First, they modified the amount of profit the Government made from the production of oil from the Chinguetti field. Second, they modified the tax environment Woodside operated under. Third, they extended the length of the contract. And finally, Ebbety says: "It has a negative impact on the environment." The new president quickly focused on the renegotiated agreement. In an address to the nation on February 5, President Vall declared: "Those amendments cause harm to the national interest and can cause great harm to the environment and the shoreline. "We are going to use only the law to resolve the problem but in the meantime I declare all the amendments made to the original contract illegal." Woodside responded quickly and with its full force. Voelte made an emergency dash to Mauritania to negotiate with the Government. "Woodside came with a colonial attitude," says anti-corruption squad member Irabiha Abdel Wedoud. "They thought we are poor and ignorant nomads and they could do whatever they like." Meanwhile, Zeidane, languishing in jail, was denied bail. "There exists a shift of an extreme width between this supposed objective of the 'amendments' of February 1, 2005 and the real objective," said Mohamed Aly Ould Sidi Mohamed, Mauritania's new Oil Minister, in an interview in his office in February. "There is a substantial modification of the contents of the contract relating to the division of production, in the exclusive interests of Woodside," he says carefully. Ebbety, the Government's prosecutor and a former human rights lawyer, believes the amendments cost the Mauritanian Government up to $US200 million ($267.2 million) a year in lost revenue. The total revenue in the Mauritanian Government's coffers was last estimated at $US421 million in the CIA World Factbook. Voelte was to later say at Woodside's annual meeting: "I think we can say this with their agreement now, once we sat down and talked around the table: that number of $US200 million was probably - how might I say this best - probably miscalculated." On February 2, Zeidane left Nouakchott jail for his first court appearance. He was facing a life sentence. "If Zeidane got bribed it wasn't from Santa Claus," says Zeidane's lawyer, Adama Diop, who denies any corruption. "The law says that both parties should be in jail. The corruption doesn't come from heaven, corruption can't be a supposition, they have to show the tangible product of the corruption." Oil industry observers note that Mauritania has been Woodside's first outing in Africa as an operator and it shows. "They were dealing in a difficult country without the relevant experience," says one oil industry executive. Certainly some of its dealings have been clumsy, say a collective of non-government organisations in Mauritania. None was more so than a social impact statement prepared by an outside consultant, Environmental Resources Management's Australian arm. In ERM's draft, seen by the *Herald*, the report refers to Mauritania as having some practising Christians and claims its main languages are Hasaniya Arabic and Wolof, with some French being spoken. Wolof is the national language of Senegal, not Mauritania, and its population is Muslim, the NGO collective says. A small minority of people speak Wolof. Senegal borders Mauritania to the south. Confusing Mauritanians with the Senegalese is like Australians being referred to as Papua New Guineans, says the president of the NGO collective, Khatu Mint Baham. On February 6, a day after the Mauritanian president came out publicly criticising Woodside, the Oil Minister followed suit. "The Government cannot accept these documents, which constitute a clear violation of the law," said Sidi Mohamed. "Mauritania recognises the interests of third parties and respects its obligations, but in return won't accept having its legitimate rights trampled on." One of the key elements of the amended contract is a relaxing of environmental regulations. As it is, environmental concerns count for little in Mauritania. Under the terms of the agreement, Woodside prepared its own environmental impact assessment statement. According to the amendments, it is up to Woodside to monitor itself according to its own environmental plan. One of the major environmental concerns, taken up by Greens Senator Christine Milne, revolves around Chinguetti's floating production and storage operation. Oil is pumped from the Chinguetti well up from the sea floor and on to a retired sea tanker, the Berge Helene. Milne says the Berge Helene is a single-hulled vessel and Woodside ought to use a double-hulled ship as it does at its North-West Shelf operations off the coast of Western Australia, to protect from collisions and consequent oil spillage. Massive fishing boats trawl the waters around the Berge Helen, she says. "This is the nursery for Africa's fisheries." The tax amendments appear to have stemmed from a misprint in the original contract. The 2001 document had two contradictory figures relating to taxes. In the amended contract, Woodside and the Government agreed that the lower figure would apply. Another section of the amendments relates to the provision of goods. Under the amended contract, seen by the *Herald*, Woodside is required to "give their preference to Mauritanian enterprises and goods, under equivalent conditions in terms of price, quantity, quality, conditions of payment and delivery time". It also says the company must call for bids for contracts worth more than $US250,000. But a final paragraph deftly sidesteps this condition. In short, it says that with the approval of the Minister for Hydrocarbons, the contracts can be awarded "without issuing tenders, on a sole source basis". The company is now accused of exploiting that loophole. "Woodside didn't even make a small impact for the people, they import everything and they make excuses that the market doesn't match their necessities," says Wedoud of the anti-corruption squad. "They import everything from Europe, even the onions." Back in February, Woodside was still maintaining the amendments were legally binding. "We are not going to debate this in the public arena," said Brendan Augustine, a former Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade employee who is now Woodside's man on the ground in Nouakchott. "We believe they are binding." Woodside wasn't even going to release the details of the Mauritanian issues to its shareholders. That was left up to its smaller partners in Chinguetti. "The supplementary agreements [amendments] in dispute were the result of a co-operative process undertaken with the Mauritanian Government," said Hardman on February 7. "They contain clarifications and amendments to the PSCs [production sharing contracts] agreed over a period of years." Another partner, Roc Oil, was in the middle of a European roadshow to raise funds from institutional investors and notified the stockmarket of the issues with the Mauritanian Government after Zeidane was arrested and thrown in jail. It said in a market release on January 18 that Woodside was in discussions with the Mauritanian Government and those discussions related to "elements of documents which are ancillary to the PSCs." "When we announced it and we finalised the raising the attitude in London [from investors] was we're not fussed by this [Mauritanian political upheaval]," said Roc Oil boss John Doran during the week. There is little doubt there is a cultural chasm between Woodside's management and the diverse and complex Mauritanian population. Nouakchott has only two buildings of any size. Shops are roadside lean-to affairs. Hygiene doesn't rate highly. In one telephone shop a shopper relieved himself in the corner before picking up a cigarette packet to clean himself up. Minutes later another shopper repeats the exercise, using the same cigarette packet to clean himself. The Woodside issue, meanwhile, is hotly debated on the streets. "Woodside are going to court for unfair dismissal," said a former Woodside worker, now a private driver, when interviewed in Nouakchott in February, saying 117 workers were sacked. "One day I went to work and they said to me there is no work any more, with no further explanation." Even the small student community in Nouakchott became involved. On March 2 a student rally was held at the only university in Mauritania. While the essence of the amendments has been hotly debated, more serious were allegations the changes had not been properly implemented. Ebbety, the prosecutor, says an examination of the contracts shows the amendments were put in place before they were officially signed by the Government. "I want to say something else that is irregular," says Ebbety. "The law that concerns the mining and investment code in Mauritania says that all of the contract amendments can only enter into effect once they have been ratified by law." A copy of the four amendments that the *Herald* has seen, however, appears to have been backdated to December 26, 2004. The amendments were submitted to the National Assembly in January and the law was enacted the following month. Zeidane's lawyer doesn't agree. "The amendments that I have seen have all the signatures. They went through the Prime Minister and then through the Parliament that voted for the changes. I believe everything is legal," says Diop. Woodside has always argued the controversial amendments were all above board. But in March this year, it was willing to pay more to secure the tenure of the Chinguetti oil project. On March 31, Don Voelte agreed to hand over $US100 million to the seven-month-old Mauritanian Government. He has labelled suggestions that the payment was not legal as "patently ridiculous". Voelte argues the payment was made because it was a "$US30 [a barrel] world" when Chinguetti was developed and now it's a "$US60 world". But it did more than agree to the payment. It went one step further. The controversial amendments were dropped. And just as the payment was finalised, Zeidane, the former oil minister, was released from jail. The party at Zeidane's house went on for three days. His vast home had more than 30 camels outside, after his release, and as many vehicles again. "There is no proven link between Zeidane and Woodside, the judges are incompetent and this is a non-democratic government," says Diop. "My client has money because he was a minister. In which country did you see a poor minister?" Woodside announced it had come to an agreement with the Mauritanian Government. But it did not name a figure in its release to its shareholders. That was left up to the Mauritanian Government and the Mauritanian press. Of the $US100 million on which the Government has yet to officially sign off, $US1.4 million will be set aside for an environmental fund. Later, Voelte gave his employees an insight into the negotiations in an email. "This is a commercial settlement," he wrote. "Once the agreement is fully concluded, the bonus will be paid through proper channels to the Mauritanian Government without any secrecy, just like we will pay our taxes in that country." As for Zeidane, he was "never" discussed during Woodside's negotiations with the Mauritanian Government, according to Voelte. His email to staff said: "The agreement to resolve the dispute contains no reference to the release of the former energy minister or his immunity from prosecution. Nor did the agreement come with any such written or unwritten understanding." Zeidane's prosecutor, Ebbety, believes that in being released from jail, Zeidane "gained an enormous advantage from Woodside". Australia's Senator Milne says with Mauritania's weak democratic processes, the Mauritanian Government has little capacity to negotiate appropriately. Zeidane's lawyer, Diop, is even more philosophical. "In every country in general things like this happen. Woodside is a corporation, they could have come and find nothing ? oil always brings problems in Africa, America or Europe. We live in a commercial world where the smartest one takes advantage of the less smart one." Certainly Mauritania is still not politically stable. Voelte, who would not speak to the *Herald*, may have secured Woodside's future in Mauritania for the meantime, but the problem of its political dealings in Mauritania hasn't quite gone away. Senator Milne has asked the police to look into bribery allegations. In Senate Estimates in Parliament House on Monday, she also asked whether the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's Paris office had worked with Woodside on facilitating access to Mauritania. "It really depends on what you have in mind. There will be instances where the Paris embassy may make representations on behalf of Australian companies in Mauritania," responded DFAT's deputy secretary, Doug Chester. "When the head of the mission visits she picks up issues in relation to a number of Australian companies that are working in Mauritania. It is an ongoing part of our work, as necessary, to promote Australian business access and deal with their issues." Voelte, meanwhile, was adamant in his email to Woodside employees that the allegations "have no standing and can easily be dismissed". "The slur made against our company and all of us who work at Woodside is more difficult to deal with. As you know, we have a corporate code of conduct that I am passionate about. "Compliance with the law - in every jurisdiction we operate in - is at the heart of this code." But in Mauritania at least, the brouhaha appears to be forgotten. The government prosecutor and human rights lawyer Ebbety says it all. "The state doesn't speak of it any more." *Violeta Ayala and Dan Fallshaw's documentary Between the Oil and the Deep Blue Sea airs on the BBC later this year.* ===== Pour consulter votre groupe en ligne, accédez à : http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mauritanie-net/ Pour plus des information, envoyez un mail à : m-net-owner at mauritanie-net.com ou lemoderateur at gmail.com -------------- section suivante -------------- Une pièce jointe HTML a été nettoyée... URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060603/f9a2f931/attachment-0001.htm From symamadousy at yahoo.com Sat Jun 3 10:13:46 2006 From: symamadousy at yahoo.com (mamadou sy) Date: Sat, 3 Jun 2006 10:13:46 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [M-net] test rek Message-ID: <20060603171346.26028.qmail@web33705.mail.mud.yahoo.com> test rek __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From ufpweb2 at yahoo.fr Sat Jun 3 11:11:10 2006 From: ufpweb2 at yahoo.fr (UFP) Date: Sat, 3 Jun 2006 20:11:10 +0200 (CEST) Subject: [M-net] =?iso-8859-1?q?Interview_de_Mohamed_Ould_Maouloud_=E0_l?= =?iso-8859-1?q?=27Eveil-Hebdo?= Message-ID: <20060603181110.46928.qmail@web26507.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Interview de Mohamed Ould Maouloud à l'Eveil-Hebdo http://ufpweb.org/federations/europe/intervEH.htm _____________________________________________ Nouveaux : les forums du site : http://forums.ufpweb.org Bonne lecture Visitez http://ufpweb.org (Français) http://ar.ufpweb.org (Arabe) http://pulaar.ufpweb.org (Pulaar) http://congres.ufpweb.org (2e congrès ordinaire de l'Ufp) Pour toute question concernat le site de l'Ufp, écrire à : admin at ufpweb.org ou ufpweb2 at yahoo.fr Contacter la permance de l'Ufp : 00 222 529 32 66 / 00 222 660 26 23 _________________________________________________ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060603/bf1e8221/attachment.htm From ufpweb2 at yahoo.fr Sat Jun 3 11:11:10 2006 From: ufpweb2 at yahoo.fr (UFP) Date: Sat, 3 Jun 2006 20:11:10 +0200 (CEST) Subject: [M-net] =?iso-8859-1?q?Interview_de_Mohamed_Ould_Maouloud_=E0_l?= =?iso-8859-1?q?=27Eveil-Hebdo?= Message-ID: <20060603181110.46928.qmail@web26507.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Interview de Mohamed Ould Maouloud à l'Eveil-Hebdo http://ufpweb.org/federations/europe/intervEH.htm _____________________________________________ Nouveaux : les forums du site : http://forums.ufpweb.org Bonne lecture Visitez http://ufpweb.org (Français) http://ar.ufpweb.org (Arabe) http://pulaar.ufpweb.org (Pulaar) http://congres.ufpweb.org (2e congrès ordinaire de l'Ufp) Pour toute question concernat le site de l'Ufp, écrire à : admin at ufpweb.org ou ufpweb2 at yahoo.fr Contacter la permance de l'Ufp : 00 222 529 32 66 / 00 222 660 26 23 _________________________________________________ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060603/bf1e8221/attachment-0001.htm From naziro at gmail.com Sat Jun 3 12:59:39 2006 From: naziro at gmail.com (Abdel Nasser Ould Othman Sid'Ahmed Yessa) Date: Sat, 3 Jun 2006 20:59:39 +0100 Subject: [M-net] CE SERAIT MONSTRUEUX! Message-ID: <25bc2d100606031259j5ab556aby78ccd65132dfa606@mail.gmail.com> *Bonsoir à tous Mille merci, Doro, de nous rassurer. Comme Ibrahima Sow, j'attends le démenti de l'AJD. Tout de même, tenir réunion au siège du PRDR-PRDS, n'est-ce pas infamie, en soi? La complicité avec les criminels et leur banalisation commencent, je le crains, par ces touches de complaisance insonore. Goutte à goutte, déborde l'oued, dit le proverbe hassani. doro toure * wrote: *Communiqué:* Le Parti pour la Liberté, l'Egalité et la Justice (PLEJ) entend apporter un éclairage sur les rumeurs de coalition que le BPC envisagerait avec certaines formations politiques dont l'ancien parti au pouvoir. A tous ses militants et sympathisants, le PLEJ renouvelle son engagement de garder sa ligne de conduite faite de probité et de rigueur morale. Aussi il importe d'apporter ces précisions: 1) Le PLEJ, en tant formation membre du Bloc des Partis pour le Changement (BPC) a déféré à la convocation du président du Bloc qui a jugé utile de répondre favorablement à la demande de certains partis de discuter avec le BPC 2) La réunion a été simplement un moment d'échange de points de vues sur la situation politique nationale et il n'a jamais été question de projet de coalition 3) Quel que soit le cadre de structuration qui résultera du maillage de l'espace politique avant les prochaines élections, le PLEJ n'entend pas figurer dans une coalition aux côtés du PRDR 4) N'ayant pas été mis au courant ni associé au communiqué dit "conjoint" qui a été publié à l'issue des discussions entre les formations signataires, le PLEJ s'en démarque totalement. Nouakchott le 03/06/2006 BA Mamadou Alassane Président du PLEJ -------------- section suivante -------------- Une pièce jointe HTML a été nettoyée... URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060603/da57de96/attachment.htm From info at tunisiait.com Sat Jun 3 16:53:30 2006 From: info at tunisiait.com (TUNISIA IT) Date: Sun, 4 Jun 2006 00:53:30 +0100 Subject: NEWSLETTER N°100 DU 04 JUIN 2006 Message-ID: <200606032253.k53Mrfw1027732@tounes-27.ati.tn> Une pièce jointe HTML a été nettoyée... URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060604/b1e04ba2/attachment-0001.htm From yaaliba at yahoo.fr Sun Jun 4 03:24:31 2006 From: yaaliba at yahoo.fr (amadou alpha ba) Date: Sun, 4 Jun 2006 12:24:31 +0200 (CEST) Subject: [M-net] ASSEMBLEE GENERALE DE LA SOUS FEDERATION ILE DE FRANCE DES FLAM/RENOVATION Message-ID: <20060604102431.42348.qmail@web26407.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Les militants des FLAM/RENOVATION de la région Ile de France sont convoqués en assemblée générale ordinaire le dimanche 18 juin 2006 à 14h au centre de la CIMADE, rue du 8 mai 1945 à Massy Palaiseau le secrétaire à l'organisation AMADOU ALPHA BA __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? En finir avec le spam? Yahoo! Mail vous offre la meilleure protection possible contre les messages non sollicités http://mail.yahoo.fr Yahoo! Mail -------------- section suivante -------------- Une pièce jointe HTML a été nettoyée... URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060604/e0fb4ca1/attachment.htm From dsf at democrates-sans-frontieres.org Sun Jun 4 11:59:45 2006 From: dsf at democrates-sans-frontieres.org (dsf at democrates-sans-frontieres.org) Date: Sun, 4 Jun 2006 20:59:45 +0200 (CEST) Subject: [M-net] =?iso-8859-1?q?_D=E9mocratie_naturelle_contre_d=E9mocrati?= =?iso-8859-1?q?e_g=E9n=E9tiqueme_nt_modifi=E9e?= Message-ID: <61337.83.137.62.58.1149447585.squirrel@83.137.62.58> Lu pour vous du président de DSF Démocratie naturelle contre démocratie génétiquement modifiée Par Ahmed Ould Saleck president at democrates-sans-frontieres.org La Démocratie naturelle instaurée en 1991 en Mauritanie est un peu à l’image des tomates, des pastèques, des carottes, et des dattes de ce pays. Ils prennent leur temps pour pousser et mûrir. Vus du dehors ils ont piètre aspect, ils sont ternes, ils sont rabougris et même répulsifs. Mais à l’intérieur ils ont du goût, ils ont une forte valeur nutritive, ils ne s’encombrent pas d’emballages, et surtout les mauritaniens savent bien les cultiver. La démocratie promise par les putschistes du 03 Août dernier ressemble elle à une grosse et belle banane bourrée d’OGM . Elle pousse à vue d’œil. Elle est irrésistible du dehors, appétissante du regard, elle est admirablement étiquetée et emballée, mais à l’intérieur elle n’a aucun goût, pour le citoyen mauritanien, elle a plus exactement le goût fade de papier, son apport nutritionnel est quasi nul pour nos populations. Ceux qui n’arrêtent pas de nous la mâcher depuis qu’ils s’y sont mis n’ont fait qu’avaler des tonnes et des tonnes de papier jusqu’à en manquer de salive sans plus, mais le goût n’y est toujours pas. Tout juste un fourrage bon marché pour les moutons que nous sommes devenus. La démocratie naturelle est faite d’abord pour être consommée localement, les démocraties génétiquement modifiée suivent la commande et sont donc destinées à être vendues dehors. Là est toute la différence. La démocratie génétiquement modifiée du CMJD est le fruit d’un travail laborieux de mise aux normes, qui aura duré plusieurs mois de transition. Elle est exigence des laboratoires européens, qui viennent enfin de lui accorder le certificat ISO 9002 en la matière, comme ils avaient exigé un agrément aux normes UE pour notre poisson. L’Europe refuse les OGM américains mais accepte volontiers les notre. Elle refuse les OGM agricoles, et agrée les OGM politiques du tiers-monde. Les uns sont synonymes de domination américaine sur le marché UE, les autres sont la garantie d’une suprématie Européenne sur ces anciennes colonies. Là est toute la différence. L’Europe refuse la main mise américaine, mais ne répugne point à se comporter en maître exigeant et autoritaire aussitôt qu’on lui en donne l’occasion. Les accords de Cotonou ACP/UE c’est un bon subterfuge pour faire porter le chapeau aux seuls africains toujours. Lomé IV c’est une manière d’étendre les fameuses normes UE aux domaines politiques, et un bon moyen de dresser un nouvel obstacle devant l’accès des produits ACP au marché et financements européens. Notre gouvernement de transition a finalement réussi à vendre sa belle banane pleine d’OGM à l’Union Européenne. La démocratie génétiquement modifiée du CMJD et de son gouvernement satisfait désormais aux normes déclinés en 24 points par la Commission de Bruxelles. C’est en tout cas ce qu’a déclaré le premier ministre de la « transition », tout plein de triomphe, qui pour l’occasion s’est substitué à la délégation de l’UE en Mauritanie pour annoncer une décision qui a été prise par des pays étrangers sur un territoire étranger et qui de surcroît ne manquent pas de moyens pour annoncer eux-mêmes leurs décisions. Bon appétit en tout cas à l’UE, la coopération peut reprendre. Quant à nous nous remettons à nouveau à attendre la pluie, et une conférence de presse désormais du gouvernement transitoire pour nous l’annoncer. Ce sera la seule bonne nouvelle qui nous est réellement destinée et que notre cher gouvernement de transition nous aura apporté depuis de bien longs mois. D’ici là espérons que nous n’aurions pas marché sur une de ces peaux de bananes énormes génétiquement modifiées que notre « transition » ne manquera pas de nous laisser là. Et vive encore une fois les OGM américains. A titre personnel Nouakchott le 03 Juin 2006 Visitez notre site DSF http://www.democrates-sans-frontieres.org From mauritanienet at gmail.com Sun Jun 4 12:11:11 2006 From: mauritanienet at gmail.com (News-Bulletin de M-Net) Date: Sun, 4 Jun 2006 22:11:11 +0300 Subject: [M-net] Slavery in Mauritania by Seyid Ould BAH Message-ID: ----- Le News-Bulletin de Mauritanie-Net, vous informe sur les actualites de la Mauritanie email de la rédaction : mauritanienet at gmail.com ----- Slavery in Mauritania AsharqAlawsat, 01-06-2006 The latest speech delivered by the new Mauritanian president Ely Ould Mohammed Vall, saw the leader pledge to fight all forms of slavery in his country, which raised wide concerns in the international media that broadcast this news with some excitement. The media drew attention to the fact that Mauritania may be the last country in the world where this despicable phenomenon still takes place. It is true that the clear reference made by Ely Ould Mohammed Vall concerning traces of slavery is a categorical shift in the official political discourse on the matter, especially in comparison to the former leader's position on the issue. Vall's predecessor always considered the subject a taboo and has consistently repressed human rights organizations and political associations concerned with it. However, the issue has a multitude of backgrounds and various factors are connected to the conditions of the country and its current problems. This requires a thorough look into the matter to surpass preconceived notions. In this article, I will restrict myself to clarifying four main facts that are rarely recognized by external observers of Mauritania. Firstly, the phenomenon of slavery in Mauritania is not historically or presently distinct to the general West African context. The active slave trade in this region in the 17th and 18th centuries was practiced by many ethnic groups and was not distinctive to a single ethnic group. Thus, the illusionary image stressed by the colonialist historians that Arabs played the pivotal role in the slave trade has to be refuted. It could be easily contested by the historical objective accounts. Perhaps many do not realize that traces of slavery still exist in most of the countries of the West African coast. It is enough here to highlight that the Nigerian parliament promulgated a law that prohibited slavery in May 2003. Meanwhile, last July, the government of Burkina Faso held a seminar on "the Impacts and Features of Slavery." Secondly, the phenomenon of slavery in Mauritania in particular is not akin to a specific ethnic group nor is it integrated in the ethnic composition of the country despite the common false conviction that it is exclusively practiced by the Arabs who make up the majority. The fact is that slavery is also practiced in the same manner amongst African ethnic groups such as the Pulaar, Soninke, and Wolof. Also the Harratin (descendants of slaves) belong to many ethnicities even if the black color of their skin is dominant amongst them. In any case, this group makes up a significant component of the Arab majority. Mostly, they have no nationalist demands. In fact, the leader of the political bloc defending their rights, Messaoud Ould Belkheir, is himself the leader of the Mauritanian Nasserist party (the Progressive Popular Alliance). Belkheir constantly states that the demands of the Harratin focus on achieving equality rather than pushing for a distinct ethnic identity. However, I must stress that this social historical problem correlates and overlaps at times with the conflict of ethnic identities, which erupts at times of crises. However the matter is related to ideological and political factors rather than objective ones. Thirdly, it is not true that Mauritania is the last country in the world to abolish slavery. In fact, it is somehow possible to agree with the prominent sociologist Abdel Wadud Ould Al Sheikh that Mauritania is "the strongest country in the world in its fight against slavery." The first official abolishment of slavery in Mauritania dates back to the beginning of the 20th century when the French occupation generalized abolishment on all its African colonies. Then, since independence in 1959, all consecutive constitutions emphasized the abolition. In 1979, the ruling military government was forced to issue an exciting law to abolish slavery once again as a response to the Al-Hor (the Free) movement, which was concerned with defending the rights of the Harratin. The 1979 law in itself did not add any new provisions to the already existing legislation. Such legal wavering reflected the difficulties that faced Mauritanian governments with regards to the impact of slavery. Fourthly, regardless of the idiomatic difference in Mauritania concerning the objective definition of slavery, are there actual features of slavery or only social traces of this phenomenon? The fact is that slavery correlates and is often confused with other forms of exploitation and social disparity that nevertheless do not qualify as slavery. The two prominent researchers Mohamed Ould Mawlood and Babakr Moussa have shown in published studies on the topic that the relationship of slavery, the possession of one human being by another, was integrated into a socio-economic system that no longer exists. However, they concluded that presently, it is clothed in new networks of exploitation that are the result of current modern violations, where the government has been unable to fulfill its assimilation role, and the result of a bestial economic structure that causes poverty and marginalization. It is only natural that historically excluded groups pay the price of these transformations that are not related to the socio-historical patterns that resulted in slavery. In conclusion, the talks about slavery in Mauritania at present have numerous facets that are comprised of many paths to observe the social and political situations of that country. It is for that reason that the president's speech last week in the city of Akjoujt caused such controversy. Finally, I would like to recite the words of a black American Senator who visited Mauritania at the end of the 90s. He told me "the first request that I made to our embassy when I arrived to Mauritania was to allow me to visit the slave market that I heard about in Nouakchott. I did not believe the embassy when it told me that the market did not exist. I decided to travel across the entire country to find it after having no luck in the capital. After a week in your country where I met all political currents and their associations, I concluded that your situation was not particularly different from the rest of the African nations... poverty and independence, if you want to call this slavery then you can." ===== INFORMATION : Les articles sélectionnés pour cette revue de ­presse ne reflètent pas nécessairement l'opinion du comite de gestion de Mauritanie-Net. Nous ne nous portons pas garant de la véracité ­et de l'objectivité des informations publiées dans ces articles ­qui engagent la responsabilité des seuls auteurs. Nous vous prio­ns de bien vouloir en tenir compte. Merci. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060604/9a55e865/attachment.htm From lemoderateur at gmail.com Sun Jun 4 19:37:24 2006 From: lemoderateur at gmail.com (=?ISO-8859-1?Q?Le_Mod=E9rateur_De_Mauritanie-net?=) Date: Mon, 5 Jun 2006 05:37:24 +0300 Subject: [M-net] =?windows-1252?q?Mauritanie=96Union_Europ=E9enne_=3A_La_t?= =?windows-1252?q?actique_a_march=E9=85?= Message-ID: <9e1503ca0606041937h35e3da0ey77e496a6c263c98f@mail.gmail.com> *Mauritanie?Union Européenne : La tactique a marché?* (*Points Chauds* 02/06/2006) Si la Mauritanie commence à bénéficier d'une bonne image aux yeux du monde, notamment des Etats-Unis, de l'Unité Africaine et tout récemment de l'Union Européenne, c'est bien parce que ce pays, avec ses multiples atouts politiques et économiques peut se passer aujourd'hui de n'importe quel donneur de leçons et surtout des impacts généralement attendus des sanctions traditionnellement décrétées par ces puissances régionales susmentionnées à l'endroit des pays qui transgressent leur diktat. Mais, c'était oublier que qu'entre la Mauritanie d'hier et celle d'aujourd'hui, il y a une rupture totale. Ceci est d'autant plus vrai si l'on sait qu'aussi bien sur le domaine politique qu'économique, la Mauritanie que l'on intimidait de toutes les menaces, se forgeait petit à petit d'Etat , indépendant et confiant dans l'avenir. Et pour preuve, voilà que ce jeudi, le Premier ministre M. Sidi Mohamed Ould Boubacar a tenu une conférence de presse au palais des congrès pour annoncer le dégel définitif des relations de coopération entre notre pays et l'union européenne. Une nouvelle qui, même si elle réconforte davantage sur les bonnes intentions du Cmjd et de son gouvernement de transition, ne surprend personne ; du moins les observateurs les plus avertis. .... En Effet, selon ces derniers, l'union européenne n'était guère au bout de ses peines depuis son échec de plier les mauritaniens à leur vision égoïste des accords de pêche dans la Zone Exclusive Européenne. D'ailleurs l'attitude de l'union européenne sur les accords de pêche était quelque peu paradoxale dans la mesure où au moment où elle affichait une aile dure, elle se montrait très souple pour ses intérêts dans les accords de pêche ; ce que le Cmjd a compris et s'en est servi comme arme décisive pour faire à l'union européenne marche arrière dans ses intransigeances. Et la tactique a bien marché. Des accords que les pouvoirs mauritaniens ont conditionnés par le relèvement de la contre-valeur des importations de l'union européenne et que cette dernière a fini par accepter après plusieurs avertissements de les rompre définitivement. Autre chose qui ne manque pas d'importance et qui serait dans beaucoup dans cette reprise des relations de coopération entre les deux parties et la clôture des consultations, ce sont les attitudes favorables voire encourageantes des Etats-Unis et de l'Union Africaine depuis quelques mois vis-à-vis de la Mauritanie. En effet, plus édifiés sur l'authenticité des orientations des hommes du changement du 3 août 2005, les Etats-Unis et l'Union africaine n'ont pas jugé nécessaire de pénaliser les bonnes volontés qui se dessinent derrière les silhouettes des maîtres du coup de palais du 3 août ; plus encore à leur mettre des bâtons dans les roues et sur des voies qu'ils ont voulu eux-mêmes pour les pays du Tiers-Monde. En plus de ce qui précède, il faut dire que les Etats-Unis, conscients des atouts considérables et stratégiques que présente la Mauritanie pour le futur ont très tôt tourné la page du régime déchu et cherché par la suite à redoubler d'efforts pour assoire leur hégémonie dans une zone qui en plus de son potentiel pétrolier et son statut d'Etat stable, pourrait aussi servir de fenêtre importante indispensable pour la lutte contre le terrorisme. Toujours est-il que la conférence de presse du Premier ministre a fait savoir qu'entre la Mauritanie et l'Union européenne le courant passe parfaitement bien et que la coopération politique et économique suspendue en raison de consultations entre les deux parties reprendra incessamment. Toujours selon le chef du gouvernement qui était en présence de certains membres du gouvernement dont les ministres de l'intérieur, des postes et télécommunications, des affaires économiques et du développement, de la communication, de l'équipement et des transports, du secrétaire général du ministère des affaires étrangères et de la coopération, du directeur du cabinet du Premier ministre, le Conseil de l'Union européenne et la Commission européenne ont fait parvenir aux autorités nationales « une lettre pour notifier officiellement la clôture des consultations ». Les raisons de ce retournement de situation sont énumérées par la lettre susmentionnée comme suit : - le lancement des opérations du Ravel et l'établissement d'une liste électorale fiable et transparente, - l'adoption par le conseil des ministres du projet de loi correspondant aux amendements constitutionnels à soumettre à référendum le 25 juin prochain, - l'installation d'une commission nationale consultative pour la réforme du secteur de la presse et de l'audiovisuel qui a rendu son rapport au premier ministre, - l'institution d'une commission nationale des droits humains, - l'organisation d'une journée de réflexion afin d'identifier des mesures susceptibles d'éliminer toutes les séquelles de l'esclavage, l'installation du comité national de l'EITI (Extractive industries Transparency Initiative) ainsi que l'approbation d'une ordonnance instituant le Fonds national des revenus d'hydrocarbures et définissant les modalités de gestion de ces revenus. En plus de ce qui précède, d'autres actions sont selon la même lettre à un stade avancé de leur exécution est sur pied d'?uvre. Il s'agit de l'organisation d'élections libres et transparentes dans un calendrier de 19 mois, l'application de la législation sur l'interdiction de l'esclavage et le traitement adéquat de tous les problèmes qui résultent de ce fléau, la réforme de la justice, l'amélioration continue des modes de gouvernance, y compris la publication des données statistiques économiques et budgétaires actualisées ?.etc. Autant dire que cette clôture de consultations allait se solder par un ensemble de mesures d'ordre économique et politique qui peuvent se présenter comme suit : I. - Sur le plan économique : Selon le Premier ministre, la lettre souligne que la décision de clôture des consultations a des conséquences extrêmement importantes comme la reprise des activités de coopération en cours du 9e FED et des FED précédents. Ce qui signifie la poursuite de la construction de la route Boghé-Rosso, d'ouvrages hydrauliques, de développement rural, d'appui à la société civile, d'appui à la décentralisation?.etc. Il s'agit aussi de la construction de l'axe Kaedi-M'Bout-Selibaby, de la réhabilitation du Port minéralier, de l'enlèvement des épaves maritimes, de l'appui au secteur de la justice, à la décentralisation, à la société civile et aux médias. II. Sur le plan politique : A ce stade, la clôture formelle des consultations conforte le processus de transition entrepris en vue de l'installation d'un Etat de droit fondé sur les principes de la démocratie pluraliste et de la bonne gouvernance. Enfin, soulignons qu'avant de donner la parole aux journalistes pour poser leurs questions, le Premier ministre a tenu à exprimer la reconnaissance des autorités de la transition à l'union européenne pour l'accompagnement du processus de transition en cours dans le pays et réitéré la détermination du Cmjd et du gouvernement de transition à accélérer le rythme de mise en ?uvre des différentes réformes adoptées dans le cadre du programme de la transition. Le Premier ministre a réaffirmé aussi l'attachement de la Mauritanie au partenariat ACP-UE et à ses valeurs fondatrices que sont la coopération, l'Etat de droit, les droits de l'homme et le dialogue des civilisations. Moulay Najim Ould Moulay Zeine ===== Pour consulter votre groupe en ligne, accédez à : http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mauritanie-net/ Pour plus des information, envoyez un mail à : m-net-owner at mauritanie-net.com ou lemoderateur at gmail.com -------------- section suivante -------------- Une pièce jointe HTML a été nettoyée... URL: /pipermail/m-net_mauritanie-net.com/attachments/20060605/348b485d/attachment-0001.htm