WikiLeaks: former Mauritanian PM justifies 2007 coup

WikiLeaks has released key US documents that shed light on the players in the controversial 2008 Mauritanian coup. The document details a meeting held at the US embassy in Nouakchott with the former-Prime Minister, Asgeir Embarek on 21 May 2009. In the meeting, Embarek justified the coup, saying that the ousted President Ould Cheikh Abdallahi had initially been a strong president, but had managed the country badly and had a poor relationship with parliament. Abdallahi, who was elected as president in 2007, was ousted in a military coup in 2008. Embarak had been Prime Minister in Mauritania’s previous administration under President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya, which was overthrown in the country’s 2005 coup. The 2007 coup was widely criticised by the international community, with the new government receiving recognition from only a handful of states, including Libya and Iran. Embarek maintained that he had not taken a side in the 2007 coup, although he participated in consultations with both sides. Embarak justified his decision to run in the 2009 elections, because he refused to stand still and watch Mauritania fall into a deep political crisis. If elected, Embarak claimed that he would have enforced democracy by splitting Mauritania’s 70 political parties right, left and centre. He did not believe that Mauritania’s population of three million required so many parties. When quizzed about the sources of funding for his campaign, Embarak stated that it had been provided by local businessmen, including Mohammed Ould Bematou and Ould Al Mami. Embarak considered this preferable to receiving funding from Iran. Embarak admitted to having received five million ounces of gold from  Ould Al Mami. He also suggested that the US could be a positive force for democracy in Mauritania, but stood in its way by helping Islamists, Marxists and saboteurs instead. Embarak was unsuccessful in the 2009 election, receiving a mere 0.23 percent of the vote.