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| Africa North |
| EU counter-terror official visits Nouakchott |
| 2012-09-05 |
| [Magharebia] Mauritanian Justice Minister Abidine Ould El Kheir held talks last Wednesday (August 29th) with Major General Pierre-Michel Joana, the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... Special Advisor for African Peacekeeping Capabilities, during a tour of the Sahel region ... North Africa's answer to the Pak tribal areas... that began with a visit to Mali. The Mauritanian minister, together with some of his aides, held talks with the security envoy on the mechanisms needed to counter terrorism and organised crime in the region, AMI reported. However, a poor excuse is better than no excuse at all... not all details of issues discussed between the EU official and Mauritanian justice minister were disclosed. "These meetings are very important because they allow regional officials to explore and discuss all aspects of the security picture in Sahel, which has become one of the hottest areas in the world," according to Sahel affairs analyst Moukhtar al-Salem. "They will also enable Gen. Pierre-Michel Joana, counter-terrorism programme co-ordinator in the Sahel, to listen to Mauritania's declared point of view, which states that the Touaregs' legitimate demands must be listened to as long as the ceiling of demands doesn't reach independence," the analyst added. "This is in addition to the need to preserve Mali's territorial integrity and to avoid a war that doesn't have the support and participation of the entire international community." For his part, Jérôme Pigné, a French researcher in co-operation between European countries and field countries in combating terrorism, told Magharebia, "Gen. Pierre-Michel Joana's visit proves the importance of co-operation between the European Union and Mauritania which has proven more than once in recent years that it is active in countering terrorism. The visit also reflects the European Union's will to enhance and consolidate its relations with the South Mediterranean countries as part of counter-terrorism efforts in the region." "The European, especially the French, partners are required to count on the efforts of countries that have shown determination and efficiency in eradicating this phenomenon which threatens the sub-region and European Union countries," the French researcher added. "The complex and transnational nature of security, political, and socio-cultural phenomena in the region requires serious co-operation of all actors and stakeholders," Pigné concluded. According to journalist Yacoub Ould Bahdah, Mauritania's role in combating terrorism was "characterised by extreme caution". Mauritania "doesn't want to intervene in northern Mali and confront the gangs that it has always hunted down deep into Malian soil, he told Magharebia. "It also seems that Mauritania, exactly like Algeria, is not completely opposed to intervention by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in northern Mali." |
| Posted by:Fred |