Mauritanian party leader reveals Qatar’s meddling, ‘Brotherhood’ mischief

In an interview with Al Arabiya English, Sidi Mohamed Maham, the head of the Mauritanian Union party for the Republic, criticized the Qatari regime for accusing his country of fighting Islam and for describing the country’s president Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, as a military ruler.

“The Islamic Republic of Mauritania, known for its contributions to spreading Islam and promoting Islamic civilization, is now accused of fighting Islam by the Qatari regime, which has done nothing in this regard. It is ridiculous,” he said.

“The Qataris are not a role model to talk about democracies. Qatar is known for the coups in their government. As for describing the Mauritanian president as a military ruler, we regard this as an honor as he exercises his powers as an elected president by the Mauritanian people in 2014 by an overwhelming majority ,” he added.

Mohamed Maham stressed that the Mauritanian democracy is rooted in its surroundings, saying: “Qatar does not have anything to do with either serving Islam or respecting democracies,” he said.

Qatar influence very limited

He described Qatar influence in Mauritania as very limited, saying: “Mauritania is strong. It is not Libya or Syria. It is governed by a strong regime, and it is a democratic country where people are free, and all Qatari attempts at intervention in the country have failed.”

There are those who go by Qatar orders in Mauritania

He added: “This does not mean that there are no figures who follow the order of the Qatari regime and carry out its instructions. However, these people cannot appear openly in front of the Mauritanian people because they are immune to the climate of freedoms and the democratic process that is entrenched in Mauritania. All Qatari attempts to meddle in the Mauritanian issues have failed. there are no political prisoners in Mauritania and freedom of the press is guaranteed and not confiscated, yet their bad intentions are clear towards the state of Mauritania.”

Accountability of those involved in dealing with Iran and Qatar “possible”

He explained that the legal accountability of the figures associated with Qatar and Iran is possible, noting that: “The President has made clear statements in this regard and stressed that the issue is under process and when it comes up for legal prosecution, the government will be strict in this regard and the judiciary will act.”

As to what extent it is possible that the Mauritanian parliament and his party (ruling party) will submitt a draft law banning and prohibiting those belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood and demanding the accountability of the figures involved with Qatar and Iran, Maham said: “Everything is possible and we do not want to rush the judicial proceedings. It will move in time.”

On the possibility of opening a dialogue between the government and the Muslim Brotherhood, Maham said: “I do not have any knowledge of any dialogue, and I do not know the extent of the possibility of conducting such a dialogue in light of the revealed information. There are actions to be taken by the government and those affected have to seek the judicial remedy. I do not think that what happened could be the subject of dialogue.”