Developments after the military coup continue to be interesting. Since the disbanded the parliament, they have adopted a new transitional charter in order to oversee the process of democratization Here are the details.

DAKAR, Aug. 6 (Xinhuanet) — The Mauritanian junta Saturday adopted a charter on the organization and power allocation in the transitional period, the national radio said.

The 11-point document, approved by the coup leaders’ Military Council for Democracy and Justice, stipulates that the council should honor all the country’s international commitments, abide by human rights laws and rules of international organizations, particularly those of the African Union and the League of Arab States.

The charter retains provisions in the preface of the 1991 Mauritanian constitution, especially those about the Islamic religion, individual and collective freedom, as well as state power and privileges.

It also contains certain amendments to the previous constitution as so to enable the military council to exercise legislative power by issuing laws.

Under the charter, the head of the military council is empowered to appoint interim prime minister and ministers who are responsible for the military council and its leader Colonel Ely Ould Mohamed Vall.

During talks with leaders of more than 30 political parties in the capital Nouakchott on Saturday, Vall pledged that the country would hold a referendum on constitutional amendment within a year, and a general election immediately thereafter so that the militarycouncil would be able to complete the electoral process within thetwo-year transitional period.

The military council seems to be working very hard to assure all interested parties, both domestic and international, that their intentions are good. So far, that seems to be the case. Most important is that they plan no major shifts in foreign policy, which suggests that they will still cooperate with the United States in tracking down terrorists within the country. Another indication that the military council will retain good ties with the West is within the appointment of the transitional prime minister.

Sidy Mohamed Ould Boubacar, a leader of the former ruling Social Democratic Republican Party (PRDS), was appointed prime minister under a decree issued by Colonel Ely Ould Mohamed Vall, who led a bloodless coup on Wednesday and now heads the Military Council for Justice and Democracy in power.

Ould Boubacar replaces Sghair Ould M’Bareck, who had been kept on from the previous regime bout resigned earlier Sunday.

The new premier is no stranger to the post, having served as prime minister under ousted President Maaouiya Ould Taya between 1992 and 1996, and later as ambassador to France.

It was necessary to appoint a new government, because although they were going to keep the old one on, it ended up resigning in the end. France was once the colonial occupant of the country, so appointing someone that is pro-France is a very good thing in this case, and shows a commitment to western ideals of government. The military council is also promising a referendum within the year on constitutional reforms and a general election for a new government soon after. I am still cautiously optimistic, but the new government has been working with all the right people so far.

The one thing that will worry a lot of people is that they freed 20 alleged militant Islamists from prison.

Nouakchott – The ruling military council set up after a coup in the northwest African state of Mauritania on Sunday freed around 20 alleged Islamic extremists jailed by the ousted government, including a leader with alleged links to a pro-al-Qaeda group in neighbouring Algeria.

The release of the activists, who included Islamist leader Mohamed Elhacen Ould Dedaw, was greeted by a jubilant procession through the streets of the capital Nouakchott.

The head of the public prosecutor’s office said however that the suspects had only been given a conditional release, although one of their lawyers said he expected the charges against them to be thrown out.

One thing that has to be kept in mind is that Taya, who was just overthrown, was a total opportunist who joined the war on terror simply so he could jail all political opposition, whether Islamist or not. The fact that these particular prisoners were immediately released suggest that the majority of them were simply political prisoners. However, judging by the statement by the public prosecutor, I’m sure the government will have its eyes on all released prisoners just to make sure. Especially, I hope, Mohamed Elhacen Ould Dedaw. The biggest challenge for it will be to suppress violent Islamic movements while encouraging support for real liberal reform.

Watching Mauritania over the next couple of years is going to be very interesting, specifically to see if the military council will live up to the hype it’s promoting. A very assuring sign is that they have promised that no member of the council or the head of the new government will run in the upcoming elections, so they won’t just be another installed dictatorship winning false elections; much like Taya, in fact.

Previous posts since the coup can be seen here.

More great analysis can be found here.