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| Map Of Mauritania. Credit: CIA World Factbook. |
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Mauritania National Day
Press Statement
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
November 28, 2012
2012 On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I am delighted to send best wishes to the people of Mauritania on your 52nd anniversary of independence this November 28.
Mauritania and the United States continue to work closely to advance regional peace and security. The United States fully supports Mauritania’s democratic and economic development. And we look forward to finding new opportunities to collaborate on promoting human rights and expanding economic opportunities for all citizens.
I wish all Mauritanians a happy 52nd anniversary celebration. We are committed to building upon our partnership to promote prosperity and peace in the coming year.
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| Mauritania Locator Map. Credit: CIA World Factbook. |
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FROM CIA WORLD FACTBOOK
Independent from France in 1960, Mauritania annexed the southern third of the former Spanish Sahara (now Western Sahara) in 1976 but relinquished it after three years of raids by the Polisario guerrilla front seeking independence for the territory. Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed TAYA seized power in a coup in 1984 and ruled Mauritania with a heavy hand for more than two decades. A series of presidential elections that he held were widely seen as flawed. A bloodless coup in August 2005 deposed President TAYA and ushered in a military council that oversaw a transition to democratic rule. Independent candidate Sidi Ould Cheikh ABDALLAHI was inaugurated in April 2007 as Mauritania's first freely and fairly elected president. His term ended prematurely in August 2008 when a military junta led by General Mohamed Ould Abdel AZIZ deposed him and ushered in a military council government. AZIZ was subsequently elected president in July 2009 and sworn in the following month. The country continues to experience ethnic tensions among its black population (Afro-Mauritanians) and white and black Moor (Arab-Berber) communities, and is having to confront a growing terrorism threat by al-Qa'ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
