Yearbook 2006
Senegal. On February 7, former Prime Minister Idrissa
Seck was released after seven months in prison. A court then
dismissed the charge against Seck for corruption. Earlier,
he had been cleared of charges that he posed a threat to the
security of the kingdom. According to
CountryAAH, Seck was prime minister of
Abdoulaye Wade's government from November 2002 to April
2004, when he was dismissed following a conflict with the
president. Seck now intended to run in the February 2007
presidential election.
At the beginning of the year, new unrest arose in
Casamance in the south. In 2004, the government had
concluded a peace agreement with the separatist movement
MFDC, which was, however, rejected by the hardline faction
led by Salif Sadio. Struggles between his faction and those
led by Magne Dieme broke out in February, and the following
month, neighboring Guinea-Bissau's army attacked Sadios camp
near the border between the countries. The Guinean army's
offensive against the separatists continued in April.
Senegalese military also launched operations against Sadio's
group, which is estimated to consist of between 300 and
1,000 poorly armed rebels. Several thousand people were
reported to have escaped the fighting.
The more than $ 400 million promised by the government
for the reconstruction of Casamance in 2004 would only be
paid out when "real peace" had been reached in the region,
and by the end of 2006, only small sums had reached the
area. No meetings between the government and the separatists
had been held since the peace agreement was signed.
On the last day of the year, Oumar Lamine Badji, a
leading politician from the ruling Democratic Party in
Casamance, was murdered. The suspicions were directed at the
MFDC and the murder raised fears of new outbreaks of
violence in the province. Badji had played an important role
in the peace talks between the government and the
separatists.
President Wade was criticized for focusing more on
problems abroad than domestic conflicts. Wade had tried,
among other things, to persuade Sudan to agree to receive a
UN force in Darfur and to help resolve the crisis in the
Ivory Coast.
During the year, several steps were taken against a
lawsuit against Chad's former dictator, Hissène Habré, who
has been living in exile in Senegal since 1990. On behalf of
the African Union (AU), S. decided in July to appoint a
commission to prepare legislative changes that would make it
is possible to prosecute Habré for crimes against humanity
in a Senegalese court.
In early August, opposition politician Jean-Paul Dias was
sentenced to one year in prison for threatening to kill
President Wade and a judge if his son Barthelemy Dias was
convicted for questioning whether the president was healthy
enough to stand for re-election. Barthelemy Dias was
sentenced later that month to a six-month prison sentence.
President Wade had publicly announced for the first time the
month before that he would stand for re-election in 2007. A
few months later, he was formally appointed candidate for
Senegal's Democratic Party (PDS).
As it has become increasingly difficult to get to Europe
via North Africa, more and more Africans began to look for
alternative routes, including via Senegal. During the year,
thousands of emigrants, including some 15,000 Senegalese,
tried to reach the Canary Islands from Senegalese ports,
especially in Casamance. Many also perished during the
dangerous boat trip. In June, Spain and Senegal and other
West African countries agreed to strengthen surveillance of
the West African coast to prevent people from accessing the
Spanish islands. Wade received a lot of criticism at home
for agreeing to accept several thousands of Africans
expelled from Spain.
In June, the Senegalese government temporarily suspended
the agreed relocation program following allegations that
deported emigrants were treated ill.
In December, Spain signed an agreement with Senegal. This
meant that 4,000 Senegalese in 2007–08 would be granted
temporary work permits in Spain and that the Spanish
government would donate EUR 20 million to create jobs for
young Senegalese in their home country. Unemployment among
young people was soaring, about 40% in the cities, and many
saw emigration as their only opportunity for a better life.
There was therefore a lot of talk that people would continue
to try to get to Europe by illegal means. According to the
International Monetary Fund (IMF), the money that emigrants
sent to their home country was approximately 15% of the
country's GDP.
|
