Port Louis, Mauritius (CU)_ Thousands of Mauritians protested against the government on Saturday calling for a general election. The people marched in Port Louis, the capital, urging the government to resign demonstrating against corruption and fraud charges. The protestors followed the opposition parties’ appeals and questioned the accountability of the political authorities who are in power. The civilians marched till Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth’s office.
Mauritius is an Island of Indian ocean and has a population of 1.3 million. The Island nation elected the Movement Social Militant-led alliance in 2019 for a five-year term. The Island’s economy mainly depends on tourism, and it is renowned for political stability and smooth power transitions. In the past eight months, it was the third time the people protested against the government. Although the protests of August and September concentrated on a fuel spill from a Japanese-owned tanker off the coast of Mauritius, the current protest on Saturday was the major one and the first to urge the government to quit with all the key opposition parties uniting.
During the rally, Arvin Boolell, leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, said “Public institutions cannot continue to rot, we walk for freedom”. One of the protestors said, “Crimes, drugs that wreak havoc, there is no transparency … We cannot say that we live in a democracy. I’m here because I want there to be a change. If I stay at home there will be no change!”.
The government had faced condemnation for its negligence and violation in a major oil spill in August. In July, the Panamanian-flagged MV Wakashio ship crashed near two environmentally protected marine habitats and the Blue Bay Marine Park reserve, dumping 1,000 tonnes of fuel. Following the oil spill, which endangered marine life and tourism, an island-wide demonstration was carried on in September.
Another protester said, “All these parties that have governed us have ruined our lives! If we are in this current situation it is because of these political parties which have governed us for the last 50 years. So, my presence here is to be in solidarity with the whole Mauritian Nation, to say “NO” to these mafia systems”.
Around 25,000 protesters were involved in the rally. It was considered as the largest rally of the island over the past 40 years. Mauritius, due to its anti-money laundering deficiencies, is on the European Union’s blacklist of third countries. Apart from the protests, the current threats to the Island nation are the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on tourism.
