DAKAR, Senegal (AP) – Armed police riot police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at crowds in the Senegalese capital on Monday after authorities released opposition leader Ousmane Sonko from custody after days of violent protests in one of West Africa’s most stable democracies.
Following his release, the 46-year-old politician blamed his arrest on President Macky Sall, accusing the current leader of trying to set aside his future political prospects ahead of the country’s 2024 elections. publicly accused the president of plunging Senegal into an unprecedented crisis, the opposition leader said his goal was not to force Sall into power.
“We don’t want to take responsibility for undermining our democracy,” he tweeted on Monday at the end. “But let’s be clear, the revolution is moving towards 2024.”
According to Amnesty International, at least eight people have died since the riots began last week, marking the worst unrest that has affected Senegal in nearly a decade.
Sonko is widely seen as the president’s biggest potential political challenger in the upcoming elections, and protests that began Wednesday have been fueled by broader, long-standing grievances with the Sall administration.
The two men addressed the nation Monday night in consecutive statements: first Sonko, then the president.
Sall told Senegalese families that he knew they were suffering in the midst of COVID-19’s economic recession, and that the resulting poverty only fueled discontent with their government. He agreed to reduce the nocturnal curfew that many traders blame for deepening their difficulties.
“I understand your concerns and the anger you feel for the hard life you have to live, mainly due to the accentuated unemployment by COVID-19,” Sall said. “But when you take out a business you don’t create jobs, you destroy them.”
Some Sonko supporters, however, indicated they would continue to move forward with their civil disobedience even after a judge granted parole to their leader on Monday. Crowds of boisterous supporters descended on the court in the center of the city waving Senegalese flags and then headed to his residence.
Protesters have tried to undermine Sall’s trade ties with the former French settler, attacking more than a dozen supermarkets opened by French retailer Auchan. Dakar protesters have also attacked total gas stations.
The sight of burned cars and intruding shops is a rarity in Senegal, which has never suffered the military blows and dictatorships that have destabilized so many of its neighbors in West Africa over the past half century.
Demonstrations began for the first time on Wednesday before Sonko’s first court appearance to interrogate them on rape charges. He was arrested on his way to court and arrested for disturbing public order after hundreds of his supporters clashed with police blocking unauthorized protests. He has now been charged with rape and death threats.
Sonko, a populist who has spoken out against corruption and poverty, finished third in the 2019 presidential election with just over 15% of the ballot box, garnering strong support from younger voters. Its message of greater economic independence for Senegal has attracted an even wider audience amid the financial difficulties of the COVID-19 pandemic amid curfews and other movement restrictions.
Sonko also on Monday called on the president to publicly resign from a third term. After easily winning re-election in 2019 with more than 58% of the vote, his opponents fear he will try to extend his term with a third term, as did the presidents of neighboring Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire last year. . Sall, however, has not yet publicly commented on his intentions.
Although Sall has been credited with infrastructure and development projects, his critics say progress has come alongside the marginalization of political rivals. Earlier, two other rising political stars have faced charges that their supporters said they had political motivation.
Karim Wade, the son of President Sall defeated in 2012, was considered the heir before being accused of corruption the following year. He eventually spent three years in prison before going into exile abroad in Qatar. Former Dakar Mayor Khalifa Sall, seen as one of the top candidates in the 2019 elections, was arrested in 2017 on corruption charges and later pardoned after the vote.
Leaders of Senegal’s influential Muslim brotherhoods have urged protesters to show restraint in the coming days.
“All Senegalese have the right to express themselves on the situation in the country, but with respect for institutions and without the destruction of public or private property,” said Serigne Mansour Sy. “We call for peace and serenity.”