SENEGAL: POLICE CRUSH PROTEST AGAINST HIGH COST OF LIVING

UNCLAS DAKAR 000386 SIPDIS SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPT FOR AF/W, AF/RSA, DRL AND INR/AA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SOCI PGOV PREL PINS KDEM ECON SG SUBJECT: SENEGAL: POLICE CRUSH PROTEST AGAINST HIGH COST OF LIVING ¶1. (U) Summary: On March 30, two Senegalese consumer associations organized a demonstration against the steady rise of the costs of basic commodities and food staples. Riot police arrested the leaders of the two associations and used electric batons, tear gas, and riffle butts to forcefully breakup the demonstration. Among others, a female member of parliament from the opposition was beaten by police. The head of the Judiciary Police ordered one of the country's four private television channels, Walf TV, to interrupt its live coverage of police brutalities. The channel's tapes with the footage of the events, as well as those of another independent channel, Canal Info, was confiscated by the police. End summary. Mounting pressure -------------- ¶2. (U) President Abdoulaye Wade's government has been under mounting pressure resulting from rising energy and food costs. Poor rains last year have reduced domestic food supplies, resulting in shortages in some rural areas. To protest the government's handling of the situation, farmers planned to hold a demonstration in Dakar on March 28 under the leadership of Aliou Dia, General Secretary of "Forces Paysans" party, and opposition Member of Parliament. However, the demonstration was finally cancelled when President Wade announced at the Cabinet meeting the day before the scheduled protest that he had decided to earmark 10 billion CFA (approximately USD 24 million) for food support to farmers. ¶3. (U) Tensions resulting from the high-cost of food commodities have not been limited to the countryside. Even in urban centers, there are growing complaints that people do not have enough to eat and many families can only afford one meal per day. A fifty kilo bag of broken rice (a basic stable) sold for 12,000 CFA not long ago and now costs between 15,000 and 17,000 (the equivalent of 20 to 30 percent increase per bag); the cost of butane gas, cooking oil, soap, cement and many other commodities have risen as well. Rent has also risen significantly in Dakar. The population's frustration has been exacerbated by reports of millions of dollars to purchase a new plane for President Wade and millions of dollars (perhaps hundreds of millions) spent on the recently completed Organization of Islamic States Dakar summit. Consumers Take to the Street -------------- ¶4. (U) The tension boiled over on March 30 when two Senegalese consumer associations organized a peaceful march in demonstration against the steady increase in the cost of living. The Minister of the Interior ordered protesters, who did not have a permit to demonstrate, to end the demonstration and when they refused, he sent in riot police to forcefully put down the protest. When some protesters threw rocks at the police, they responded with tear gas, electric batons, and rifle butts. ¶5. (U) While these events were being broadcast live on television by Walf TV, the head of the Judiciary Police ordered the channel to interrupt its coverage. The police then confiscated the footage of Walf TV as well as the footage that was taken on the scene by another independent channel, Canal Info. Afterward, the Minister of Interior went on the air on government-controlled channel RTS to blame the opposition, calling Ousmane Tanor Dieng, head of the Socialist Party, a coward and a "bad general." ¶6. (SBU) Comment: The protests and the government's response were not a surprise, and are indicative of three worrisome trends. First, the rising cost of basic commodities and food staples is likely to increase, which, combined with shortages resulting from poor rains will likely lead to more protests and unrest. Second, the government's heavy-handed approach to these protests - the government has refused permits for all demonstrations against it and its policies over the past year -- is likely to increase the possibility that future protests will become more violent. Finally, the government has demonstrated a consistent willingness in the past year to curb or violate freedom of the press when the Wade administration perceives that the media is becoming a threat to the president or the administration. SMITH