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| A Senegalese police officer aims his tear gas rifle during clashes with protestors in Dakar (AFP/File, Issouf Sanogo) |
(AFP)
– Amnesty International on Wednesday urged Senegal's new government to deal
with rights violations which have gone unpunished for years in the West African
nation.
"After
years of impunity, the population has great expectations regarding
justice," Gaetan Mootoo, Amnesty International's West Africa researcher,
said in a statement on a new report entitled 'Senegal: An agenda for human
rights'.
The
statement noted that in the past two decades, hardly any investigation into
rights violations committed by Senegal's security forces have led to justice or
sentences proportional to the crime.
Earlier
this year, at least six people were killed as opposition protests broke out
against former president Abdoulaye Wade's disputed bid for a third term as
president, and were violently repressed.
Amnesty
said the unrest fuelled other serious human rights violations such as
protesters being arrested and tortured.
"During
the pre-election period the security forces used methods such as arbitrary
detention, beatings, simulated drowning and electric shocks to repress
protesters," said Mootoo.
He
also said no-one has been held accountable for numerous atrocities committed by
both government forces and armed groups during the 30-year separatist conflict
in the southern Casamance.
"The
new authorities must put an end to the culture of impunity that serves as both
weapon and shield for security forces," said Mootoo.
He
noted recent comments by new Justice Minister Aminata Toure that victims of
recent human rights abuses were entitled to justice and reparation and that the
authorities were determined to prosecute those responsible.
Mootoo
also welcomed moves by the new government to organise the long delayed trial of
former Chadian President Hissene Habre for crimes against humanity in his home
country.
"The
authorities must live up to their promises and turn their back on practices
which constitute a negation of all of the human rights commitments made by
Senegal," said Mootoo.
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