Mauritanian Journalists’ Union President Mohamed Salem Ould Dah expressed satisfaction with what the current Executive Bureau had achieved since taking the initiative, affirming that it would continue the same approach during the remainder of its term.
He was speaking during a discussion with Essaha, in which he addressed all the issues raised in detail and answered the group members’ questions.
The President added: “As soon as we came to the Union, we worked to find it suitable headquarters, which was achieved. It costs the Union’s budget more than 400.000 old ouguiyas each month. We also immediately began training and development as one of our objectives, organising more than ten courses in very important fields with Arab and international media institutions and networks. Many young journalists benefited, alongside participation in international and continental conferences. All this,” he added, “without the slightest support from the government or any official body, but through the Union’s relationships and those of its Executive Bureau members with mostly foreign partners.”
“We also worked towards establishing a training centre,” the President added, “as part of our pre-election commitments. It is expected in a few days to graduate a group who received a full month’s training in editing techniques. It will also be strengthened with equipment and electronic devices in the coming days.”
The President of the Mauritanian Journalists’ Union, colleague Mohamed Salem Ould Dah, said that the Union had taken positions at the time of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder, but was not involved in conflicts between states..
He added that the Journalists’ Union refused to align itself with any side ...”
Ould Dah stressed that the Union was affiliated neither with the government nor the opposition and would not submit to blackmail. It includes all journalists across their different groups and political and ideological affiliations..”
Ould Dah strongly denied that “the Mauritanian government had provided the Union with any assistance”, saying that all its income came from members’ contributions or cooperation with some organisations ..
Ould Dah said that “journalist Mamouni Ould El Mokhtar’s case is a Union priority in its continuing defence of journalists’ moral and material rights”. He confirmed that the new Bureau had raised the need to resolve the case before President Ould Abdel Aziz, former Prime Minister Yahya Ould Hademine and the Minister of Communication, and in the Union’s statements and seminars. He stressed that the Union still fought seriously and sincerely for journalist Mamouni’s case and would never forget or neglect it.
He also discussed cleaning up the press sector, noting that they had already begun the project and that it had targeted many people who did not meet the requirements to enter the profession. This led to them being dragged before the courts and to obstruction by influential figures who wanted the sector to remain diluted in this way, the President added.
Ould Dah affirmed that the Union would continue cleaning up and reforming the press sector, calling on serious journalism to close ranks and reject fragmentation and disputes.
Ould Dah said that the challenge was great, resources were limited, and support was absent both from the supervising authorities and from Union members, with only very few paying subscriptions. He added: “When the Union’s Executive Bureau was summoned before the courts, none of the colleagues stood beside us, although defending their Union, their common organisation, should be one of their highest priorities.”
He addressed numerous issues, including the advertising bill and the press support fund. He said the advertising law had made considerable progress and reached former Prime Minister Yahya Ould Hademine’s office, but stopped there. He also called for the press support fund’s ceiling to be increased, as it had originally covered print press before electronic and then audiovisual media were added without any increase in its original amount.
Journalists’ Union President Mohamed Salem Ould Dah concluded by calling on all journalists, whether Union members or not, to stand together and continue the work, particularly unifying the journalistic community, as previously advocated by some press bodies and widely welcomed by the others, in his words. He also expressed their full readiness to work with the government and supervising ministry to develop the sector by creating institutes and training centres that help foster a new generation of journalists aware of the profession’s standing and the importance of professionalising and developing it.