2007–08 Senegalese protests
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The 2007-2008 Senegalese protests were riots and demonstrations against the government and the handling of the food crisis as part of the 2007-2008 world food price crisis
Background[edit]
Senegal has a long history of protests, from 1954, 1963, 1988–89, 1996–97 and 2004-05 but none of the protests were not linked to food and they were all peaceful but these series of demonstrations were not peaceful. The government announced a decision to rise food prices by tripling the actual prices and this decision sparked anger.
Protests (2007)[edit]
On 21 November, young street vendors poured into the downtown market area of Sandaga, protesting a move by President Abdoulaye Wade to force them off Dakar's busy streets in an effort to improve traffic flow. For months, the government has been giving Dakar a facelift, building new roads and hotels, as it prepares to host an international Islamic conference in March.
Thousands of people from Senegal and neighbouring countries fill the sidewalks of Dakar daily, selling art, shoes, electronics and anything they can find, to make ends meet. The government has estimated annual losses of 100 billion CFA francs (US$226 million) because of clogged streets.
“We are not against [the president’s idea], but on the condition they give us a space to set up our stalls and sell our things,” said Fallou Seck, delegate of the collective of street hawkers. “We are citizens who have the right to work.”
Poverty and Unemployment protests[edit]
In December 2007, mass protests against the rise in poverty struck Senegal and it spread nationwide. Workers was dispersed by tear gas after marching in strikes against unemployment, which had reached 40%. Unrest grew to riots and soon, police had to open fire. On 9 December, protesters was killed in Dakar after police opened fire on demonstrators, killing 4. The protesters were angry but they ceased the demonstrations.
Food riots[edit]
On 31 March 2008, Senegal had riots in response to the rise in the price of food and fuel. Twenty-four people were arrested and detained in a response that one local human rights group claimed included "torture" and other "unspeakable acts" on the part of the security forces. Further protests took place in Dakar on 26 April 2008.
Protests (2008)[edit]
More than 1,000 people, some carrying empty rice sacks, marched through Senegal's capital Dakar on Saturday to protest against rising food prices, the latest such demonstration in impoverished West Africa.
Aid experts say soaring global prices for foodstuffs and fuel threaten to push 100 million people worldwide into hunger, and governments in the poorest countries are scrambling to find ways to mitigate the effects.
Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade, whose nation imports more than 80 percent of its rice needs, announced an ambitious plan last week to increase rice production five-fold to 500,000 tonnes in a season.
But many people say the measures are not enough to prevent rice, the daily staple, from becoming a luxury. They accuse Wade of focusing on glamorous infrastructure projects to the detriment of his people's more basic needs.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
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