The Head of State strongly condemns the latest violent demonstrations which shook the country after the verdict of the Criminal Chamber of Dakar against Ousmane Sonko in his trial against the ex-masseuse Adji Sarr. While commending the professionalism of the Fds, the President of the Republic asked the government to prepare a memorandum on these unfortunate events, as well as the production of a report on the economic and social losses that these have caused.

Following the violent demonstrations in the aftermath of the verdict of the Sweet Beauty affair, which resulted in the conviction of the leader of the Pastef party to 2 years in prison and the payment of 20 million francs in damages to ex-masseuse Adji Sarr, the Head of State reserved his first reaction for the government, yesterday, during the weekly meeting of the Council of Ministers.  President Macky Sall discussed the recent unfortunate events which shook the country and which cost the lives of 16 of our compatriots and caused significant material damage.

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On this subject, he « strongly condemned these extremely serious attacks against the State, the Republic and its institutions, and against the Senegalese Nation through human violence, acts of ransacking against public and private property and cyber -attacks against strategic government sites and vital public services, the objective of which was undoubtedly to sow terror and bring our country to a halt”, underlines the press release from the Council of Ministers.

Which lead President Macky Sall to remind « the government of the imperative need to protect our Republic and preserve our Nation in the face of the attacks which have become recurrent and multifaceted aimed at paralysing our economy », and to undermine the brand image of our country, Senegal, which remains, above all, a great democracy.

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Faced with the gravity of the facts, President Sall reaffirmed “his determination to protect the Nation, the State, the Republic, its values and its foundations. To this end, he ordered the opening of immediate and systematic judicial investigations to shed light on the responsibilities linked to these events”.

The Head of State also took the opportunity to ask the government to prepare « a complete memorandum on the deaths, acts of vandalism and defiance of the State perpetrated on the occasion of these demonstrations “, as well as an “exhaustive report of the economic losses and the material damage caused, to have an exact evaluation of the damages suffered”.

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In front of the members of the government, President Macky Sall did not fail to hold assurances for “our compatriots and the foreign guests who live among us” and those related “to the measures taken to preserve the stability of the country and the security of persons and property.

In addition, the President of the Republic has asked the government to take all the necessary measures to assist the families of the victims, as well as the persons and entities who have suffered harm”.

He salutes the professionalism of the Fds

In yesterday’s Council the President of the Republic was able to « salute the remarkable professionalism and the effective republican posture of the Defense and Security Forces which have made it possible to control, despite everything, the unprecedented violence of malicious attacks, and to ‘stop acts of vandalism and organized crime’.

He wished to reaffirm his openness to dialogue and consultation with all the living forces of the Nation in respect of the rule of law and our common desire to live together in peace, stability and solidarity, recalling “his message to the launching ceremony of the National Dialogue on Wednesday, May 31, 2023”.

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President Sall previously, at the start of his communication, bowed to « the memory of those who died during the serious incidents noted in recent days in the regions of Dakar and Ziguinchor ». This led President Sall to « present his saddened condolences to the Nation and to the families of the victims and assured them of the support and presence of the State at their side ».

Continuing, he maintained: “I would like, on this occasion, to ask you to rise to observe a minute of silence and prayer. At the same time, I wish a speedy recovery to the injured.”

In addition, returning to the launch of the National Dialogue, President Macky Sall was delighted « with the quality of the responsible and constructive messages delivered by the speakers during this important meeting of exchanges and proposals for strengthening the State of Law and improvement of our electoral and political system, of our economic and social situation, in the dynamics of the performance of the Emerging Senegal Plan (Pse) launched in 2014”.

By Mamadou T. DIATTA / mdiatta@lequotidien.sn

  • Translation by Ndey T. SOSSEH / Serigne S. DIAGNE