Africa
Copycat suicides rise in N Africa
Attempted suicides by self-immolations seem to be spreading through north
Africa as a final expression of social misery.
Last Modified: 17 Jan 2011 14:28 GMT
The self-immolation that set off the protest wave which toppled Tunisia's
leader has led to apparent copycat protests in other north African states, with
four men setting themselves on fire in Algeria and one each in Egypt and
Mauritania.
Self-immolation as a form of protest is neither new (Buddhist monks did it to
protest the Vietnam war) nor currently unique north African countries (one 2005
study in Iran focused on 98 such cases in a five-year period in one Tabriz
alone, and multiple cases have been reported in Afghanistan ). However, the
succession of the suicides in the region and their root causes - poverty,
frustration with lack of opportunities, etc. - seem to make them part of a
disturbing trend.
In Cairo, a man set himself ablaze on Monday near parliament in a protest
against poor living conditions.
In Algeria, where riots over the last few weeks have broken out in parallel to
the unrest in Tunisia, newspapers gave their first reports on Sunday and Monday
of at least four men who set themselves
on fire in provincial towns in the last five days.
And in Mauritania's capital, Nouakchott, police sources said Yacoub Ould
Dahoud, 40, a company director and member of a wealthy family, staged a
self-immolation protest on Monday against alleged government mistreatment of
his tribe.
Witnesses said he doused himself in gasoline while sitting in his locked car in
front of the presidential palace, and set himself on fire. Security forces and
passers-by broke the windows to remove him. He was sent to hospital with severe
burns.
Activists throughout the Arab world say they have been inspired by the example
of Tunisia, the first country in generations where an Arab leader was toppled
by public protests.
The Tunisian protests that brought down Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the former
Tunisian president, erupted after the suicide of 26-year-old Mohammed Bouazizi,
who set himself on fire on December 17 because police seized his grocery cart,
saying he didn't have the proper permit to sell produce.
Bouazizi died weeks later of his burns, becoming a martyr to crowds of students
and the unemployed protesting against poor living conditions. Ben Ali had
visited him in hospital, a gesture that failed to win him public sympathy.
Desperation and 'misery'
Algeria's public suicide attempts - four in one week - have been the topic of
debate in the countries daily newspaper.
A man in his forties on Wednesday also set himself ablaze in Bordj Menaiel in
the Boumerdes region near the Algerian capital, according to the El Watan.
Desperate over not being listed to receive housing benefits, the father of six
doused himself with gasoline and set it alight, but a town official intervened
to stop the fire, the daily said.
The man was hospitalised but his life is not in danger, it said.
Another, man named Senouci Touat doused himself in gasoline and set himself on
fire in the city of Mostaganem, 350 km west of the capital Algiers, El Watan
and El Khabar newspapers reported. He too, survived.
Mohsen Bouterfif set himself ablaze on Thursday in Algeria's Tebessa province
when a town's mayor failed to secure him a house.
Newspapers said on Sunday he had died, but a government source later said he
was alive at hospital and might survive.
The fourth incident took place in the town of Jijel, newspapers said.
"Billions of dollars have been invested in development programmes with no
positive impact over the daily life of Algerian citizens," wrote the Algerian
daily El Watan.
"Signs of social misery are visible all over the country ... Algeria's street
is rumbling. A hotbed of violence is very likely."
The demonstrations that brought down Ben Ali erupted after the self-immolation
of 26-year-old vegetable seller Mohamed Bouazizi, who set himself on fire on
December 17 because police had confiscated his vegetable cart.
Bouazizi died weeks later of his burns, becoming a martyr to crowds of students
and the unemployed protesting against poor living conditions.
A horrific final statement
Like Tunisians, many other Arabs are frustrated by soaring prices, poverty,
high unemployment and systems of rule that ignore their voices.
In Egypt, authorities are adamant that there will be no large-scale unrest.
A witness who worked in parliament said the Egyptian man poured fuel over
himself and then set himself alight when people tried to approach him on Monday.
A security source said that the man, Abdouh Abdel Moneim, aged about 50,
suffered light injuries because parliamentary security quickly put out the
flames.
"The man was frustrated because he could not get his ration coupons from
Ismailiya (east of Cairo) to buy subsidised goods. He came to parliament to
find someone to help him," he said.
The local mayor said the man had a history of mental illness but Ayman Nour, a
opposition politician, said Abdel Moneim had been troubled by economic
conditions.
"Definitely, definitely, definitely," said Nour when asked if there was a link
between the incident and Tunisian events.
"Security is leaning in the direction of making him out to be psychologically
ill. I want to say that Egypt is full of psychologically troubled people
because of what happens here."
"Tunisia is now the model to follow for all Arabs. The time for dictators and
dictatorships is over," said Mohamed Lagab, political analyst and teacher of
political science at Algiers university.
Source:
Agencies
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