Ghaddafi celebrates Mawlid in Mauritania

Visiting Libyan leader Muammar Ghaddafi on Tuesday joined Mauritanian officials and 2,000 guests invited from all parts of the world in the celebration of Mawlid, which commemorates the Prophet Mohammed's birthday.

    According to information from Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania, Ghaddafi led the first El Jamiaa in the religious celebration in the city's Olympic Stadium, in the presence of General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, president of the High Council of State; Colonel Ely Ould Mohamed Vall, former head of state; and 2,000 guests invited from all parts of the world.

    Ghaddafi, who arrived in Nouakchott on Monday on a good-offices mission, praised Mauritania for its historic role in spreading Islam in Africa.

    "We have chosen Mauritania to celebrate the anniversary of the birth of the Prophet Mohammed for the reason of the privileged place this country occupies in Africa," he said.

    He also called for the solidarity and fraternity of Muslims allover the world.

    Ghaddafi came up with a seven-point plan to bring Mauritania out of the months-old crisis since the military junta seized power on Aug. 6.

    The plan proposes the simultaneous resignation of both Abdela Aziz and deposed President Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdallahi, the dissolution of the High Council of State, the power handover to the president of the Senate in accordance with the Constitution, an interim government, an independent election commission and an open presidential vote.

    The Libyan leader was given a passionate welcome by Abdela Aziz when he disembarked from the plane. He was warmly applauded by local citizens lining up the avenue linking the airport to his residence.

    Ghaddafi's visit, the first by a foreign head of state to Mauritania since August, came after he was elected the rotating chairperson of the African Union (AU) in February, with a mandate to resolve the Mauritania crisis.

    The country, which is suspended from the AU and the Economic Community of West African States, is scrambling with the international pressure to restore the constitutional order.

    The military junta has taken a series of steps to ease the pressure. On Friday, Ould Cheikh Abdallahi was allowed to go to Libya after released from house arrest in December.

    Abdela Aziz also announced a plan in January to hold presidential elections on June 6 and form an independent election commission.

XINHUANET