Africa-Press – Mauritius. In recent days, the Mauritian government has faced what some say are the most violent protests in recent years, with residents of several mostly low-income neighborhoods protesting unsustainable increases in the cost of living and the sudden and drastic increase in gasoline and gas prices by more than 10% and 30%.
The protests, which were initially peaceful, emerged particularly in the Camp-Levieux region, an area that is home to a large number of social housing projects and low-income families mostly from Kreol. origin that have been most affected by inflation and rising prices.
While there were some small incidents at first, such as tire burnings and heated gatherings, it was not until the arrest on Friday of “Darren”, a young local activist and protester, that the situation worsened considerably.
On Friday, Darren had issued an ultimatum to the government, demanding the reduction of fuel prices and the adoption of new measures to reduce the cost of living in general, with the threat of new protests in case of inaction.
He was detained by the police for “participation in two illegal demonstrations” and “use of social networks to publish hate messages”. He was then allegedly beaten and later taken to the police headquarters at the Central Barracks, which was quickly shaken by demonstrations.
by hundreds of people who protested his arrest and who had to be dispersed with tear gas. This, in turn, led to parallel protests within a couple of hours in other largely Creole communities in Trou-d’Eau-Douce, Barkly, Vallijee and Cassis.
-made a Molotov cocktail, the police were forced to deploy special crowd control units and armored vehicles in communities across the country to control situations.
With police accused of beating protesters and some people comparing the current protests to the 1999 race riots after the death of Creole artist Kaya in police custody, the situation here seems especially delicate, striking at the core of social harmony in a multi-religious and multi-ethnic country widely known for its tolerance.
While things seem to have calmed down after the Bail and Pretrial Detention Court released Darren on bail today, Saturday, many people are obviously still frustrated with worsening socioeconomic conditions in the country.
It remains to be seen whether the protests will worsen or whether an acceptable compromise can be found between the protesters and an increasingly indebted state.
What is clear is that existing socio-economic policies, seen by many as generous compared to other African states, have failed large sections of the population, who remain disillusioned with the state of Mauritius.
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