- Baton-wielding police in Senegal on Saturday forcefully calmed a crowd of opposition protesters in the capital Dakar with tear gas and beating. Led by opposition leaders, the protesters were demanding free and fair presidential polls on 25 February. Protesters were also at ease with President Abdoulaye Wade for pushing the date of the legislative elections from February to June.
Despite being denied the right to protest, hundreds of people took to the street chanting "Wade go! Wade go!" A group of police were deployed in key strategic locations of Dakar, including the Medina district, where they released tear gas on protesters, beat some as well as arrested opposition leaders.
Arrested opposition included the leader of Alliance of Progressive Forces (AFP) and former Prime Minister of Senegal, Moustapha Niasse. They were released after spending five hours in police detention.
"President Wade has introduced electric batons for the riot police and used them against us but we are going to the elections and the people will decide," the AFP leader said.
Mr Niasse, 67, a former UN special envoy to the Democratic Republic of Congo, was held and dragged by the neck and taken away into police.
The leader of the AFP women's league, Mata Sy Diallo, reportedly got fainted by the tear gas and was rushed to a hospital.
Opposition leaders described the police brutality as part of efforts to kill democracy in Senegal. They insisted that since the constitution has mandated them to march, nothing can stop them from doing the act in future.
But the police director of national security, Leopold Diouf, blamed the demonstrators for being responsible for the violence. "The protesters did not have a permission to march," he said, adding that they decided to go ahead, which is a violation of the law. "The police was simply doing what is expected of it."
Opposition leaders used the airwaves to vent their anger on the Dakar police for trampling on their rights.
Since Saturday, police have been deployed in Dakar's strategic locations, purposely to avert protest, let alone wanton destruction of property and lives. No one has been reported killed in these strikes.
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