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On December 23, Mauritanian authorities arrested 16 teachers who had heckled the Education Minister in protest against their arbitrary transfer to remote posts, for having taken part in last year's demonstrations. The police sent these teachers to its various offices in Nouakchott. Journalist Mohamed Salem comments:

 يجدد نظام العقيد ولد باهية اعتقال 16 أستاذا من خيرة أساتذة موريتانيا لأنهم طالبوا برفع الظلم

@medsa20 : Ould Bahia's regime once again arrests 16 of Mauritania's best teachers because they demanded to put an end to injustice

On November 28, 2012, Mauritanian police dispersed [ar] a march organized by “Don't touch my nationality” movement and arrested their coordinator Birane Wane [en]. The opposition group was asking for the trial of all those involved in the killing of black officers in the Mauritanian army in the 90′s during the ruling of former president Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya.

The march took place on the country's independence day. Mauritanian journalist Mohamed Naji Ahmedou followed the event closely and tweeted:

@ouldhmedoumedna “لا تلمس جنسيتي” تشتبك مع الأمن قرب العيادة المجمعة..

Don't touch my nationality, clashes with security forces near the clinic

Mauritanian blogger Ahmed Jedou calls [ar] says it is high time his country had civil rule. He blogs:

“Today it is obvious that the military look at us as if we are a ball they are playing with. Our war should be for the establishment of a civil state which fights all the remnants of military rule and French guardianship, through a transitional period, which should be lead by civil society forces.”

Photo of the protest posted on Facebook by one of the organizers

The coordination of Mauritanian Opposition held a massive rally on Wednesday [November 21] asking France to stop interfering in the country's politics.  The protesters also reiterated their demands to end the military regime in Mauritania.
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A group of Mauritanian activists initiated a Facebook campaign entitled “Knowledge for all” [ar], which aiming to gather 30,000 books before Mauritania's Independence day [Nov 28] and hand them to the National Library. The campaign was met by great enthusiasm from Mauritanian intellectuals and figures, who praised the campaign and and donated many books. Hussein Ould Mohammed Omar blogged about the initiative [ar]:

The group started their campaign by a Facebook announcement on the page dedicated for the event for those who would like to donate books. After that they suggested visiting important figures in the culture sector. The group members were leading the campaign by donating old books themselves. The Egyptian Cultural Center, which is an active cultural party in Mauritania, also contributed by donating some of their special magazines.

Photo of the march posted on Twitter by @mojteba

After Friday Prayers, hundreds of Mauritanians took to the streets of the capital Nouakchott on November 16, 2012, in a solidarity rally with Gaza residents after the city became the target of heavy Israeli bombing.
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