毛里求斯爆发1999年以来最严重骚乱：缺水与生活成本抗议升级 宵禁延长、学校停课 94人被捕
路易港——据彭博社报道，以白沙滩度假胜地闻名的印度洋岛国毛里求斯爆发了1999年以来最严重的骚乱，起因是缺水与生活成本上升引发的抗议。
抗议活动10月7日在主岛中部的瓦科阿-菲尼克斯一带爆发，示威者用破旧家具和床垫堵塞道路，随后蔓延到附近地区。局势在10月9日急转直下：一名警员在坎普勒沃一处路障向一辆面包车开枪，27岁的埃洛迪·托马斯在下班途中被击中。由13名印度外科医生组成的医疗队被空运到毛里求斯协助当地医疗团队，为她进行了长达7小时的手术，取出了卡在颈后的一颗子弹。57岁的警长高塔姆·辛格·陶库尔很快被捕。
10月12日，抗议者在罗兹山镇用燃烧瓶焚烧了一座警察局，并在全国多地封堵道路；快餐连锁与超市遭到抢掠破坏，轻轨Metro Express系统（尤其在巴克利一带）受损严重、服务暂停；博巴森一家麦当劳被砸，多辆汽车被焚。学校关闭，主要商会敦促企业让员工居家办公。
总理纳文钱德拉·拉姆古兰10月13日宣布实施夜间宵禁。毛里求斯警方表示，宵禁延长两个晚上（周三、周四晚8时30分至次日清晨5时），覆盖全岛主要人口中心；学校将停课至本周结束，参加国际考试的学生除外。据警方，骚乱开始以来已有94人被捕，局势已受控，但周三夜间岛上部分地区仍有零星事件。当局警告，违反宵禁者最高可面临5年监禁与最高50,000毛里求斯卢比（约1,050美元）罚款，并称违令者可能按《防止恐怖主义法》被起诉。
历史学家与政治分析人士乔斯林·陈洛（Jocelyn Chan Low）对彭博社表示：「这一次和1999年一样，警察仍是主要目标。暴力的规模成倍放大，警察局和警车被焚烧。」彭博社指出，中东战争推高了燃油价格，一场严重干旱又抽干了水库，部分地区已实施用水限制。毛里求斯自1968年脱离英国独立以来一直举行和平选举，经济依赖旅游业与金融服务业，是非洲人均第二富裕的国家，仅次于塞舌尔。（GSM 据彭博社报道）
Mauritius Hit by Worst Riots Since 1999 over Water Shortages and Living Costs; Curfew Extended, Schools Closed, 94 Arrested
PORT LOUIS — Mauritius, an Indian-ocean island nation best known for its white-sand beach resorts, has been rocked by its worst riots since 1999, Bloomberg reported.
Demonstrations that erupted on October 7 over water shortages and living costs escalated after the police shot and injured a 27-year-old woman on Oct. 9. Protest action started in the Vacoas-Phoenix area in the central region of the main island, with roads blocked with broken furniture and mattresses, and spread to nearby areas.
Protest action turned to rioting following the shooting of Élodie Thomas, 27, by a police officer at a roadblock in Camp Levieux, whilst she was transiting from work. A team of 13 surgeons from India was mobilised to assist the Mauritian medical team, and she underwent 7 hours of surgery to remove a bullet stuck in the back of her neck. Police sergeant Gautam Singh Taukoor, 57, was soon arrested.
On October 12, protesters burnt down a police station in the town of Rose-Hill using a Molotov cocktail and blockaded roads across the country. Companies were looted and vandalised, rioters caused so much damage to the Metro Express tram system, especially in Barkly, that services were suspended, and a McDonald's in Beau-Bassin was vandalised with a number of vehicles set on fire.
Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam imposed an overnight curfew on October 13. The Mauritius Police Force said the curfew was extended for two more nights — from 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday until 5 a.m. the following morning — across the island's main population centres, and schools would remain closed for the rest of the week, except for students appearing for international examinations. According to the police, 94 people had been arrested since the riots began; police said the situation was under control, although some incidents were reported in parts of the island overnight on Wednesday. Authorities warned that violating the curfew could lead to imprisonment for up to five years and a fine of up to 50,000 Mauritian rupees (approximately $1,050), and that offenders could face prosecution under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
"This time again, as in 1999, the police are the main target," Jocelyn Chan Low, a historian and political analyst, told Bloomberg. "The scale of the violence has multiplied, with police stations and vehicles set ablaze." The war in the Middle East has driven up fuel prices and a crippling drought has emptied reservoirs, resulting in water-use restrictions in some areas. The archipelago, which relies on tourism and financial services, is Africa's second-richest nation per capita after the Seychelles and has held peaceful elections since independence from the UK in 1968. (GSM, from Bloomberg reporting)
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：图：毛里求斯首都路易港海滨资料照片。照片：carrotmadman6，Wikimedia Commons，CC BY 2.0。Photo: the Port Louis waterfront in Mauritius (file photo). Photo by carrotmadman6 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
GSM Global · 本篇英文版 English edition of this story
