A Coup in Niger?

[The Vegan Marxist]

I was wondering what your thoughts might be on this 'coup' that has taken place in Niger, whether you think this coup will bring real democracy to the Nigerian people like they claim, or if it'll be worse than the government that was in place before the 'coup' came & seized power:


The African Union, France, and ECOWAS, a West African economic bloc, have condemned a military coup in Niger, a day after dissident soldiers seized the president and dissolved the constitution.

Jean Ping, the head of the African Union, on Friday criticised the coup leaders, saying he was following developments "with concern", while France called for dialogue to resolve the political crisis in its former colony.

"France calls on all players including the armed forces to find, through dialogue, and as soon as possible, a solution to the constitutional crisis," Bernard Valero, a French foreign ministry spokesman, told reporters.

Niamey, Niger's capital, was calm on Friday, with businesses and schools opening as usual, although armoured vehicles were seen stationed outside key government offices, including the presidential palace.

An Al Jazeera contact in Niger, who cannot be named due to security reasons, said life had returned to normal in Niamey with people resuming their daily activities.
"This morning we toured the city and found out that the military that took power have left their tanks and vehicles in some strategic points of the city," he said.

"This is normal following a coup d’état, in order to secure these areas."

New ruler

After carrying out the coup, soldiers calling themselves the Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy (CSRD), announced that Salou Djibo, their squadron leader, was the country's new ruler.

They said in a statement that Niger's current ministers would continue to run the government for the moment, and that they intended to turn Niger "an example of democracy and of good governance".

The statement also said that Mamadou Tandja, the ousted president, had been seen by a doctor and the 71-year-old was "doing very well".

Tandja is reportedly being held in an army building in Niamey.
Soldiers stormed the presidential palace on Thursday, seizing Tandja and some of his aides after a four-hour gun battle. At least three people were reported to have been killed in the gunfight.

Tensions had been high in Niger since President Tandja dissolved parliament last year and changed the constitution to extend his rule following a referendum - a move that drew widespread criticism at home and led to international sanctions.

Marie-Roger Biloa, founding editor of the Africa International magazine, said some sort of action had been expected.

"Nigeriens are very proud of their democratic process," she told Al Jazeera from Paris, where she is based.

"They [Nigeriens] have been really trying to put a democratic institution in place, and everybody was expecting something to happen after President Tandja decided not to play by the rules."

Last June, Tandja dissolved the constitutional court that had ruled against him and assumed the power to rule by decree, brushing aside international criticism of the move, saying he was answerable only to the people of Niger.

He was supposed to step down in December following two five-year terms in a row, but his so-called reforms removed most checks on his authority, abolished term limits and gave him an initial three more years in power without an election, an extension he said he needed to complete large-scale investment projects.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2010/02/201021913720169445.html

[Belisarius]

(Niger is not the same as Nigeria)Since it's already the third coup in this country alone, i don't have much hopes. it's just one dictator following another. they care more for their own wallets than for their people who are exploited by western companies. American and European trusts are constantly undermining most of the african (food) markets by selling their left-overs for cheap prices, so the local farmers won't get anything sold.

[Sendo]

(Niger is not the same as Nigeria)Since it's already the third coup in this country alone, i don't have much hopes. it's just one dictator following another. they care more for their own wallets than for their people who are exploited by western companies. American and European trusts are constantly undermining most of the african (food) markets by selling their left-overs for cheap prices, so the local farmers won't get anything sold.

Second that, the coup was in Niger. It is confusing, but what to call people of Niger? Nigeria people are Nigerians; what are Niger people......Nigerese?

[Dimentio]

They are called Nigerien.

Niger is a country which doesn't have much hope. Its very poor, have a very bad infrastructure and most of the country is consisting of desert or arid regions. The only income aside from substinence farming is a large goldmine where tens of thousands of farmers are extra-working as seasonal miners.

I think it could be a good place for solar energy production though.

[red cat]

Due to the lack of mass participation in the overthrowal, I don't have much hope in the coup.

[Dimentio]

My perception is that one autocrat has been overthrown by another, for the moment.

[The Vegan Marxist]

Probably. I looked into the leader's background, & he's a high military commander, so I don't know. The only up-side I see in this is that the U.S. relations, along with many other capitalist powers are complaining about the coup & talk of doing something about it.

[Belisarius]

Probably. I looked into the leader's background, & he's a high military commander, so I don't know. The only up-side I see in this is that the U.S. relations, along with many other capitalist powers are complaining about the coup & talk of doing something about it.
they only want to do something about it because it was easy to exploit the country under the last ruler. if they can give the ruler loads of cash and keep exploiting the people, everyhing's fine, but when someone new gets in power, they aren't that sure anymore. the same has happened with dictatorships in Cuba, Vietnam, etc., where the US financed dictatorships to suppress communist revolts. the problem in Niger is that there weren't any revolts conducted by the people, it was just a replacement of ruler.

[Red Commissar]

Niger also gets a sizable cut from a uranium deposit, which prompted Chinese industries to try and harvest it.

As for the goals of the coup, as it has been mentioned, just another line of coups claiming to bring stability and "democracy". I believe this president that got overthrown had tried to change the constitution to get himself a third term, and failing that was going to write an entirely new one to let him have no term limits. The tension has been brewing for a while .

[Dimentio]

Its too easy to say what would happen now. Maybe the new ruler would allow somewhat half-free elections to bring a civilian oligarchy into power, or he will make himself another dictator.