Niger: ECOWAS wants to give “priority to diplomatic negotiations”

2023-08-10 14:51:59

Crucial day in Niger. The leaders of the West African countries (ECOWAS) opposed to the coup d’etat meet Thursday, August 10 in Abuja for a summit, after the failure of their ultimatum to the soldiers who took power. L’Express summarizes the latest information on the current political crisis in Niger.

ECOWAS wants to engage “all parties concerned”

Negotiation with the military regime in Niger must be the “basis of our approach”, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu said Thursday in Abuja at the opening of the new ECOWAS summit. “It is crucial that we give priority to diplomatic negotiations and dialogue as the basis of our approach,” said the Nigerian president, who holds the rotating presidency of the Economic Community of West African States.

The organization must engage “all the parties concerned, including the perpetrators of the coup, in serious discussions in order to convince them to relinquish power and restore President Bazoum”, he continued.

All the presidents of the West African bloc made the trip to the Nigerian capital, except those of Gambia, Liberia and Cape Verde, who sent representatives. The presidents of Burundi and Mauritania, non-members of ECOWAS but invited by it, are also present. “Important decisions” are expected at this summit, ECOWAS said on Tuesday, favoring the diplomatic channel while maintaining its threat of the use of force.

A new government in Niger

The military regime resulting from a coup in Niger has formed a government, according to a decree by the country’s new strongman, General Abdourahamane Tiani, read on national television overnight from Wednesday to Thursday. This 21-member government is led by Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine who was appointed on Monday.

It includes 20 ministers. Those of Defense and the Interior are generals of the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Homeland (CNSP) which took power, respectively General Salifou Mody and General Mohamed Toumba.

Africa divided on the subject

Flying to the Nigerian capital on Wednesday evening, Guinea-Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embalo claimed that “the only president” recognized in Niger is President Bazoum. “Coups must be banned”, he added, considering that ECOWAS, of which his country and Niger are part, was gambling its existence after the putschs in three other Member States (Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso suspended from its governing bodies) since 2020.

For their part, Mali and Burkina Faso showed their solidarity with the soldiers of Niger. They claimed that if the country was attacked by ECOWAS, it would be “a declaration of war” for them.

On Tuesday, they sent joint letters to the UN and the AU calling for their “responsibility” to prevent “any military intervention against Niger, the extent of the security and humanitarian consequences of which would be unpredictable”.

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UN chief “concerned” about Bazoum’s detention conditions

In its efforts to restore President Bazoum, ECOWAS can count on the support of Western powers, first and foremost the United States and France, which had made Niger a pivot of their anti-jihadist system in the Sahel.

The UN secretary general said on Wednesday he was “concerned” about the conditions of detention of ousted Nigerien president Mohamed Bazoum, and demanded his release. Antonio Guterres denounced “the deplorable conditions in which President Bazoum and his family would live,” the UN said in a statement.

According to the American media CNN, Mohamed Bazoum is kept isolated by the soldiers who overthrew him from power, and has only uncooked pasta and rice to eat. According to the same source, he claimed in a series of messages sent to a friend that he had been deprived of “all human contact since Friday”, without anyone bringing him food or medicine.

France denies violating Niger’s airspace

Since the military came to power, France has suspended military cooperation agreements with Niamey. The Nigerien soldiers themselves denounced these agreements last week, which Paris rejected, on the grounds that they had been signed by the legitimate Nigerien authorities.

On Wednesday, the military accused Paris of having violated Niger’s airspace in the morning, closed since Sunday, with a French army plane from Chad, and of having “liberated terrorists”. Charges immediately denied by France.