2023-08-04 04:20:16
Demonstrators hold up a sign hostile to France, in Niamey, on August 3, 2023. AFP
A delegation from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) arrived Thursday evening August 3 in Niamey to try to find a way out of the crisis, eight days after the coup d’etat in Niger which overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum.
The ECOWAS delegation, led by former Nigerian head of state Abdulsalami Abubakar, must “meet the putschists in Niger to present the demands of the leaders of ECOWAS”, according to a press release from the presidency of Nigeria.
The President of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu, current President of ECOWAS, asked him to ” do everything “ for a “amicable resolution” of the crisis in Niger, after sanctions were taken against this country and an ultimatum addressed to the putschists to restore constitutional order.
ECOWAS imposed heavy sanctions on Niamey and gave the perpetrators of the coup until Sunday to reinstate elected President Mohamed Bazoum, who was overthrown on July 26, or risk using ” strength “.
The elected official, sequestered at his home, spoke through a platform in the American newspaper Washington Post : “I call on the U.S. government and the entire international community to help restore constitutional order, to fight for our common values,” he wrote while recalling the consequences “ devastating of the coup, in particular the russian influence propagated by the Wagner Group in the Sahel region.
Read also: Niger: peaceful demonstrations in support of the coup on the day of the anniversary of the country’s independence
The West African organization said it was preparing for a military operation, although it stressed that it was “the last option on the table”while several West African armies, including that of Senegal, say they are ready to intervene if the ultimatum is not respected on Sunday.
Threats of immediate responses
The putschists in Niger have announced that they will retaliate ” immediately “ in case of’“assault or attempted assault” against their country by the Economic Community of West African States. “As ECOWAS is impersonal, any aggression or attempted aggression against the State of Niger will see an immediate and unannounced response from the Nigerien Defense and Security Forces on one of its members, with the exception of suspended friendly countries”said one of the putschists, alluding to Burkina Faso and Mali.
In an interview with Agence France-Presse (AFP), Niger’s ambassador to Washington, Kiari Liman-Tinguiri, called on the junta to “come back to reason”. “If Niger collapses, it is first of all the whole Sahel that collapses, which will be destabilized (…) and you will have Wagner and the jihadists who will control Africa from the coast to the Mediterranean”he warned before being dismissed from his post by Niamey in the evening.
Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers Coup d’Etat in Niger: the noose is tightening around the old regime
The military perpetrators of a coup d’etat in Niger announced on Thursday evening « fin » to “functions” ambassadors of Niger in France, the United States, Nigeria and Togo, in a statement read on national television, at a time when pressure to restore constitutional order is increasing internationally. If relations are strained between Niamey and the West African bloc, they are also strained with France, a former colonial power.
Demonstrators denounce the actions of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Niamey (Niger), August 3, 2023. AFP
Like France 24 and RFI, broken ties with France
On Thursday, the programs of RFI (Radio France Internationale) and the news television channel France 24 were interrupted in Niger, “a decision taken outside any conventional and legal framework”according to the parent company of the two media, France Médias Monde.
Read also: The broadcast of RFI and France 24 interrupted in Niger, Paris “very strongly condemns” the decision of the putschists
The signals of the two media were cut off “on instructions from the new military authorities”a senior Nigerian official told AFP.
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France condemned “very firmly” this decision and “reaffirmed its constant and determined commitment to press freedom, freedom of expression and the protection of journalists”, the foreign ministry said in a statement. Reporters Without Borders (RSF), for its part, denounced “a violation of the public’s right to plural information in an already difficult security context in the Sahel”.
RFI and France 24 are already suspended in neighboring Burkina Faso and Mali, also led by putschists, where the ruling Niger military sent delegations on Wednesday. The cessation of broadcasting of France 24 and RFI comes on the day of the 63rd anniversary of Niger’s independence from France. Since the coup, relations with Paris have deteriorated. Incidents on Sunday during a demonstration in front of the French Embassy led to the emergency evacuation of more than 500 French people.
The putschists in Niger declared Thursday evening to denounce several military agreements concluded with France, which concern in particular the “parking” of the French detachment and the ” Status “ soldiers present in the context of the anti-jihadist fight. “Faced with the casual attitude and the reaction of France in relation to the situation” from Niger, the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Fatherland [CNSP, militaires au pouvoir]decides to denounce the cooperation agreements in the field of security and defense with this State”said one of the putschists.
Evacuations
Access to the French embassy and other nearby chancelleries was blocked on Thursday by the Nigerien police, AFP journalists noted. Before a peaceful demonstration this Thursday, Paris had recalled “that the security of rights of way and diplomatic personnel [étaient] obligations under international law”..
The former colonial power evacuated 577 of its nationals to Niger on Tuesday and Wednesday. According to the leader of the junta, General Abdourahamane Tiani, there is no “no objective reason” of « quitter » the country.
The United States, partners of Niger like France, for their part chartered a plane to evacuate their non-essential personnel from Niger, when President Joe Biden called “to the immediate release of President Bazoum”.
The two allies of this country, which has been plagued by jihadist violence for several years, are deploying there respectively 1,100 and 1,500 soldiers, whose evacuation is not planned.
Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers Coup d’Etat in Niger: “When the putschists agitate anti-French sentiment in the Sahel, they prevent thinking about France’s real mistakes”
Mr. Bazoum, 63, has been detained with his family since the day of the putsch in his presidential residence. Electricity was voluntarily cut there on Thursday, his party said.
In Niamey, the leader of the putschists, General Tiani, declared that he rejected “en bloc the sanctions” and refuse “to give in to any threat”in a televised address on Wednesday. “We refuse any interference in the internal affairs of Niger”.
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