Presidency sealed off in coup-prone Niger

Ahram on line ^ | 26JUL2023 | staff

[AdmSmith]

From two weeks (African Union) to one week:

West Africa's regional bloc ECOWAS on Sunday gave Niger coup leaders one week to reinstate ousted President Mohammed Bazoum or face sanctions and the possible use of force.

The regional leaders meeting in Nigeria's capital Abuja said punitive measures against Niger's new military leaders could include financial and travel sanctions and a no-fly zone.

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/west-african-leaders-threaten-sanctions-force-against-niger-coup-leaders-2023-07-30/

[AdmSmith]

Niger 2023 will perhaps go down in history as an extreme case of failed wage negotiations where the head of the bodyguard who was threatened with dismissal instead took over the business. (The coup d’état process was slow in the beginning indicating that it started as something else).

A peaceful solution might be to look at what happened in Latin America:

“The American institution of asylum, with the special characteristics which it assumes on the continent, is, in short, the result of two coexisting phenomena deriving from law and politics respectively and in evidence throughout the history of this group of States: on the one hand, the power of democratic principles, respect for the individual and for freedom of thought; on the other hand, the unusual frequency of revolutions and armed struggles which, after each internal conflict, have often endangered the safety and life of persons on the losing side.” The following are some instances of the application of the principle of asylum in Latin America:

- In 1850, the former President of the Republic of Ecuador took refuge in the Consulate of Colombia (then called New Grenada) in Quito and then in that of the United States.

- In 1865, the President of the Republic of Peru and his ministers took refuge in the Legation of France in Lima.

- In May 1870, the Minister of Great Britain to Guatemala granted asylum to a Guatemalan politician.

- In 1874, the Minister of the United States in Bolivia granted asylum to two persons sought by the Bolivian Government.

- On a number of occasions, including one case in 1875, political refugees found asylum in the Legation of the United in Haiti.

- In 1885, the President of the Republic of Ecuador and his Minister of the Interior were granted asylum in the Legation of Colombia.

- In 1891, the conflict between the President and Congress of Chile led to the granting of asylum to two persons in the Legation of the United States in Santiago. On 21 August of the same year, two other groups of persons, respectively 5 and 19 in number, took refuge in the legations of Spain and the United States.

https://www.unhcr.org/publications/question-diplomatic-asylum-report-secretary-general-0

[MinorityRepublican]

All the West can do is to leave Africa alone. They’ll need a Bukele or a Pinochet to sort out their affairs. But that will have to happen organically.

[AdmSmith]

Russian blogger Makov:

Niger. Orthodox general. It turns out that the leader of the coup that overthrew the former president, a corrupt puppet of France, is Orthodox. General Abdurakhman Tchiani (sometimes read Chiani) converted to Orthodoxy in the early 80s under the influence of the singer Vasilyeva. Vasilyeva’s husband is the brother of the wife of the USSR ambassador to Niger. In general, General Tchiani has long been our man. And a man of high spirituality. He could not stand the impudence of the robbery of Niger by the French colonialists.

https://t.me/logikamarkova/7576

Interesting if true, since:

According to the results of the GENERAL CENSUS OF POPULATION AND HOUSING 2012, 16,978,889 (i.e. 99.3% of the total resident population) declare to be of Muslim faith. Then come in descending order the Christian religion which has 56,856 followers (i.e. 0.3% of the total number) and the animist religion with 34,786 followers (0.2% of the resident population). However, there are very few people declaring themselves to have no religion, they number 23,048 (0.1%).

https://www.stat-niger.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/ETAT_STRUCTURE_POPULATION.pdf

Something for Emmanuel to act on. ;-)

[AdmSmith]

=> Russian blogger Markov

[AdmSmith]

A list of embassies in Niamey. Just pick a suitable one for asylum.

https://www.embassypages.com/niger

[AdmSmith]

There is a lot of disinformation on social media about Niger the last 48h.

[AdmSmith]

General Tchiani tweeted:

I met this afternoon in Niamey, General @GmahamatIdi President of Chad and ECOWAS mediator in Niger.

https://twitter.com/General_Tchiani/status/1685786471704227841

and Mahamat Deby:

After having made this morning a brief consultation visit to Abuja in Nigeria at the invitation of the Nigerian President, current Chairman of ECOWAS, I completed my trip with a visit to #Niger which is going through a major political crisis.

In Niamey, I had in-depth discussions with the leaders of the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Fatherland (CNSP), in particular General Abdourahamane Tchiani, with President Mohamed Bazoum as well as former President Mahamadou Issoufou in a fraternal approach which aims to explore all avenues in order to find a peaceful solution to the crisis which is shaking this neighboring country.

https://twitter.com/GmahamatIdi/status/1685798895660441601

They have relaxed body language, a solution in a few days?

The president of Chad: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahamat_D%C3%A9by

[AdmSmith]

A planned 30 billion CFA francs ($51 million) bond issuance by Niger scheduled for Monday in the West African regional debt market has been cancelled by the regional central bank following the imposition of sanctions over a coup, market sources said.

West African leaders on Sunday imposed sanctions on Niger, including a halt in all financial transactions and a national assets freeze, to try to force a junta that seized power in the Sahel nation last week to restore constitutional order.

https://www.reuters.com/markets/rates-bonds/nigers-planned-51-mln-bond-issuance-cancelled-due-sanctions-2023-07-31/

https://tradingeconomics.com/niger/indicators

[AdmSmith]

The President of Burkina Faso learned of the sanctions imposed by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Niger on July 30, 2023.

The leadership of Burkina Faso reports that the President of the Transitional Council, Head of State, Captain Ibrahim Traore, and the President of the Malian Transitional Council, Colonel Assimi Goyota, during their meeting in St. Petersburg on July 27, 2023, agreed to be ready to assist Niger against any violation of its territorial integrity.

A request has been sent to Russian President Vladimir Putin for technical and military assistance to support this initiative.

https://twitter.com/SpriterTeam/status/1686126676055379968

Interesting, Mali and Burkina Faso will invade Niger !

[nascarnation]

Those hats aren't cool at all.

They need to contact N. Korea for something more studly.

[Reily]

In the 17th to 19th century a European going to Sub-Saharan Africa was most likely going there to die! I remember reading that the average time to die for a European in the 16th to 18th century was something like 90 days.

[Chickensoup]

they look like nazi outfits to me

[AdmSmith]

What about the medals?

[AdmSmith]

Guinea's ruling junta, which toppled President Alpha Conde in a 2021 coup, said it backs the soldiers who seized power last week in Niger.

The junta, known as the CNRD, is convinced that the new authorities will make every effort to guarantee stability and harmony in Niger and in the sub-region, the chief of defense staff, General Ibrahima Sory Bangoura, said in a statement.

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/guinea-s-junta-supports-niger-military-coup-leaders-1.1953137

[AdmSmith]

Coup foiled in Sierra Leone

https://twitter.com/MannyLo79/status/1686432380213481472

[AdmSmith]

The Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff (CCDS) of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) will meet in Abuja from August 2nd to 4th, 2023 on the political situation in the Republic of Niger.
https://ecowas.int/ecowas-committee-of-chiefs-of-defence-staff-to-hold-extraordinary-meeting-on-the-political-situation-in-the-republic-of-niger/

Meanwhile

The M62 Social-Organization who is in Support of the Military Junta that has come to Power in Niger has released a statement Demanding that the Armed Forces moves to Arrest and “Hold Hostage” any European Nationals still in the County until France and other Western Powers agree to Withdraw their Military Forces from Niger.

>

https://twitter.com/WayneTechSPFX/status/1686502403275694080

[Texan4Life]

The coup in Niger has prompted concerns the West African country could curtail uranium exports, possibly hamstringing nuclear power production in France and beyond. But so far, source diversification and well-stocked inventories should be able to mitigate any disruptions in the short term, experts say.

https://www.france24.com/en/africa/20230801-does-the-coup-in-niger-threaten-nuclear-power-plants-in-france

Due to a long-standing policy that dates back to ex-president Charles de Gaulle, France derives about 70 percent of its electricity from nuclear energy, more than any other country. France is also the world’s largest net exporter of nuclear energy, bringing in more than €3 billion per year.

But the military coup in Niger last week – and unconfirmed reports that the West African country intends to suspend uranium supplies to France – have raised questions over what role the industry should play in France’s future.

The reports led some opposition politicians in France to question the role of nuclear power in France’s energy portfolio, notably given French President Emmanuel Macron’s repeated calls for “energy independence”.

“Niger supplies France with the uranium it needs for its nuclear power plants … Reminder: nuclear power does not make for energy independence,” said Sandrine Rousseau, a left-wing Green politician on X (formerly Twitter) July 29.

[AdmSmith]

U from Niger to France is continuation of earlier projects by France. Niger has 6.3% of the world market and there is no problem to replace Niger as a source.

Check the uranium report mentioned at 22 above
https://freerepublic.com/focus/news/4170564/posts?page=22#22

The price of uranium has risen only slightly since a military coup in Niger last week as mining operations have continued in the world's seventh largest producer of the radioactive metal, but a consultancy said prices may rise in coming weeks.

The spot price of uranium crept up to $56.25 a pound on Monday from $56.15 a week earlier, market research firm and consultancy UxC said on Tuesday. The price has doubled over the past three years, but is well down from a peak of $140 touched in 2007.

French nuclear fuels company Orano, which operates uranium mines in the West African country, said last week its activities were ongoing despite the coup. Orano reiterated on Tuesday that operational activities continued despite plans by France to evacuate its citizens, saying 99% of its staff in the country were Nigerien nationals.

The spot price is little changed also because Orano sells uranium on long-term contracts and the summer months are slow in the spot market, said Jonathan Hinze, president of UxC. “An event like this could take a bit more time to seep into the market psychology. We could very well still see bigger impacts in the days and weeks to come,” he told Reuters. “All indications would be that this would be a catalyst for upward moves in the uranium price given the overall tight supply/demand balance in uranium at this time.”

https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/uranium-price-ticks-up-after-niger-coup-more-gains-expected-2023-08-01/

Cameco calculates industry average prices from the month-end prices published by UxC and TradeTech. Long-term prices prior to May 2004 are not industry-averages, but are from TradeTech only.

https://www.cameco.com/invest/markets/uranium-price

[AdmSmith]

ECOWAS Sanctions: Nigeria Cuts Power Supply To Niger

Some cities in Niger Republic are experiencing rolling blackouts as a result of the country's coup last week. The power is only on for roughly an hour at a period for residents of the cities of Niamey, Maradi, and Zinder before being shut off for up to five hours.

Power outages like these in Niger are uncommon, however, the nation is highly reliant on Nigeria as its primary source of electricity. According to Nigelec, the electricity organizations of Niger, the power cuts are the result of Nigeria halting supply to its northern neighbour. However, the Transmission Company of Nigeria has declined to comment on the power cuts in Niger.But a BBC source said the supply to Niger was cut on Tuesday following directive from Nigeria's presidency.
https://www.arise.tv/ecowas-sanctions-nigeria-cuts-power-supply-to-niger/